Bagasse Content Research Articles

Agricultural Waste Management by Production of Second-Generation Bioethanol from Sugarcane Bagasse Using Indigenous Yeast Strain.

In the wake of rapid industrialization and burgeoning transportation networks, the escalating demand for fossil fuels has accelerated the depletion of finite energy reservoirs, necessitating urgent exploration of sustainable alternatives. To address this, current research is focusing on renewable fuels like second-generation bioethanol from agricultural waste such as sugarcane bagasse. This approach not only circumvents the contentious issue of food-fuel conflicts associated with biofuels but also tackles agricultural waste management. In the present study indigenous yeast strain, Clavispora lusitaniae QG1 (MN592676), was isolated from rotten grapes to ferment xylose sugars present in the hemicellulose content of sugarcane bagasse. To liberate the xylose sugars, dilute acid pretreatment was performed. The highest reducing sugars yield was 1.2% obtained at a temperature of 121°C for 15min, a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:25 (% w/v), and an acid concentration of 1% dilute acid H2SO4 that was significantly higher (P < 0.001) yield obtained under similar conditions at 100°C for 1h. The isolated strain was statistically optimized for fermentation process by Plackett-Burman design to achieve the highest ethanol yield. Liberated xylose sugars were completely utilized by Clavispora lusitaniae QG1 (MN592676) and gave 100% ethanol yield. This study optimizes both fermentation process and pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse to maximize bioethanol yield and demonstrates the ability of isolated strain to effectively utilize xylose as a carbon source. The desirable characteristics depicted by strain Clavispora lusitaniae shows its promising utilization in management of industrial waste like sugarcane bagasse by its conversion into renewable biofuels like bioethanol.

Sintesis Selulosa Asetat dari Ampas Tebu sebagai Bahan Baku Biodegradable Foam

The high cellulose content of bagasse allows it to be developed into a variety of valuable products, one of them is cellulose acetate which will be used to make biodegradable foam. The purpose of this research is to determine the best conditions for the synthesis of cellulose acetate from bagasse and test how cellulose acetate can be used to make biodegradable foam. This study used phosphoric acid as a solvent and glacial acetic acid as an acetylating agent to make cellulose acetate through the acetylation process. The variations in acetylation time in this study were 15, 30, and 45 minutes and the volume of glacial acetic acid as acetylating agent was 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 ml. The results of this study indicated that the optimum conditions for the synthesis of cellulose acetate are 15 minutes of acetylation with a volume of 100 ml of glacial acetic acid, with a yield of 79.31% cellulose acetate, 36.19% acetyl content and a degree of substitution of 2.11. The test for the application of cellulose acetate to make biodegradable foam obtained a water absorption of 18.81%, the biodegradation test obtained was 24.53% in 14 days. In the biodegradable foam leak test for 10 minutes, no leakage occurred. This indicated that the biodegradable foam obtained was suitable to use because it complied with SNI.

Ionic liquid and diluted sulfuric acid combinatorial pretreatment for efficient sugarcane bagasse conversion to L-lactic acid

An economical pretreatment method is needed to produce the L-lactic acid from renewable biomass. Six different combinatorial experiments including choline chloride [Ch][Cl], 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [Emim][Cl], and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [Bmim][Cl], diluted acid sulfuric acid (DSA), and two ionic liquids (ILs) were tested. Ionic liquid (ILs) step performed at 90, 110, and 130 °C. The cellulose content of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) increased from 42.1 % (raw material) to 74.6 % (combinatorial pretreatment with DSA and [Emim][Cl]) to 79.9 % (after water washing). Pretreated SCB was employed in enzymatic saccharification and L-lactic acid fermentation. Enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in the maximal levels of glucose titer (220.7 g/L) and yield (73.5 %). L-lactic acid concentration reached to 204.1 g/L when SCB fermented with Lactobacillus casei ATCC 334 at a 25 % w/w solid loading. The two-step pretreatment SCB underwent morphological changes, as evidenced by FTIR, XRD, and SEM analyses. High cellulose levels and high lactic acid highlight the advantages on energy efficiency of a two-step combined pretreatment procedure over a standard single-step pretreatment technique.

