ECO FRIENDLY BIO-DEGRADABLE MOULDED PULP

PACKAGING USING SUGARCANE BAGASSE

 ECO FRIENDLY; BIODEGRADABLE MOLDED PULP
PACKAGING USING SUGARCANE BAGASSE

A project submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Diploma in

Printing Technology

16601525 -- Praveen Kumar. G

16601492 -- Arun Kumar. E

16693749 -- Esakar. S

16601512 -- Karthick Raja. R

16601513 -- Kishore. B

Under the guidance of

Mr. V. John Fredrick, M.Sc., M.Phil., B.Ed., (B.Tech).,

2017-2018

Submitted To

SIGA POLYTHECHNIC COLLEGE

49, Taylors Road, Kilpauk, Chennai-600010.
 SIGA POLYTHECHNIC COLLEGE
49, Taylors Road, Kilpauk, Chennai-600010.

CERTIFICATE

This to certify that the project work entitled “Publishing book on Eco friendly
biodegradable molded pulp packaging using sugarcane bagasse” is the
bonafide work of the following students of Diploma in Printing Technology, SIGA
Polytechnic college, Chennai-600010, who carried out the project work under my
guidance and supervision.

16601525 -- Praveen Kumar. G

16601492 -- Arun Kumar. E

16693749 -- Esakar. S

16601512 -- Karthick Raja. R

16601513 -- Kishore. B
I certify to the best on my knownledge that this project is not part of any other
project.

Mr. V. John Fredrick, M.Sc., M.Phil., B.Ed., (B.Tech).,

Project Guide

Mr. J. Ignatius Adaikalaraj, DPT., B.E., Fr. P. T. Joseph, SDB

Project Co-ordinator Principal

Submitted for the end semester parctical exams held on .........................................

Internal Examiner External Examiner

 FOREWORD
This record is consonance with the curriculum for the Diploma in Printing
Technology. The project work was undertaken by us for this benificial objective.
This live experience and practical work will be helpful to our career. While
doing this project we have learned to work together as a team recognized each
other insight and wisdom.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We express our sincere gratitude and indebtedness to our guide Mr. V. John
Fredrick along with our Head of the Department as well as our Project Co-
Ordinator Mr. J. Ignatius Adaikalaraj, SIGA Polythechnic College, their
valuable suggestion in the field of management and entrepreneurship, their
constant encouragement, support and care throughout the course of our
project work.
we are extremely thankful to
Rev. Fr. John Christy, SDB (Rector),
Rev. Fr. Stalin Dhanaraj, SDB (V. Rector),
Rev. Fr. P. T. Joseph, SDB (Principal)
Rev. Fr. Charles Gasper, SDB (V. Principal / Administrator)
for giving us various permission to carry out this project work at SIGA. We
are very thankful for their valuable support and encouragement.
We are thankful to all the teaching and non-teaching staff of SIGA Polytechnic
College. We adequately express our gratitude to our parents and to our family
members whose love, encouragement and patience are beyond compare.
Dedicated to.........
To SIGA, for its loving Guidance and concern for us
 SYNOPSIS
ECO FRIENDLY; BIODEGRADABLE MOLDED PULP
PACKAGING USING SUGARCANE BAGASSE

Agro fiber materials biodegradable additive technology is proven better

than competing technologies in terms of required effectiveness in landfill
biodegradation, recyclability and proven stability in storage and service life
of treated products without fear of premature degradation. Almost the largest
volume of mass produced, moulded pulp packages are egg trays instantly
recognisable by consumers and egg boxes. As the name implies this type
of packaging is made from pulp which is moulded into a shape designed to
hold protect the product to be packed. The primary function of moulded pulp
packaging is to provide impact protection against breakage, chipping, ect.
This is achieved in the designed, which locates and stabilises the product.
By taking waste bagasse after crushing the Sugarcane as the raw material,
through milling, forming, drying and other procedures. Final products can take
replace foaming and plastic products, which is very eco-friendly. Practical
application: Productive packaging for electronic goods, toys, cosmetrics,
pro product for computers, personal computer parts, small home appliances,
acoustic products, medical goods, automobile parts, hand and pneumatic tools,
glass, pottery and porcelain goods, and appliction in making lunch boxes.
This project focuses on preparing the Fruits and vegetable Trays (Fresh
packaging for fruit & vegitable) of different sizes for fresh foods and other
paper pulp food packaging, These are Biodegradable, Ecofriendly, Odourless,
Unbleached, Freezable, Microwavable, Non toxic, Sustainable Resources.All
these fresh foods packaging trays will be tested will be for their quality and
sustainability.
 PLANING AND SCHEDULING

06.01.2018 Collecting the Sugarcane bagasse.

07.01.2018 Then colleting a bagasse & keep it on the college teres.
08.01.2018 Then recieve the bagasse & store on the college teres.
11.01.2018 Moring we are go & dry the bagasse on the college
teres.
Then to buy the long size screen and put on the baggass
for dry purpose.
Evening to get the bagasse & keep it on the college
teres.
12.01.2018 Again to dry the bagasse on the college teres.
And one week to do the work again and again.
Then the ready to make a powder.
13.01.2018 Our project group members go to teres, when we are
checked baggass are dryed.
And hit the bagasse.
14.01.2018 Separating the bagasse by bitting using the bamboo
stick.
03.02.2018 Making sugarcane bagasse into pulp.
10.02.2018 Making sugarcane bagasse into pulp by another method.
18.02.2018 Searching for a mould work.
24.02.2018 Making a mould by using white cement.
01.03.2018 Finally get the mould making pulp into tray.
15.03.2018 Refering the book content.
20.03.2018 Making a book and tray.
28.03.2018 Finishing a final tray and book.
 CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Application...................................................................................1
Raw materials...............................................................................3
Production....................................................................................3
Product drying..............................................................................4
Printing/decoration.......................................................................5

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Experimental methodology..........................................................8
Mechanical evaluation.................................................................9
Technological evaluation.............................................................10
Fibers and pith content.................................................................11
Refining degree of pulp................................................................11

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUBSTRATES

Chemical composition.................................................................12
Bed Porosity.................................................................................12
Water evaporation........................................................................14
Effect of washing procedure on sugarcane bagasse.....................16
Effect of particle size on sugarcane bagasse................................18
Influence of nitrogen supplement on SSF....................................19
Effect of incubation time on sequential enzyme hydrolysis........23

CLIMATIC REQUIREMENT
Temperature for different critical stages of sugarcane.................24
Reduction in yield of sugarcane due to rise in temperature.........24
Recommendation for cultivation of crop.....................................25
Seed Scenario...............................................................................26
Tissue Culture..............................................................................26
METHOD OF PLANTING SUGARCANE
Method of planting.......................................................................27
Flow chart....................................................................................30

TYPES OF TRAYS
Food trays....................................................................................43
Vegetable trays.............................................................................44
Fruits trays...................................................................................45
Musroom trays.............................................................................46
Egg trays......................................................................................47
INTRODUCTION
Amongst the largest volume of mass-produced moulded pulp products in Europe
and North America which are instantly recognized by consumers are egg trays,
and egg boxes. Other examples of typical moulded pulp packaging. As the name
implies, this type of packaging is made from pulp which is moulded to a shape
designed to hold and protect the product to be packed. The primary function of
moulded pulp packaging is impact production against breakage, chipping, etc. This
is achieved in the design which locates and stabilizes the product. The structural
design can also provide a degree of springiness and, therefore, shock amelioration.

