Section 2 - Sugar Research and Development Corporation

54
REGIONAL FUTURES
Additionally, this project has opened new
fi elds in soil ecological research in sugarcane
agro-ecosystems. The development of novel
approaches for monitoring soil microbial gene
expression, enabled with cutting-edge gene
sequencing technologies and microcosm-based
research, will provide insights into the complexity
of microbial responses to management options
and environmental conditions, and facilitate
more detailed understanding of microbe-nutrient
relations and other soil biological interactions
that are needed to improve future environmental
sustainability and soil health (UQ043).
Regional futures
Key
Performance
Indicator
Enhanced processes and product
range in the transport, milling
and marketing sectors
Measure Implementation of more
productive and cost-effective
transport, milling and marketing
systems in harmony with the
environment and societal
expectations.
Restoring Effi ciency to Harvested Cane
Transport in New South Wales
At the beginning of the 2007 harvesting season
no harvester operator in New South Wales could
consistently load 23.5 tonnes of low and varying
bulk density whole of crop material into the
new, low weight aluminium multilift 90m3 bins.
This necessitated more trips to the mill, which
signifi cantly lowered transport effi ciency and
increased the cost of fuel to the cogeneration
plant.
The researchers investigated ways to compact,
rather than compress, the whole of crop material
into the bins and increase the bulk density of the
material during loading
The pronged rake aligner achieved 23.26 tonnes
net, but was too labour intensive and slow for
a commercial harvesting operation on a medium
to high daily quota. A frame levelling attachment
SRDC Annual Report 2010–2011
achieved a net average of 19.87 tonnes. The
lugged roller particle aligner, and vacuum
compression trials were cut short when whole
of crop harvesting stopped and did not produce
suffi cient data for a meaningful conclusion.
However, this project did produce knowledge
to assist further research; constructed a machine
to increase the bulk density of whole of cane
in bulk bins; built capacity within the Richmond
River cane industry to develop processes and
technology, and established baseline fi gures
to assess the success of this and other projects
to restore transport effi ciencies at Broadwater
(LEV001).
Scale formation and removal at Tully Mill
Improving the understanding and management
of scale formation and removal in the Tully
evaporator station will result in an improved
factory effective crushing rates by a reduction
in lost crushing time and the identifi cation
of effective chemical cleaning and clarifi cation
procedures.
A Heat Transfer Coeffi cient monitoring system
has been developed specifi c to Tully Mill together
with the development of alternative clarifi cation
practices. Trials with a one-step chemical
cleaning formulation for scale removal at
Tully Mill have been inconclusive (TSL001).