Functional bagasse: As a versatile catalyst for henry reaction and additive-free cycloaddition of CO2

A facile synthetic route thrived for the synthesis of a multifunctional solid base catalyst. The amine-functionalized bagasse was synthesized by anchoring the ethylenediamine on the bagasse. Then, the functionalized bagasse was further converted to quaternary ammonium functionalized bagasse. From elemental composition, the nitrogen content of sugarcane bagasse was increased after post-functionalization and confirms the successful functionalization of amine functionality. The FT-IR analysis reveals the formation the functionalization of amine group on the secondary hydroxyl group of bagasse. Further, the formation of quaternary ammonium salt on the bagasse was supported by the XPS analysis and with the binding energy value at 401.75 eV, which corroborates the formation of C-N+ bond. The acid-base titration exhibited 0.328 mmol/g of basicity on the amine-functionalized sugarcane bagasse. The inexpensive amine-functionalized bagasse was used for the condensation of nitromethane with various bio-derived carbonyl compounds. The amine-functionalized bagasse gave complete conversion of aldehydes with 80–90% yield of desired β-nitroalkenes. The amine-functionalized catalyst manifested good recyclability up to four cycles. Further, the quaternary ammonium functionalized bagasse is used for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides without adding any external additives (metal, co-catalyst, and solvents). The quaternary ammonium functionalized bagasse showed moderate conversion of epoxides (20–61%) with good selectivity of desired cyclic carbonates.

Fabrication of ecofriendly composites using low-density polyethylene and sugarcane bagasse: Characteristics’ degradation

In recent years, research into replacing synthetic fibers with natural fibers as reinforcements in thermoplastic composites has developed rapidly. The main objective of this work is to produce eco-friendly and cost-effective composite material. This material consists of natural fiber of sugarcane bagasse as the reinforcing component and thermoplastic polymer of low-density polyethylene as a matrix. The injection molding technique was used to produce the test samples. The fabricated composite contained 30 wt.% sugarcane bagasse. The effects of natural fiber sugarcane bagasse content, chemical treatment, and the addition of maleic anhydride as coupling agent on the composite degradation were studied. The degradation of sugarcane bagasse/low-density polyethylene composite under ultraviolet radiation and the thermal degradation were investigated. In addition, the amount of absorbance ultraviolet radiation by the fabricated composites was studied using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy in the range from 200–800 nm. The effect of carbon black particles added to the fabricated composite on the degradation by ultraviolet exposure was also investigated. The results showed that the compatibilized sugarcane bagasse/low-density polyethylene composites at 3 wt.% maleic anhydride concentration revealed a higher decomposition temperature (466°C) than that of the uncompatibilized composites (460°C). This ensures that the thermal degradation temperature was improved by using the maleic anhydride coupling agent. Moreover, using the coupling agent showed significant resistance to degradation by ultraviolet exposure. Furthermore, the addition of 2.5 wt.% carbon black enabled more resistance to degradation by ultraviolet exposure.

Analysis on influencing factors and improvement of thermal efficiency of bagasse boilers based on performance test data

Based on the performance test data of the 136 samples for bagasse boiler in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, the energy analysis of bagasse boilers is performed. The results show that the average thermal efficiency was estimated to be 86.75%, and 39.71% of samples did not meet the limited value requirements, only 1.47% in quantity met the target value, and the energy saving potential is very large. The heat loss of bagasse boilers is dominated by the heat loss of flue gases. Therefore, the effects of bagasse moisture content, excess air ratio and oxygen concentration on flow rate of flue gas and thermal efficiency were further simulated. The average thermal efficiency of bagasse sample boiler will increase obviously, when the moisture content of bagasse and excess air ratio decrease and oxygen concentration increases. In addition, the average value of carbon dioxide emission was 131 kg/GJ. If the thermal efficiency of the substandard boilers reaches the target level, bagasse consumption and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 526 kt and 466 kt per year, respectively. This will be of great significance to energy conservation and emission reduction.