Application
nnMoulded pulp packaging includes Trays.

nnIn addition to those used for eggs and fruits, such as apples, similar trays
with different cavities are used for ampoules and vials.

nnPunnet-style trays with handles for mushrooms.

nnTop and bottom trays are designed to locate and protect bottles and jars.

nnClam shell style containers in which the product is enclosed as for 6\12
eggs or single or multiple bottles.

nnCorner or edge protectors for ceramics, radiators and furniture.

Recent new applications of moulded pulp packaging include trays for the location of
collapsible tubes, e.g. foods and toiletries, and for electronic products, e.g. car radios, and
computer associated products such as flat screens laptop computers.

11
The main end-use industries served are:
nnFood and drink

nnChemicals

nnElectronics and IT equipment

nnFurniture

nnCeramic wares and radiators.

Jerry cup

12
Raw materials
Every moulded pulp item is produced by mixing water with either wood pulp made
from recovered waste paper/paperboard to a consistency of normally 96% water and
4% fiber. Where required a waterproofing agent such as rosin or a wax emulsion is
added. Dye may be added to produce a specific color.
The fiber used is predominantly made from specific grades of recovered paper and
paperboard. However, where required, virgin fibre either chemical or mechanical,
bleached or unbleached may be used. Baled recovered paper or pulp is hydropulped
and diluted to the correct consistency.

Production
The mould is essentially the ‘shape’ of the product required. All tool set are two
pieces of the ‘male and female’ type. This results in the moulded pulp product
having one side which is smooth and one which is rougher. The mould is perforated
to allow the removal of water by suction. It is covered, or lined, depending on the
shape which side is required to have a smooth surface finish, by gauze is made
from strands of stainless steel wire 50 μm thick and gap, or pitch, between parallel
strands. It imparts a smooth surface to the surface of the moulded product.
For an egg box produced by this process, the outside surface is required to be smooth
so that a printed self-adhesive label can, subsequently, be applied.
The die set would comprise, for the outside, a smooth female tool mould and,
correspondingly, an inside male/de-mould. This results in a rough finish on the
inside of the egg box.
If we require a tray with a smooth inside surface, then the inside would be in
contact with a smooth male mould and the outside would be in contact with a
female de-mould. This imparts a rough finish to the outside surface of the moulded
products. Shows all the components which are needed to make a full tool set, i.e.
aluminium backplate, retaining plates, etc. The forming mould is a complex piece
of engineering. It is expensive. It is designed by specialist engineers and is normally
made from aluminium, though resin-based tooling, e.g. ‘Ciba’ indicated in can also
be used. The use of computer aided design (CAD) has facilitated mould design and
enabled much more complicated designs to be produced than hitherto.
The tool set is made on a milling machine under computer numerical control
(CNC). This is based on the output from the CAD tool design and a computer aided
manufacturing (CAM) tool path.
After CNC machining and then manual drilling, the face of the mould used to
form the product is covered with the fine mesh gauze. This is applied manually. It
is a specialized skill acquired after years of training. Once the product is formed
by vacuum (suction) on the mould, it is transferred to the drying process using a
13
transfer mould which is a mirror image of the forming mould and is made from
aluminium or epoxy resin.
Reverse air flow is used to eject the formed piece of pulp from the suction-formed
mould onto the transfer mould.
Machines used for pulp moulding range from inexpensive hand operated machines
to fully computer controlled automatic machines capable of producing thousands of
tonnes of moulded pulp packaging per annum.

Product drying

Lemon trays Strawberry trays

Apple trays
The product is dried in one of two ways. It is either dried by the circulation of heat
inside long aluminium gas burning driers or by in-mould thermoforming which
uses additional heated moulds to furthers press and dry the product. This in mould
drying results in a very high quality finished product, which rivals vacuum and
thermoformed plastic mouldings in both aesthetics and geometrics.
Along with its low environmental cost in real and life cycle senses, this new in-

14
mould pressed pulp packaging is now the most popular choice for packing in the
electronics and mobile communication industries, e.g. the packaging of products
such as modems, mobile phones and computer printers.

Printing/decoration
As already noted, coloured, moulded pulp packaging can be produced by using a
dryed pulp. Decorative finishes can be applied by spray gun.
Text such as brand and end-user names, symbols such as the recyclable logo or
trademarks and decorative patterns can be incorporated in the mould to produce an
embossed or debossed effect.
Multicoloured self-adhesive labels provide the best option for high quality printing.
Direct printing is also possible on moulded pulp surfaces and whilst the better
result is achieved on the smooth side, it is also possible to print a small font size
adequately on the rough side, e.g. inside of egg boxes.

Mills tray

15
 Mills tray
Raw material preparation
Collected the agricultural residue of bagasse and banana fibers, dried under sun for
few days and then wash it by tap water repeatedly.Development of experimental
work.
The first known proposal for installing a depithing equipment goes back to 1912-
1914, when Cuban bagasse was treated in an ordinary electric mixer. At the end
of the 40’s, it was developed the Horkel depither mill, based on a large number of
experimental works (Keller, 1966; Lois, 1982). In the Horkel depither, the rotor
equipped with swinging hammers and supported by bearings at its ends, is placed
horizontally. The rotor is driven by a motor through pulleys and belts transmission
at a speed of 800-1000 rpm. In industrial practice, the Horkel required an additional
screening of the accepted fi ber, which involved rotating screens as part of the
whole installation (Lois, 1986).
Afterwards, a vertical rotor Rietz mill for depithing operations was adapted in
Hawaii. This depither machine has a vertical shaft with swinging rotary hammers
surrounded by a perforated cylindrical basket. The raw bagasse is fed by gravity
through chutes located at the top of the equipment and fractions of pith and depithed
fiber are discharged by gravity on diff erent outputs. Other important developments
were.

a)  he Gunkel depithing mill, and afterwards the Peadco depither installed in

T
the pulp and paper factory located in Paramonga, Peru, both with the design
solution based of hanging vertical rotors equipped with swinging hammers
rotating inside a perforated cylindrical basket.

b)  orizontal double rotor SPM Pawert depithers (Switz erland) with pneumatic
H
evacuation for fiber and pith. The two rotors, with curved screens under
16
 each rotor, and equipped with heavy swinging hammers, rotate in the same
direction, so that the bagasse, fed by a lateral chute, is launched from the first
rotor to the second one.

c)  evelopment of Wesmaco depither (Malinak, 1980) and Pallmann-Centurion

D
depither (Pallmann, 2011), respectively, with vertical rotor supported on upper
and lower brackets, both designed for preparation of bagasse and similar
annual plants with simultaneous separation of pith and fi bers. First of them is
built with a transmission at 90° through a pair of conical gears.

