Method and apparatus for separating the pith from the fibrous component of sweet sorghum, sugar cane and the like
US4636263A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 3, 1985 |
| Grant date | Jan 13, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 3, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA23N11/00
- WIPO fieldFood chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
An apparatus and process for separating the pith from the bast of sweet sorghum is disclosed. Cut and headed stalks of the plant are arranged as a mat of the required width on a conveyor and are forcibly advanced endwise into a rotating flail having a multiplicity of dull beating or striking elements which catch the advancing stalks against a stationary bar. The output of the process is a hail of small discrete particles of wet sugar-laden pith used in the production of fuel alcohol and elongated strings of fibre which had been the organized structural backbone of the plant. The quite differently sized and shaped products are separated by vibrating screens or elutriation in an air stream.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.