Design and simulation of a combined flue gas and steam bagasse dryer to increase boiler efficiency of a sugar factory

Bagasse is a sugar industry residue used to generate high-pressure steam that can be utilized to generate electricity. The moisture content of bagasse is a serious issue that lowers boiler efficiency. The study conducted in Arjo Diddesa sugar factory, its moisture level of the bagasse is above 52%, which impacts boiler efficiency. In this plant uses traditional SHRD technique, this uses waste flue gas to decrease moisture content. To reduce heat losses, steam is directed through the inner tube, while bagasse and flue gas are directed through the outer rotating cylinder, leading in interaction between indirect steam and direct flue gas-bagasse. ANSYS software is used for the development of drier and optimization by considering the input parameters for the SHRD are: flue gas mass flow rate, bagasse temperature, flow Pressure of flue gas. The SHRD system is tilted to the horizontal at an angle of 4° and rotates at a speed of 4.6 rpm to aid in transporting wet bagasse. The moisture in the bagasse is dropped from 52 percent to 45 percent, and increase in efficiency of a boiler from 71.5 percent to 74.5 percent theoretically. The initial GCV and NCV with 52% moisture content are 9137.6 kJ/kg and 7129.4 kJ/kg. After drying, the45% ofmoisture content, the GCV and NCV of bagasse are 10484.8 kJ/kg and 8549.8 kJ/kg, respectively. The findings of the comparison show that the CV was raised by 1500 kJ/kg.

Experimental study on the combustion characteristics of blends of sugarcane bagasse, Nanning meager-lean coal and petroleum coke

Abstract Multi-fuel operation of the coal-fired boiler is considered as a promising option for boiler reformation to reduce carbon emissions while recycling solid waste. In this work, co-combustion characteristics of sugarcane bagasse, Nanning meager-lean coal and petroleum coke under different conditions were investigated in detail. And the interaction between raw materials was analyzed. Finally, the kinetic parameters were estimated by using the first-order response model. The results show that differences in petroleum coke content affect the appearance of weight loss peaks in the DTG curve. When the proportion of sugarcane bagasse is between 40 and 60%, the ignition and burnout characteristic indexes are particularly sensitive to variations in sugarcane bagasse content. Additionally, the interaction between the three raw materials is promoted as the proportion of petroleum coke is less than 40%. The kinetic analysis suggests that the increase of heating rate is conducive to the precipitation of volatiles, but there is an optimal heating rate for the fixed carbon combustion stage. The change of particle size combination has little effect on the activation energy of the volatile fraction combustion stage. This study provides a reference to ensure the stable and high-efficient operation of the coal-fired boilers during the multi-fuel combustion.

Comparative Study on Oven and Solar Drying of Agricultural Residues and Food Crops