d)  ertical rotor KC-4 depither developed by Kimberly Clark of Mexico

V
(Mexico) with hanging vertical rotor and only one upper support. And finally,

e)  evelopment of Cuban depither named Caribe S.M. by its designer in chief

D
Lois J.A. (1986), Head of the group responsible for its design, which comprises
a rotary hammer assembly, vertically suspended from a rigid framework fixed
to its base and having two openings in its top for an inflow of raw bagasse, a
screening wall spaced inside enclosure and forming the outer boundary of a
zone for processing bagasse with suspended rotor fixed on upper and lower
support with a special sinusoid-shaped distribution of hammers that promotes
and increases the input capacity of bagasse.
The rotor assembly of this depither consists of rotor shaft and hammers. The
hammers are held in place by Depithers for Efficient Preparation of Sugarcane
Bagasse Fibers in Pulp and Paper Industry 420 Ingeniería Investigación Tecnología,
volumen XIII (número 4), octubre-diciembre 2012: 417-424 ISSN 1405-7743 FI-
UNAM plates and each hammer is secured between two plates. Each hammer has
a hole to accept a securing shaft. The transmission unit comprises a vertical driving
motor through pulleys and belts, transmission at a speed of 1150 rpm. The hammers
of the rotor assembly have a clearance of about 10 to 20 mm between their ends and
the cylindrical perforated chamber.
The development of this depither has been characterized by emphasis on bagasse
feeding by gravity with a vertical rotor and self separation of pith, which increases
processing capacity and gives bett er mechanical operation (Lois, 1982). The
equipment is backed by a Cuban patent (ONIITEM, 1986; 1992). As a result of
the studies carried out with the collaboration and support of the Cuban Research
Institute of Sugar Cane Derivatives (ICIDCA), this vertical rotor bagasse depither
was developed with a number of new characteristics which give this equipment
greater versatility. Two models are available, S.M. Caribe-800 (medium capacity)
and S.M. Caribe-1150 (large capacity).both models and contains their main
17
technical characteristics. The first prototypes were built in a workshop specialized
in the construction, repair and maintenance of centrifugal machines.

Experimental methodology
Mechanical evaluation: by checking the correct performanceof the equip ment
with test runs directly in the manufacturer workshop. Vibration values were carefully
monitored and controlled at the planes: A (Axial); H (Horizontal) and V (Vertical),
as well. The values of temperature on the upper and lower bearings of the rotor
assembly were also controlled.
S.M. S.M.
Parameters
Caribe-800 Caribe-1150
Input processing capacity, t/hr, bone dry 6.0-7.0 10.0-11.0

Separation by weight, % 30-35 30-35

Fiber content, average yield in accepted
75-80 75-80
fraction, %
Installed power, Kw 55 150

Diameter of inner perforated basket, mm 800 1150

Height of perforated basket, mm 810 1160

Number of hammers or knives 36 54

Technological evaluation: periodical sampling and analysis were carried out

during two crop seasons of bagasse processing on continuous operation in order to
determine depithing efficiency and fiber quality.

18
Mechanical evaluation
Once the mechanical adjustments were completed, depithers were subjected to a
vibration analysis during three hours of running tests in a conveniently designed
mechanical test station. The vibration analysis technique consists of vibration
measurement and its interpretation (Sadett in et al., 2006). Measuring the severity
of the vibration is the method recommended by ISO Standard 2372 for the overall
monitoring of the rotor condition. It detects the most common mechanical failures,
such as imbalance, structural weakness and loose parts. The effective value of the
vibration velocity in mm/s was used for assessing the machine condition. Vibration
analysis was performed by experienced personnel, so existing failures could be
easily detected. In the case of all evaluated depithers periodical vibration control
was done during the tests by means of a portable digital acceleration velocity sensor
with the following characteristics:
nnFrequency range 10 to 1000 Hz

nnRange of measurement RMS

nnVelocity measuring range: 0.5-49.9 mm/s

nnAcceleration mm/s: 20.5-49.9 (0.05-5.1 g )

nnAccuracy ± (0.2 mm / s + 2% of reading)

nnDisplacement: 0.5-99.9 μ (0.02-3.94 mils)

nnEvaluation of the condition according to ISO 2372 and ISO10816

19
shows the vibration monitoring points. All measurements done in the depithers
correspond in the Machine Class designation to Class II: medium-sized machines
(typically electric motors with 15 to 75 kW output) without special foundations,
rigidly mounted engines, or machines on special foundations up to 300 kW. Table
2 shows the results of the S.M. Caribe depither compared to those obtained with
the other depithers installed in the country. In addition, temperature of bearings in
upper and lower supports in all evaluated depithers was systematically controlled,
confi rming that stabilized critical values for these components were never reached.
The lowest vibrations were registered for the S.M. Caribe depither with all values
below 7.1 mm/s which according to ISO Norm 2372 is the maximum permissible
limit for that type of equipment indicating that it can run in continuous operation
without any restrictions.

Technological evaluation
Evaluation for both S.M. Caribe models was performed during two crop sugarcane
seasons at the “Pablo Noriega” experimental sugar mill which supplies moist
depithed bagasse to the “Research and Production Unit of Pulp and Paper from
Sugarcane Bagasse CUBA-9” in Quivican, province of Havana. Quality parameters
of depithed bagasse.
The infl uence of depithed bagasse, on the quality of paper produced at this factory,
In the opinion of the technicians of that Research and Production Unit, it was
achieved a clear and convincing improvement in the quality of paper produced
and their degree of brightness, and a significant decrease in the consumption of
chemicals in the bleaching area, as well.

Depither Plane Vibration Control Points

1 2 3

Hanging rotor with only upper H 3.9 (18.9) (18.9)

support (Kimberly) V 6.0 (25.1) (25.1)
A 5.9 (14.9) (14.9)
H 7.1 6.4 3.7
Rotor with upper and lower supports V 4.7 6.4 3.3
(Pallmann) A 2.2 6.3 3.2
H 3.0 3.7 3.3
Rotor with upper and lower V 6.2 4.4 4.4
supports (S.M. Caribe) A 2.4 3.2 4.6

Results obtained from technological evaluation of the depither S.M. Caribe 1150.

20
Composition of depithed Average value Std Min.value Max.
bagasse % Variance deviation % value%

Fiber 80.4 1.312 1.145 78.3 84.4

pith 8.71 1.316 1.147 6.3 10.8
Fines + Soluble 10.9 2.145 1.464 8.1 13.8

Fibers and pith content

In the conventional analytical method DP-1 (TAPPI modifi ed) of the Cuban
Research Institute of Sugarcane Derivatives (ICIDCA) the depithed bagasse in
aqueous suspension is subjected to the action of a defi - brator TAPPI. The pith is
separated through a set of sieves (sieves No. 5, 12 y 100), the fraction collected on
screens No. 5 and 12 corresponds to the “fiber”, and the “pith” is retained on No.
100. Fines and soluble elements (organic and inorganic) go to the water used in
the analysis, the weight of the fi ber and pith fractions is reported in percentages,
and solubles and fines by the difference. Once the washing operation is finished,
the fibers on sieves 5, 12 and the pith on sieve 100 are collected on small trays
and placed both in the oven at 100-1050C for 24 hours. The sample processing is
performed in quintuplicate (Lois, 1986).