The current study examined reduction of moisture from agricultural energy and food crops in a conventional oven to a solar dryer at various treatment periods at temperature between 40 ± 10 oC. Sugarcane bagasse and Phragmites Australis had initial moisture of 50.8 % and 6.07 % by dry weight, respectively, with higher heating values (HHV) 6548.5 kJ/kg and 17653.02 kJ/kg respectively. The moisture content of bagasse and phragmites were decreased by 51.31% and 68.69% respectively using oven drying, while the moisture content of bagasse and phragmites was reduced by 48.01% and 66.22% respectively, using solar drying with 5 hrs treatment time. Corresponding increase in HHV’s observed in bagasse to 11195.6 KJ/kg (oven drying) and 10998.1 KJ/kg (solar drying), while HHV of phragmites increased to 18706.79KJ/kg (oven drying) and 18685.36KJ/kg (solar drying). Green chillies had a moisture content reduction by 33.69 % (oven) and 8.28 % (solar), whereas grapes had a reduction by 31.20 % (oven) and 7.88 % (solar) with 5 hrs treatment time. The oven drying approach revealed higher carbohydrate content in food crops when compared to solar drying, while both treatments showed a similar drop in protein, fat, and vitamin C contents. Statistical and energy analysis observed that comparing solar drying; the oven drying eliminates slightly higher moisture content and have less drying energy requirements. The amount of heat energy required for drying unit mass of bagasse was 0.476 kJ/kg (oven) and 0.556 kJ/kg (solar), for phragmites it was 0.074 kJ/kg (oven) and 0.092 kJ/kg (solar), for chilles 0.524 kJ/kg (oven) and 0.576 kJ/kg (solar) and for grapes 0.123 kJ/kg (oven) and 0.157 MJ/kg (solar). According to the results solar drying required greater quantity of heat energy than oven drying. Mass transfer analysis showed drying constant of bagasse and phragmites were higher initially, then showed reducing trend with respect time. Furthermore, it was observed that the effective diffusivity and mass transfer coefficient were found reducing with respect to increasing drying treatment time. The research findings of renewable solar drying, on the other hand, are comparable to those of oven drying, demonstrating that there is still enough untapped heat energy available for its utilization in biomass thermo-chemical conversion methods.

An experimental investigation on synthesizing and characterizing of modified bagasse reinforced natural rubber composite

Natural composite material has been successfully fabricated employing sugar cane bagasse as reinforcement and natural rubber as a matrix. The goal of this study was to characterize and analyze this composite material by varying parameters such as fiber weight fraction and type, and fiber surface treatments. Optimization of the properties was carried out by applying various experimental techniques to determine the viscosity, curing torque, and abrasion wear, as well as mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties. The finding showed the viscosity, specific gravity, and curing torque increased with increasing bagasse content. Similarly, the braking force, tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity have shown remarkable improvements with the addition of the bagasse reinforcement. Sodium hydroxide-treated fibers and bagasse ash fillers have demonstrated superior properties compared to untreated fiber-rubber composites. Better dispersion and morphological properties were also obtained when using sodium hydroxide-treated bagasse reinforcement and bagasse ash, and thus are recommendations of this study for use in rubber composites.

Effect of Recycled Bagasse on Cracking Behavior of Clay Materials

Bagasse is the residue after juicing sugarcane, and bagasse is a recyclable biological resource that can be used in many ways. Under arid climatic conditions, the clay material shrinks and loses water. Many crisscross drying shrinkage cracks formed on the surface and inside the soil will affect the stability of the soil. In this article, the cracking characteristics of clays with different bagasse contents during the evaporation process have been studied. The cracks were extracted and calculated by digital image processing technology, and the crack characteristics of samples with different bagasse contents were studied by fractal dimension and crack entropy. The results show that when moisture content maintains 34%, the clay material forms only one main crack without bagasse, forms no crack with bagasse content of 9%, and forms a crack network with the bagasse content of 3%. Adding bagasse to the clay can advance the cracking time of the clay, and different contents of bagasse have different effects on the cracking time of the clay. Among these five experimental groups, the clay was affected the most with 3% bagasse content, while the least effect happened with 6% bagasse content. The time can be advanced when the clay crack entropy appears and increases the size of the crack entropy.

Modification of Expansive Soil with Costus Lateriflorus Bagasse Ash for Road Pavement Materials

This study evaluates the effect of costus lateriflorus bagasse ash on expansive soil properties. Laterite and clay samples from the Ubeta-Ula-Ubie road at Ahoada West LGA in Rivers, Nigeria were prepared and laboratory analysis performed for development potential, volume change, maximum dry density (MDD), optimum moisture content (OMC), consistency limits, California bearing ratio (CBR) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS). Initial analysis classified the soil as A-7-6 under the AASHTO classification system. The development potential, volume change, maximum dry density (MDD), liquid limit (LL), and plasticity index (PI) of laterite and stable clay on the Ubeta-Ula-Ubie road decreased with increasing proportion of bagasse Costus ash lateriflorus, while optimum moisture content (OMC), plastic limit (PL) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) were increased by the addition of Costus lateriflorus bagasse ash. The results showed that increasing the ash content of bagasse increased the soil properties suitable for road construction. However, bagasse ash performs better on lateritic soils than on clay soils, and 7.5% bagasse ash would be suitable for use as a stabilizer in soils with similar properties to laterite and clay soils in the Ubeta-Ula-Ubie road.

Enhancement of Delignification and Glucan Content of Sugarcane Bagasse by Alkali Pretreatment for Bioethanol Production

The current work aimed to enhance the delignification of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) for bioethanol production. The optimization of alkali (sodium hydroxide) pretreatment parameters such as concentration and residence time was carried out by the Taguchi method using L16 orthogonal array with two factors and four levels. Sugarcane bagasse powder was mixed with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution (0.5-2 wt.%) and heated in an autoclave at 121°C and at varied times (30-120 min). From the statistical analysis of data, it was observed that delignification and glucan increased with the increased concentration and short time. The optimum parameters of NaOH pretreatment were 2 wt.% of NaOH concentration and 30 minutes of residence time. At the optimum conditions, 86.8% delignification and 46.6% glucan content of SCB were obtained. Thus, alkali pretreatment optimized by Taguchi design is the effective method to remove lignin and to increase cellulose or glucan content in sugarcane bagasse for facilitating the further catalytic hydrolysis in bioethanol production.

Dryer design parameters and parts specifications for an industrial scale bagasse drying system

The sugar industry is an ideal sector for electricity cogeneration due to a large amount of burnable bagasse produce as a by-product. Bagasse produced in the sugar industry always consists of moisture affecting the efficiency of a boiler in the cogeneration plant. In our case study, a cogeneration plant run by bagasse burning found with bagasse moisture problem and suffocating with low power generation for the last few years. The boiler efficiency per tonne of bagasse is currently lower than optimal due to the substantial percentage of water present in the bagasse. A bagasse dryer design for this industry can improve the efficiency of a boiler as well as the cogeneration plant. In this paper, a pneumatic bagasse drying system is proposed to reduce the moisture content of bagasse from 48% to 30%. This work provides a full analysis of bagasse dryer design parameters, including specifications for dryer system components, such as feeders, fan, drying tube, and cyclone. The total bagasse drying system proposed is expected to be fitted within a 6 × 6 × 25 m space to dry 60 tph of bagasse, reducing the moisture content from 48% to 30%, in full compliance with all relevant Australian and company standards.

Comparative assessment of the pulping potentials of soda and mea processes for the development of paper-pulp from sugarcane bagasse