Refining degree of pulp,0SR

The Schopper-Riegler test 0SR quickly provides an idea of the refining degree
relating to the speed of the drainage of the diluted paper suspension. The refining
of pulps is one of the most important stages in the paper production process and
influences strongly the sheet forming and its physical properties. It is important to
have reliable drainability results, since in the evaluation of pulp quality the physical
properties of laboratory sheets are often plotted as a function of drainability.
(0SR) and are often reported at a certain 0SR value (Schopper Riegler-value). the
comparative values of refining degree pulps obtained from depithed fibers of Horkel
and S.M. Caribe depithers are shown. Tests to determine the refi ning degree and
draining velocity of paper fi bers by Schopper-Riegler Method of the 0SR were
made according to standards ISO 5267/1.
This method is applicable to all types of pastes in aqueous suspension, except for
extremely short fiber pastes. The tests were conducted in Schopper-Riegler type
Freeness Tester SR-10 in the specialized Quality Control Laboratory of “Research
and Production Unit of Pulp and Paper from Sugarcane Bagasse CUBA-9” located
at Quivicán in the province of Havana. In total, 90 samples of depithed fi bers of
Horkel and S.M. Caribe depithers, respectively, were processed with an interval of
three hours each.
21
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUBSTRATES
Chemical composition
The chemical composition of sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull is presented. Half
of the chemical composition of sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull is cellulose and
hemicelluloses. Notably lignin content is quite different between sugarcane bagasse
(17.8) and soybean hull (8.4), causing the fungal growth to a certain extent.
Composition of sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull on dry basis

Type Cellulose Hemicellulose Lignin Protein Others

Sugarcane bagasse 30.9% 31.9% 17.8% 2.5% 16.9%
Soybean hull 31.1% 21.9% 8.4% 11.9% 26.7%
Protein content of sugarcane bagasse and soybean were obtained from references
(Jenkins et al.,1998; Ontario minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, 2011)

An important factor in solid-state fermentation is the ratio between carbon and

nitrogen (C/N). The ratio of C/N is most vital for a specific process to obtain desired
products. Sugarcane bagasse has higher cellulosic composition which is ideal for
good growth of fungal cultures and enzyme production. However, its low protein
content (2.5%) and high lignin concentration limit its efficiency of bioconversion
to produce value-added products (El-Sayed et al., 1994). Brijwani et al., (2010)
showed that the protein content of soybean hull (11.9%) is not as high as wheat
bran (16.29%). However, Soybean hull is still a good source of nitrogen compared
with sugarcane bagasse. Mixtures of sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull can,
potentially, improve C/N to present ideal conditions for fungal growth and enzyme
production and this is explored below.

Bed Porosity
As has been defined, SSF involves a discrete solid phase in which microorganisms
grow on the surface of moist particles as well as inside and between them. The
space between particles is occupied by a continuous gas phase. And the size, shape,
and porosity of substrates could affect the gas phase in the SSF. Availability of

22
spaces between particles ensures the accessibility of oxygen for enzyme production
in aerobic fungal growth (Brijwani and Vadlani, 2011).
In order to assess the likely importance of particle size and type on bed porosity,
measurements were made of bulk density and particle density and these were then
used to calculate bed porosity for a range of different particle sizes of sugarcane
bagasse as well as for soy bean hull particles. The results, presented in there is a
substantial difference in the porosity, estimated at dry basis, for different particle
sizes of sugarcane bagasse compared with soybean hull (<2 mm). For sugarcane
bagasse, with the increase of particle size, the porosity raises gradually from 84.2%
to 92.9%. The higher value of porosity means the more open space available between
substrate particles. Notably, the maximum difference of bed porosity between
soybean hull (<2 mm) and sugarcane bagasse (2-1.4 mm) was close to 18%. These
results match those observed in earlier studies that porosity varies depending on
several factors such as fibre bonds, moisture, particle size and aggregation.
shows photographs of sugarcane bagasse under a microscope at 50X magnification.
For the biggest size of sugarcane bagasse (2-1.4 mm), various particle shapes.
Because of the irregularly size particles, particles could not pack the inter-particle
void space and block the open pore for air or water accessibility. Therefore, the void
spaces between particles are larger than for other particle sizes. As for the smallest
one (0.5-0.21 mm), the quality and shape of particles is more homogeneous, causing
the amount of open space to reduce. The findings of the current study are consistent

Type Bulk Dendity (g/mL) Particle Density (g/mL) Porosity (%)

Sugarcane 0.05 0.704 92.9

bagasse
(2-1,4 mm)
Sugarcane 0.049 0.6 91.8
bagasse
(1.4 mm-0.85 mm)
Sugarcane 0.058 0.401 85.5
bagasse
(0.85 mm-0.5 mm)
Sugarcane 0.059 0.375 84.2
bagasse
(0.5 mm-0.21 mm)
Soybean hull 0.435 1.787 75.6
(<2 mm)

23
with those of (Manickam and Suresh, 2011) who showed that the porosity is
decreasing with decreasing particle size for corn pitch.

Sugarcane bagasse at different particle sizes under a USB microscope, 2X

magnification (a) 2-1.4 mm (b) 1.4-0.85 mm (c) 0.85-0.5 mm (d) 0.5-0.21 mm.

Water evaporation
The water evaporation rate of substrates is related to the efficiency of Solid-state
fermentation, especially for the issue of heat and mass transfer during bioprocessing.
One of the major barriers is the difficulty in controlling the water content and
temperature of the bed in large-scale bioreactors.
For investigating evaporation characteristics of sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull,
it could be useful to use dimensionless moisture ratio (MR) to represent evaporation
behaviour.
MR=(M-Me)(Mo-Me) Equation 5-1
Where M is the moisture content of the product, Mo is the initial moisture content
of the product and Me is the equilibrium moisture content.

24
The values of Me are relatively small compared to M and Mo for long drying times
and accordingly one can write:
MR=MM0 Equation 5-2
The non-fermented sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull were dried at 30°C in an
oven, adopting thin-layer thickness of about 10 mm. The initial moisture content of
samples was about 0.75g water per g of dry matter. All samples were put in petri
dishes without lids. Using the moisture ratio to generalize the change of moisture
content is the most common method in drying process. As shown in Figure 5.2, the
moisture ratio versus drying time for sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull at 30°C.
According to the results obtained, the effect of various particle size of sugarcane
bagasse does not cause significant difference of water evaporation.
Moisture ratio (MR)

Time (hr)
The drying curve of sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull
The limitation of mass transport by diffusion plays an important role in solid state
fermentation especially when the substrate has a porous structure. Mass transfer
inside the substrate particle is limited to diffusion and because of consumption of
nutrients by the microorganisms, concentration gradients will go up within the
substrate. Therefore, understanding this characteristic of the substrate is one of the
crucial factors for the design of solid state fermentation. It has been accepted that
the drying characteristics of biological products in the falling rate period can be
described by using Fick’s diffusion equation. Crank (1975) used various regularly
shaped bodies such as rectangular, cylindrical and spherical products, and the
form of Equation 5-3 to apply on particles with slab geometry, as is the case of
the sugarcane bagasse and soybean hull, by assuming uniform initial moisture
distribution (Crank, 1975; M.A. Mazutti et al., 2010).
MR=8/π2 Σ1∞(π=0)1/(2n+1)2exp((2n+1)2 π2 Defft/4L20) Equation 5-3

25
Where Deff is the effective diffusivity (m2 s−1), L0 is the half thickness of slab (m).
For long drying periods, Equation 5-3 can be simplified to retain only the first term
of the series and re-writing to a logarithmic form as follows:
ln(MR)=ln(8π2)−π2Defft4L02 Equation 5-4
Diffusivities are determined by plotting drying data in terms of ln(MR) versus time
in Equation 5-4, providing a straight line with the slope given by:
slope=−π2Deff4L02 Equation 5-5
The values of effective diffusivity (Deff) of sugarcane bagasse with various particle
size and soybean hull are presented. The effective diffusivities for sugarcane bagasse
ranged from 6.82 x 10-11 to 6.36 x 10-11 m2s-1, whereas for soybean hull the value
was 5.21 x 10-11. The effective diffusivities of sugarcane bagasse were, on average,
1.26 times higher than those found for soybean hull. A possible explanation for this
might be that the diffusion rate is proportional to the porosity of the solids, and as
the drying process takes place the structure hinders diffusion, diminishing the values
of Deff.
Sample Effective Diffusivity (m2s-1)
2-1.4 mm of sugarcane bagasse 6.36 x 10-11

1.4-0.85 mm of sugarcane bagasse 6.82 x 10-11

0.85-0.5 mm of sugarcane bagasse 6.59 x 10-11

Soybean hull (<2mm) 5.21 x 10-11

Effect of washing procedure on sugarcane bagasse

Sucrose is the prime constituent of sugarcane juice. Also, a variety of other
carbohydrates is found in mixed juice. (Walford, 1996) reported that the most
common consist of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose (3-6%), and the
dissacharides, sucrose (81-87%). Oligosaccharides and polysaccharides (0.2-0.8%)
may be present depending on the age of the cane when harvested and deterioration
during delays. In sugar processing, the first step is to shred sugarcane to prepared
cane. The cane juice is then extracted from the prepared cane and collected through
a series of solid-liquid separation processes. The residue left after crushing is called
‘bagasse’. Sugarcane bagasse is the fibrous material still containing a significant
amount of sugar. In sugar processing plant, there are five more crushing stages
to extract the remaining sugar from bagasse and the remained residue in the last
extraction stage is called ‘final bagasse’ (Tewari and Malik, 2007). Since the bagasse
in the experiments reported in this thesis was collected from a traditional market,
the sugarcane was extracted through a simple sugarcane extruder. It was necessary,
26
therefore, to explore the influence of the remaining sugar in the bagasse on the solid
state fermentation.
Several researches showed that microorganisms are able to use sucrose from
sugarcane bagasse during solid state fermentation (Kumar et al., 2003; Marcio A.
Mazutti et al., 2010). This study was carried out to investigate the influence of
washing the sugarcane bagasse on the sugar and FAN yield obtained from sequential
solid state fermentation (SSF) and hydrolysis.
The solids (sugarcane bagasse) were either used as non-washed or washed with
distilled water before inoculation of solid state fermentation. The amount of distilled
water used in the washing process was about 1 L per 25 g bagasse (dry basis). The
wash liquid was stored at 4°C for further analysis within 3 days.
After being autoclaved at 121°C for 20 min, 4g of non-washed and washed sugarcane
bagasse were then distributed into each of two 9 cm petri dishes and incubated at
30°C for 120 h. The default culture condition was 65 % moisture content using sterile
mineral salt water, 10% (w/w) of yeast extract supplemented, 106 spores per gram
substrate, and 7-day spores if it was not indicated specially. At the end of solid state
fermentation the contents of all Petri dishes were suspended in pH 4.8 citric buffer.
The suspension was stored in sealed Duran bottles to elevate enzyme activities in the
fermented substrate for hydrolysing the remaining sugarcane bagasse components.
All experiments were carried out with agitation using a shaking incubator at 50°C,
160 rpm for 48 h.
it was noticed that there was nearly no growth of T. longibrachiatum on washed
sugarcane bagasse. Careful visual observation showed that there were some mycelia
formed on the substrate surface, which means that T. longibrachiatum did grow on
it, but with a slow rate. However, when non-washed sugarcane bagasse was used
for substrate (Figure 5.3b), the growth was slightly improved.
SSF using Trichoderma longibrachiatum on (a) washed and (b) non-washed
sugarcane bagasse after 5 days.
The composition analysis of the resulting wash waters showed that reducing sugars,
sucrose and FAN were 0.04, 0.14 and 0.01 g per g of bagasse, respectively. Of the
nutrient compounds monitored, sucrose is retained in the highest concentration.
This means that a large fraction of fermentable sugars remained in the sugarcane
bagasse that could be fed to the solid state fermentation.
It is clear that non-washed sugarcane bagasse led to a higher sugar and FAN yield
after sequential bioprocessing. Data for non-washed process are almost twice as
high as those for washed process. A possible explanation for this result might be
that abundant fermentable sugars were washed from sugarcane bagasse before
inoculation, resulting in insufficient nutrients and poor microbial growth. These

27
findings may help us to understand the effect of remaining sugars in the bagasse
on our sequential bioprocess. A reasonable approach for further experiments is
to choose non-washed bagasse to ensure enough sugars and nitrogen for fungal
growth.

Effect of particle size on sugarcane bagasse

Particle size of the substrate is related to substrate characteristics and system
capacity to interchange with microbial growth and heat and mass transfer during
SSF. Smaller particle size could provide larger surface area for microbial growth
and it is also beneficial for heat transfer and exchange of oxygen and carbon. dioxide
between the air and solid matrix. However, too small particles may lead to substrate
agglomeration, which may interfere with microorganism respiration and then result
in poor cell growth (Pandey et al., 2000; Xin and Geng, 2010).
Three different particle sizes of sugarcane bagasse were carried out following the
method described. the characteristic development of T. longibrachiatum under
different particle sizes of substrates. The spores are spread on the surface and inside
the solid matrix, and hyphae forms a microscopic network (mycelium) inside
the substrate. Varying the growth condition, similar patterns of morphological
development are observed. However, the smaller particles may result in
agglomeration, causing the void space to decrease. Therefore, the development of
fungal growth would be a little different from the others. As shown in the figure, the
aerial hyphae intermeshed on the surface of the substrate densely.

12 800
Reducing sugar
FAN 700
10
600
Reducing sugar (g/L)

8
500
FAN (mg/L)

6 400
300
4
200
2
100
0 0
2-1.4mm 1.4-0.85mm 0.85-0.5mm

28
shows sugar and FAN production from sugarcane bagasse using T. longibrachiatum
under the sequential bioprocessing conditions described. When sequential
bioprocesses were carried out with different particle sizes of bagasse, particle size
of 1.4-0.85 mm supported maximal reducing sugar and FAN (9.4 g/L and 670.7
mg/L). Generally, the particle size not only significantly affects the water holding
capacity of the substrate, but also influences the diffusion of nutrients and the
exogenous metabolic products to and from the microorganisms. According to the
result reported, the porosity of over 1.4 mm particle size (92.9) is quite similar
with the one of 1.4-0.85 mm (91.8). However, larger particle sizes could present
less surface area than smaller one. And it could affect the fungal growth or enzyme
production. In this case, sugarcane bagasse with 1.4-0.85 mm particle size possibly
provided sufficient surface area and aeration to T. longibrachiatum for growth and
enzyme production resulting in increased sugar production.

Influence of nitrogen supplement on SSF

For fungi of the genus Trichoderma, better results of enzyme production in SSF
have been obtained with organic nitrogen sources, such as peptone, yeast extract
or corn-steep liquid, than with inorganic compounds, such as ammonium sulfate or
ammonium nitrate, as the sole nitrogen (Sun et al., 2010).
In the current project, the sugarcane bagasse contains 62.8% of total carbohydrates
and 0.4% of total nitrogen. The abundant amount of carbohydrates in bagasse
could be desirable for filamentous fungi utilisation. The smaller amount of total
nitrogen, 0.4%, on the other hand could not provide a sufficient source of nitrogen
to promote the fungal growth and facilitate enzyme production. A high C/N ratio
could mean that the nitrogen will be consumed before carbon is utilised. In contrast,
a low C/N ratio may provide excess nitrogen which tends to become toxic to some
microorganisms (Mital, 1997). Therefore, it is necessary to know what level of C/N
ratio could benefit nutrients production through T. longibrachiatum. The effect of
different amounts of nitrogen source on sugar and FAN production was tested by
yeast extract. All of the experiments were carried out in an incubator at 30°C for
120h for SSF and then transferred to 50°C for 48h for subsequent hydrolysis.
Carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) is a ratio of the mass of carbon to the mass of nitrogen
in a substance. The carbon content and nitrogen content in the sugarcane bagasse
and yeast extract were based on referred data (Holwerda et al., 2012; Kruesi et al.,
2013).