Pulping trials were carried out using MEA and the soda process comparing their pulping potentials. The operating conditions such as the concentration of the cooking liquor (50%, 75%, 100%) for MEA and (10%, 15%, 20%) for NaOH, the maximum cooking temperature (150oC, 160oC, 170oC) and cooking time (60, 90, 120minutes) for both processes were investigated systematically to establish optimal pulping conditions. The agro-biomass used in this investigation is Sugarcane Bagasse viewed as alternative raw material for pulp and paper production. The lignin content of Bagasse (19.5%) was low; indicating that Bagasse should be easier to pulp. The optimum cooking conditions (independent variables) for MEA pulping were 75% MEA concentration, 150oC cooking temperature and 90 minutes cooking time. Excel 2013 was used to analyze the effect of independent variables on yield of bagasse pulp and properties of furnished paper from MEA process in comparison with the Soda process which include tear index, tensile index, burst index and folding endurance with errors less than 15% in all cases. The Kappa number range (12.7-16.9), viscosity (270-870 ml/g) and brightness (62.1-93.2%) of bagasse pulp are appropriate for high-brightness printing and writing papers. The physical properties of furnished paper, tear index (13.4 mN.m2/g), tensile index (71Nm/g), Burst index (4.8 KN/g) and folding endurance (82) recommend the cellulosic pulp from Sugarcane Bagasse obtained from the MEA process for strengthening the virgin fiber in recycled papers and also for developing certain types of printing and packaging papers. Due to the awareness towards the negative impact of kraft mill’s effluent to the environment recently, soda pulping started to regain its popularity among the pulp mills especially non-wood based pulp mills. MEA process is more economically attractive given its high pulp yield, despite the significant increase in chemical demand for bleaching. MEA pulping is a good alternative to soda pulping furnishing high pulp yield with less cooking temperature, i.e. 150oC, thereby saving a considerable amount of energy with less odoriferous pollutants and pollution load associated with the soda process.

Effect of bagasse content on low frequency acoustic performance of soy oil‐based biodegradable foams filled with bagasse and regulation mechanism analysis

AbstractReducing noise by using sound absorption materials is an important approach to lessen the harm of noise pollution. Controlling acoustic performance and analyzing the mechanism of the flexible polyurethane biofoams derived from vegetable oil polyol and filled with agricultural and forestry wastes can provide theoretical guidance in designing the biodegradable energy‐saving sound absorbing materials. A series of biofoams were synthesized by using soy oil‐based polyol instead of 50 wt% petroleum‐based polyol with different content of natural resource bagasse as fillers. The material is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis to study the morphology, chemical interaction between constituent phases and thermal stability respectively. The effects of bagasse on morphology, mechanical properties, thermal properties, sound absorption coefficient and degradability of biofoams were investigated. Natural resource bagasse can improve the sound absorption coefficient at low frequency region by changing the cell size, opening ratio and cell wall structure of biofoams. The study confirms that it is possible to control and enhance the acoustic performance of the biofoams by adjusting bagasse content for sound absorption materials.

Antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content and phenolic compounds of pulp and bagasse of four Peruvian berries

Revaluing agri-food waste to offer consumers bioactive compounds for a healthy diet is an important issue. In the present work, the antioxidant capacity (AC), total phenolic content (TPC) and phenolic compounds of pulp and bagasse of four Peruvian berries with UHPLC-DAD was determined. Elderberry (Sambucus peruviana Kunth) bagasse had a greater amount of TPC (4.87 ± 0.02 mg GAE/100 gfw) and AC (7.66 ± 0.04 and 7.51 ± 0.24 μmol TE/gfw in DPPH and ABTS, respectively) than the bagasse of the other berries, with a strong positive correlation between TPC and AC. Blueberry (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) bagasse contains the highest amount of gallic acid (103.26 ± 1.59 μg/gfw), chlorogenic acid (1276.55 ± 1.86 μg/gfw), caffeic acid (144.46 ± 1.78 μg/gfw), epicatechin (1113.88 ± 1.82 μg/gfw) and p-coumaric acid (77.82 ± 1.92 μg/gfw). Elderberry (Sambucus peruviana Kunth) bagasse contains the highest amount of catechin (153.32 ± 0.79 μg/gfw). No significant differences were found in the content of chlorogenic acid and epicatechin of blackberry (Rubus roseus Poir). It was shown that the wastes of the four Amazonian berries have higher values of bioactive properties than their pulp, being the elderberry bagasse the one with the best properties.