29
 C/N ratio of mixed-substrates culture medium

Nitrogen added (%, w/w) C/N ratio (g g-1)a

0 107.2

1.5 80.9

4.5 54.3

7.5 40.8

10.5 32.7

15 25.2

a Ratio between carbon in sugarcane bagasse and supplemented nitrogen

It was observed that different amount of yeast extract supplemented has a direct
effect on the growth of T. longibrachiatum on sugarcane bagasse. Fungi did not grow
well in the fermentation with nitrogen added below 7.5% (w/w). It is known that
the C/N ratio is one of the most important factors to balance biomass and products
production. The excess or lack of nitrogen content in the substrate may inhibit fungal
growth and is presumably the reason to hinder enzyme production (Mantovani et
al., 2007). In the solid state fermentative process, even minor variations in the C/N
ratios may result in quite distinct responses from the biological system, since the
local concentrations are greatly superior to those of the submerged fermentation
(Bertolin et al., 2003).That a green surface area appeared in plates where the yeast
extract supplemented is above 7.5% (w/w). In addition, droplets of condensed
water were observed on the internal surface of lids where prolific fungal growth
was observed.
shows that reduction in the dry weight of the substrate is directly related to the
consumption of the nutrients by the extent of fungal growth. Dry weight loss is
increasing in fermentations with nitrogen added contents between 0% and 15%
(w/w). The highest dry weight loss (25% of initial dry weight) was observed in the
fermentation carried out using 15% of nitrogen supplement. The dry weight loss
seems be associated with the fungal growth from visual observation. However, it is
worth mentioning that separation of fungal mycelium from the solid particles of the
substrate was practically impossible, and therefore quantitative analysis of biomass
from the remaining dry fermented substance is very difficult.
30
Values of effective diffusivities obtained with different environmental humidities on
solid state fermentation

Effective Diffusivity
Sample
(m2s-1)

Non-fermented, 35% 1.278 x 10-11

Non-fermented, 75% 4.45 x 10-12

Fermented, 35% 9.02 x 10-12

Fermented, 75% 5.86 x 10-13

For mass and heat transport during heating process, external and internal transport
phenomena can be distinguished. External transport occurs from the particle surface
to the surrounding air and internal transport from the inner to the outer layer of the
particle. The difference of water concentration between the gas and the solid phase,
and the bulk of the air is the driving force for mass transfer (Sun, 2007). When the
water concentration gradient is increased in the gas phase between system (petri
dish) and environment (incubator), the moisture content of substrate can reduce
dramatically due to evaporation of the existing water in the solids through metabolic
heat evolution. It is worthwhile to note that the use of high relative humidity does
not prevent evaporation from occurring within the bed, but it does minimize
evaporation compared to the use of unsaturated air. The reason could be attributed to
the metabolic water production during solid state fermentation, which can maintain
the desired level of moisture content when the minor evaporation effect occurs
under small water concentration difference between system and environment.
As can be seen, which shows petri dishes from above and below, the fungi
development during 3 days of fermentation with high relative humidity (75%)
occurs on both top and bottom surfaces. In addition, droplets of condensed water
were observed on the internal surface of the lid. The low concentration gradient
between environment (incubator) and system (petri dish) could leave abundant
water vapour inside the petri dish, leading to condensation when it reached the lid.
However, in the other experiment with lower relative humidity (35%) lower growth
was observed, with very poor growth on the bottom surface
After 5 days of fermentation it could be seen that fungal growth favoured the high
relative humidity environment. It was noticed that the entire surface of the substrate
was covered with spores and mycelium in the fermentation with higher relative
humidity (75%). In contrast, the lower relative humidity case (35%) showed much
less growth on the same mixed substrate.
31
Despite having been inoculated over entire petri dish, two quite distinct areas on
the surface of the substrate; a green surface covered by the prolific fungal growth
in the centre of the substrate (area 1); and poor development in the outer region
of the medium (area 2). The moisture content of the centre area was measured at
56%, whereas the outer region was only 19%. The moisture content of substrate
in the centre was therefore almost 3 times greater than that found for the outer
region. This visual observation supports the phenomenon observed where the high
moisture gradient between petri dish and incubator led to increased moisture content
reduction of substrate during solid state fermentation.
Further hydrolysis of fermented solids should be also investigated to understand
the effect of humidity level on sequential bioprocessing (SSF and in-situ enzyme
hydrolysis).indicates that the sugar yield was enhanced by increasing environmental
humidity level from 35% to 75%, and maximum reducing sugar production yield
of 263.1 mg/g substrate was obtained when the relative humidity level was 75%.
It is acknowledged that the water activity (aw) of the substrate is a key factor
affecting microbial activity and enzyme production, an optimal moisture level has
to be maintained during solid state fermentation (Molaverdi et al., 2013). Strong
evaporation effect and mass transfer work synergistically to promote water vapour
diffusion from substrate, leading to low moisture level of the substrate to reduce
fungal growth, enzyme activity and substrate deconstruction. However, there is
no significant difference between low humidity level and high humidity level on
FAN production, 13.4 mg/g substrate and 13.8 mg/g substrate, respectively. This
is probably due to the same limited nitrogen source supplied (SB:SH, 6:4) of the
substrate for sequential bioprocessing.

300 20
Reducing sugar 18
Reducing sugar (mg/g substrate)

250 FAN 16
FAN (mg/g substrate)

14
200
12
150 10
8
100 6
4
50
2
0 0
35% 70%
The relative humidity of Incubator

32
In summary, relative humidity is one of the most important aspects of fungi growth
in petri dishes as it has a direct influence on evaporation. A low relative humidity
increases evaporation rate from the moist fermented medium. Depending on the
process, the results obtained in a preliminary test indicated the necessity of a better
control of the medium moisture content by maintaining a high humidity content of
the incubation environment. This measure could provide similar and more reliable
results for comparison with larger scale experiments.

Effect of incubation time on sequential enzyme hydrolysis

During solid state fermentation, enzyme activities and deconstruction level of
substrate are affected by the growth of the microorganism. Therefore, it is crucial to
monitor nutrients production to find the optimal time to terminate the fermentation
to have a proper enzyme complex and accessible substrate for further hydrolysis.
Based on the outcomes of the pervious experiments, the size of sugarcane bagasse
was adjusted to 1.4-0.85 mm and mixed with soybean hull in the ratio of 6:4
(SB:SH). Initial moisture content of substrate was set to 65% (w/w), the relative
humidity in the incubator was fixed to 75% and the fermentations were carried out
at 30°C. The time interval chosen for sampling was every 24 hour
After 1 day of solid state fermentation, further hydrolysis yielded only 5.6 mg
reducing sugar/g solid and 3.9 mg FAN/g solid (Figure 5.24). After 5 days of
incubation, the reducing sugars and FAN, after subsequent hydrolysis, were 226.3
mg/g and 7.7 mg/g respectively. Beyond 5 days of solid state fermentation, sugar
yield started to decrease and further incubation times were markedly affected. It is
believed that sugar production was considered to be associated with cellulase, beta-
glucosidase and hemicellulase activity that degraded cellulose and hemicellulose
remaining after SSF. The decreasing pattern, however, suggests that the synergistic
effect of lignocellulosic enzymes might reach highest level during 5 days of
fermentation and thus hit the highest point of further hydrolysis performance. As
for FAN production, it was a result of the activity of both extracellular protease
released during the fermentation and intracellular protease from autolysis (Wang
et al., 2010). FAN production rose gradually until 5 days of SSF and then reached
a plateau around 7.8 mg/g substrate. This is probably due to the limited nitrogen
content of the substrate and the inhibition of enzymes by the product.

33
 300 10
Reducing sugar 9
Reducing sugar (mg/g substrate) 250 FAN 8

FAN (mg/g substrate)

7
200
6
150 5
4
100 3
2
50
1
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Incubation time of SSF (day)
Effect of SSF incubation time on Sugar and FAN production via sequential bioprocessing
(SSF + hydrolysis)

CLIMATIC REQUIREMENT
Temperature for different critical stages of sugarcane:
The different critical stages are germination, tillering, early growth, active growth
and elongation. Optimum temperature for sprouting (germination) of stem cuttings
is 32° to 38°c. It slows down below 25°, reaches plateau between 30°-34°.
Temperatures above 38° reduce the rate of photosynthesis and increase respiration.
For ripening, however, relatively low temperatures in the range of 12° to 14° are
desirable.

Reduction in yield of sugarcane due to rise in temperature

The sugarcane productivity and juice quality are profoundly influenced by weather
conditions prevailing during the various crop-growth sub-periods. Sugar recovery
is highest when the weather is dry with low humidity; bright sunshine hours, cooler
nights with wide diurnal variations and very little rainfall during ripening period.
These conditions favour high sugar accumulation. The climatic conditions like very
high temperature or very low temperature deteriorate the juice quality and thus
affecting the sugar quality. Favourable climate like warm and humid climate favour
the insect pests and diseases, which cause much damage to the quality and yield of
its juice and finally sucrose contents.

34
Recommendation for cultivation of crop in view of climate change
Abiotic and biotic stresses
In the tropical region, sugarcane gets more or less ideal climatic conditions for its
growth. It is cultivated with better package of practices and higher irrigation levels.
The growing season is long with more equitable and favourable conditions. Floods,
water logging, diseases such as red rot, wilt, smut etc. are the main problems for
sugarcane cultivation in the region. Moisture stress during the early part of the cane
growth mostly during March to June, is an important problem. In the coastal areas,
red rot has become a major threat. Among the pests, early shoot borer, particularly
in the late planted crops, and woolly aphid are considerably serious in this region.
In sub-tropical region, the extreme of climate is the characteristic feature. During
April to June, the weather is very hot and dry and the temperatures are extremely
high. December and January are the very cold months with temperature touching
sub-zero levels in many places. The major portion of the zone
i.e., the North-West zone comprising the areas in Haryana, Punjab and Western U.P.,
has very low temperature in December-January which often causes frost. Because
of extremes of weather, the active sugarcane growth is restricted to 4-5 months
only. In eastern U.P., Bihar and West Bengal, sugarcane suffers due to floods and
water logging during monsoon months. Several pests and diseases, particularly red
rot and top borer and pyrilla are common and serious. The cane yields are lower in
the sub-tropics due to short growing season, moisture stress, more pest and disease
problem, floods and water logging, delayed planting after wheat and very poor
ratoons. The management of these stresses will necessitate the development of
better cultivation and integrated diseases and insect-pests management modules
(Source: Vision-2030-IISR).

Genetic breakthrough for yield improvement from ICAR / SAUs/

International
Organizations: There is no commercially grown transgenic sugarcane. Research
and development of transgenic sugarcane has been identified in: Australia, Argentina,
Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Africa, USA,
Venezuela.

Advance tools to be applied if any like transgenic, genomics etc.

The work on transgenic in sugarcane in India is recently stated at SBI, Coimbatore.
“We have used the molecular technologies in introgression of wild species and
developed sugarcane transgenics,” Dr. V. Nair, Director, SBI, Coimbatore said, and
conceded that cane agriculture faced serious challenges in terms of sustainability.
High cost of production, depleting natural resources, climate change, non-availability
of labour, emerging new pests and diseases have impacted cane productivity and
35
sustainability. He stressed the need for gearing up to meet such challenges – both in
technology as well as policy levels. Voicing concern over static cane productivity,
the Director said, “varietal decline and depletion of soil fertility have resulted in
yield decline”. Further studies conducted in India, Mauritius, South Africa and
Trinidad showed a 30 per cent and more loss in productivity for every two degree
centigrade increase in temperature. Transgenic sugarcane can increase yields,
reduce production costs, improve sugar quality and reduce the environmental impact
of sugarcane cultivation but each transgenic event must be analysed separately,
because the impact (benefit and risk) of each trait will be different. Strong and
reliable regulatory agencies are needed.

Seed Scenario
The normal practice in Sugarcane growing States of country is to use commercial
crop of sugarcane for seed purposes. Sugarcane is vegetatively propagated and
required huge quantity of seed. The accounting of different classes of sugarcane
seed i.e. breeder, foundation and certified are not being maintained by the different
sugarcane growing States therefore the exact quantum of sugarcane certified seed
distributed by different agencies in major sugarcane growing state could not be
assessed and resulted in failure of assessment of SRR in sugarcane. The important
cane seed production advanced technologies areavailable as under:

Tissue Culture
The tissue culture technique in sugarcane can be used for rapid multiplication
of newly developed high yielding, high sugar, disease resistant varieties and
rejuvenation of outstanding varieties under cultivation. The micro propagation
technique used in this technology with the advantages of (i) Production of true
to type plantlets, rapid multiplication (ii) independent of seasonal constraints (iii)
maintaining and improving the productivity of outstanding varieties in the field (iv)
production of disease free planting material from apical meristem. Polythene Bag
Technology means raising of seedlings through budchip/ single bud technique is the
major frontier seed multiplication technique in sugarcane.

36
Table: Prominent sugarcane based cropping system in tropical and subtropical
regions of the country recommended.

Sub tropical Tropical region

Bajra-Sugarcane(pre-seasonal)-Ra-
Paddy- Autumn Sugarcane-ratoon-wheat
toon- wheat
Greengram- Autumn Sugarcane-ra- Paddy-Sugarcane-Ratoon- Finger
toon-wheat millet
Maiz- Autumn Sugarcane-ratoon-wheat Paddy-Sugarcane-Ratoon- Wheat
Kharif Crops-Potato-Spring Sugarcane-ra- Paddy-Sugarcane-Ratoon- gingelly
toon-Wheat Kharif
Crops-Mustard-Spring Sugarcane-ra-
Paddy-Sugarcane-Ratoon- urd.
toon-Wheat
Kharif Crops-Pea/Coriander-Spring Sug- Cotton-Sugarcane-Ratoon–wheat-
arcane-ratoon Wheat
Kharif Crops-Wheat-late Planted Sugar- Sugarcane-Ratoon-Kharif rice-Win-
cane-ratoon- Wheat ter rice.

METHOD OF PLANTING SUGARCANE

Method of planting
Sugarcane can be planted by improved method of planting like, deep furrow, trench
methods, ring pit method and paired row method instead of furrow system.