Improving Energy Efficiency of Cogeneration System in Cane Sugar Industry by Steam Dryer

Cogeneration system in the cane sugar industry produces not only molasses and raw sugar but also exportable electrical power. Main components of the system are boiler, steam turbine, condenser, and sugar juice evaporation process. Bagasse is used as fuel for boiler. Bagasse is a by-product of sugar juice extraction process. It is characterized by a high moisture content, which leads to the inefficiency of energy conversion. The integration of steam dryer in cogeneration system to reduce bagasse moisture content before combustion will improve the system performance. The moisture content of bagasse is reduced in a steam dryer due to heat transfer from steam condensation. Saturated steam supplied to steam dryer is obtained by mixing superheated steam extracted from steam turbine with the appropriate amount of cooling water in desuper-heater. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of this cogeneration system quantitatively. Models of boiler and steam dryer are used for this purpose. Simulation results show that the cogeneration system integrated with steam dryer generates more power output than the reference cogeneration system without steam dryer under the conditions that sugar juice processing capacity and bagasse consumption are the same. Furthermore, the cogeneration system integrated with steam dryer requires 20% less heating surface area than the reference cogeneration system under the condition that temperatures of flue gas exhausted from boilers of both systems are the same.

Simplified methods of estimating fermentable sugar yield in sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] stems

Fermentable sugar is the most important component in sweet sorghum stem for its first-generation ethanol production. Estimation of fermentable sugar yield is required for sweet sorghum breeding, production, but related estimation methods available now are not so efficient. In order to establish a new method of estimating fermentable sugar yield, sweet sorghum stems were milled with a small three roll miller to recover carefully the juice and bagasse. The contents of sugars in the juice and water extraction of bagasse were analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography. Contents of soluble matter and sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) of the extracted juice and calculated juice of the bagasse (moisture content plus soluble matter content) were compared. The results showed that there is no significant difference in the total fermentable sugar content between squeezed juice and residue juice. So, the following four methods of analysis and estimation for sugars content of the whole stem was studied and compared: (1) analyzing juice only (but needs to determine moisture content of bagasse or stem, (2) analyzing bagasse only, (3) analyzing both juice and bagasse and (4) analyzing dried stems. The results showed that it is feasible to estimate sugars content of the whole stem by analyzing the juice or the bagasse only, and the most simplified method was that analyzing the juice and drying the bagasse. The following three formula was postulated that can be used in the estimation of sugars contents: (1) Ss=(J + B × Soj ×Wb / Wj)×Sj; (2) Ss=(1-B × Db×Ub)×Sb /(Wb + Sob); (3) Ss=J × Sj + B × Sb, where Ss is sugar content of stem (%), J is juice extraction (%), B is bagasse rate after one milling (%), Soj is content of soluble matter in extracted juice(%), Wb is water content of bagasse (%), Wj is water content of extracted juice (%); Sj is sugar content of juice(%); Db is content of dried matter in bagasse(%); Sb is sugar content of fresh bagasse; Sob is content of soluble matter in fresh bagasse. Fermentable sugar yield (FSY, MgHa−1) = Green stem yield (GSY, MgHa−1) ×Ss (%).

A Low-Cost System for Moisture Content Detection of Bagasse upon a Conveyor Belt with Multispectral Image and Various Machine Learning Methods

This research aimed to propose an online system based on multispectral images for the real-time estimation of the moisture content (MC) of sugarcane bagasse. The system consisted of a conveyor belt, four halogen bulbs, and a multispectral camera. The MC models were developed using machine learning algorithms, i.e., multiple linear regression (MLR), principal component regression (PCR), artificial neural network (ANN), PCA-ANN, Gaussian process regression (GPR), PCA-GPR, random forest regression (RFR), and PCA-GPR. The models were developed using 150 samples (calibration set) meanwhile the remaining 50 samples were applied as a validation set. The comparison of all developed models showed that the PCA-RFR model achieved better detection with a higher accuracy of MC prediction. The PCA-RFR model showed the best results which were a coefficient of determination of prediction (r2) of 0.72, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 11.82 wt%, and a ratio of the standard error of prediction to standard deviation (RPD) of 1.85. The results show that this technique was very useful for MC rapid screening of the sugarcane bagasse.