Resource Conservation Technology in Sugarcane

Application of nitrogen fixing (Azospirillum and Gluconacetobacter) and phosphate
solubilizing (Phosphobacteria) bio-fertilizers were found to reduce the requirement
of chemical fertilizers to the extent of 25%. Reduction in the dose of chemical
fertilizers reduces soil degradation (Source: http://www.sugarcane.res.in). Trash
mulching of dry leaves, drip irrigation for water saving and mechanization through
Ratoon management device (RMD), sugarcane cutter planter, trench opener, power
weeder etc. are successfully using for saving for man power as well as time.

Seeding technologies –seed rate, distance, depth, plant population

Seed rate
Seed rate in sugarcane varies from region to region. Generally higher seed rate are
used in north western India (Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan) because of the lower
germination percent and also adverse climatic condition (very hot weather with
desiccating winds) during tillering phase. A northern region seed rate generally
37
varies from 35,000 three budded setts per hectares while in southern region it range
between 25,000 to 40,000 three budded setts.

Fertilizer management – recommended dose for different ecologies,

micro nutrients, organic manure , application method
An average crop of sugarcane yielding 100 t/ha removes 208kg of N, 53kg of
P, 280kg of K, 30 kg of Sulphur, 3.4kg of iron, 1.2 kg of manganese, 0.6 kg of
copper respectively from the soil. Hence, soil has to be replenished to maintain
the productivity of sugarcane with the said quantities of nutrients.If the soil test
value is below the critical value, apply sulphate form of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn through
soil application and foliar spray (The total concentration of salt should be 0.5%
for young crop and 2.5% for a grown up crop). The recommendation of NPK for
sugarcane crop varies from state to state and varies from region to region. The
recommendation of Nitrogen is from 70-400 kg/ha Phosphorus 27-74 kg/ha and
Potassium 25-141 kg/ha.
The recommended dose of bio-fertilizers for sugarcane crop is 10-12 kg/ha
Acetobector, Azotobector, Azospirillum (or Gluconacetobacter) and PSB are the
major bio fertilizers which are being used in Sugarcane crop.
Water management: application and conservation methods, their water
useefficiency, water requirement of crops, critical stages for irrigation
and probable losses if not applied:
In tropical area, irrigations are to be given once in 7 days during germination phase
(1 –35 days after planting), once in 10 days during tillering phase (36 – 100 days
after planting), again once in 7 days during grand growth phase (101 – 270 days
after planting) and once in 15 days during maturity phase (271 days after planting up
to harvest) adjusting it to the rain fall pattern of the area. About 30 to 40 irrigations
are needed. Whereas in subtropical area about 7-10 irrigations are being given to
the sugarcane crop. Sugarcane is a high water requirement crop. About 250 tonnes
of water is needed to produce one tonne of sugarcane. Methods like alternate furrow
irrigation, drip irrigation and trash mulching could be of use to economize irrigation
water during water scarcity periods. Foliar spraying of a solution containing 2.5%
urea and 2.5% muriate of potash 3 or 4 times at fortnightly intervals during drought
periods would help to reduce the impact of drought on the crop.

Water requirement and applying irrigation at critical stages of

growth
As mentioned earlier, critical stages are those during which sugarcane is affected
severely due to water stress and the loss cannot be restituted by adequate water
supply at later stages. These stages are: sprouting (germination), formative stage

38
or tillering, ripening and initiation of sprouting in ratoons. In case of limited water
availability, one may sustain sugarcane productivity by irrigating at critical stages
of growth. (Sustaining sugarcane productivity under depleting water resources
Weed Management – important weed flora, herbicides recommended with dose
application time, and different methods (mechanical , biological etc.):
In sugarcane weeds have been estimated to cause 12 to 72 % reduction in cane yield
depending upon the severity of infestation. The nature of weed problem in sugarcane
cultivation is quite different from other field crops because of the following reasons:
nnSugarcane is planted with a relatively wider row spacing.

nnThe sugarcane growth is very slow in the initial stages. It takes about 30 –
45 daysto complete germination and another 60-75 days for developing full
canopy cover.

nnThe crop is grown under abundant water and nutrient supply conditions.

nnIn ratoon crop very little preparatory tillage is taken up hence weeds that
have established in the plant crop tend to flourish well.
The major weeds are Sedges- Cyprus rotundus; Grasses-Cynodon dactylon, Sorghum
helepense, Panicum spp, Dactylocternium aegyptium, Broad leaved weeds.

39
 FLOW CHART, BAGASSE, MILK MUD, MOLASSES

PRODUCTION

Raw Clarified
Sugar Sugar
Sugar Sugar
cane Crystals
Juice Juice

Bagasse Mill Mud Molasses

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Result
These objects have been achieved by providing in a process for the production of
paper pulp from sugar mill bagasse which comprises wet bulk storing partially
depithed bagasse,
The objects of the present invention have also been achieved by a preferred sequence
of process steps, the combination of which effects chemical and morphological
benefits leading to unexpectedly and particularly good results obtainable by this
invention. This process comprises one or more, and preferably all, of the fol lowing
steps.
In one product aspect, this invention relates to paper pulp suitable as the sole pulp
furnish for newsprint, obtained from sugar mill bagasse by the above processes.
nnFirst our project members collected the sugarcane bagasse from the market.

nnThen to dry the collected bagasse on the college terrace.

nnThen to crush the bagasse with the bamboo and collected the crushed ba-
gasse.

nnThen we boiled the crushed bagasse on the steel bucket on a boiling tem-
perature.

nnAfter that we grained the bagasse on the mixy but it is not properly grained
and again we repeated the process on the grainder and we got the required
pulp.

nnThen we made a moulded mesh on the paper size and applied the pulp on
the moulded mesh.

nnThen to dry the sample on the college terrace.

nnAfter the sample is dryed well and it is not broken.

nnThen we started the mould work by visting the company and to ask manag-
er rate for one mould.

nnHe is asked one mould rate is 30,000. our project budget is 12,000.

nnSo our project members discuss and to take the decision to make mould on
a white cement.

nnIf we are make the mould on the white cement and dry the mould on the
college terrace.
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nnThen we are make the two types of mould it is egg tray molud and mush-
room tray.

nnAfter the dryed mould is hard and not broken.

nnThen to apply the pulp on the mould and dry on the college terrace.

nnAfter the dryed it is fixed on the mould and not properly come on a mould.

nnThen to apply the oil on the mould and apply the pulp on the mould and
dry on the college terrace.

nnAfter the dryed and it is normally fixed on the mould and it is not come
properly on the mould and it was broken

nnThen we are apply the petroleum gel on the mould and apply the pulp on
the mould and dry on the college terrace.

nnAfter the dryed and it is not fixed on the mould and not broken.

nnAfter that tray was ready.

nnwe the project member made the egg tray and mushroom tray.

nnThat’s also very clearly finishing the egg tray.

nnWe made the egg tray.

nnThen we are prepared for other trays.

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i.

Collected the sugarcane bagasse from the market.

Collected the crushed bagasse.

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ii.

Boiled the crushed bagasse on the bucket

We grained the bagasse on the mixy

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We repeated the process on the grainder

We got the required pulp.

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 But it is not properly grained

We did not got the correct result

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Applied the pulp on the moulded mesh.

But again not able to get correct result

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 Dry the sample

The sample is dryed well and it is not broken.

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The decision to make mould on a white cement

Egg tray molud

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Egg tray

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Mushroom tray molud

Mushroom tray

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 TYPES OF TRAYS
FOOD TRAYS :

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VEGETABLE TRAYS:

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FRUITS TRAYS :

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MUSROOM TRAYS:

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Egg Trays

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