For each 10 tonnes of sugarcane crushed, a sugar factory produces nearly 3 tonnes of wet bagasse. Since bagasse is a by-product of the cane sugar industry, the quantity of production in each country is in line with the quantity of sugarcane produced. The high moisture content of bagasse, typically 40 to 50%, is detrimental to its use as a fuel. In general, bagasse is stored prior to further processing. For electricity production, it is stored under moist conditions, and the mild exothermic reaction that results from the degradation of residual sugars dries the bagasse pile slightly. For paper and pulp production, it is normally stored wet in order to assist in removal of the short pith fibres, which impede the papermaking process, as well as to remove any remaining sugar.
Compost made from mixtures of sugarcane byproducts bagasse and press mud are produced in several countries. In this work experimental results are presented for composting trials in which bagasse was substituted with waste sugarcane in the mixture with press mud. A trial was carried out in large scale windrows mechanically turned. Three mixture piles and one pile for each raw material were processed in 140 days. Substituting cane bagasse as bulking agent for waste whole sugarcane did not introduce significant changes in the composting process which proceeded smoothly.
Sugarcane trash is lengthy one. Handling and heaping the trash will be more cumbersome. It is recommended to shred the waste into small particles. This process reduces the volume of material, increases the surface area of the waste. If the waste material contains more surface area, more microorganisms work effectively on the surface and degradation will be faster. Shredder is the ideal instrument to shred all the sugarcane trash. Chop cutter machine can also be used for this purpose. If no machinery is available manual shredding is recommended. Without shredding the composting process will take long time.
The detrashed material has to be pooled together and transported to the compost yard. If no compost yard is available to farmer, anyone of the corner area in the sugarcane field itself can be used for making composting. There is no necessity to make a pit for composting. Composting can be done above the soil.
There are 6 essential compost ingredients needed:
1) Heat
2) Moisture
3) The correct carbon to nitrogen ratio in the organic material
4) Getting air to the compost heap
5) Insects and micro-organisms
6) Time!
Composting is often likened to baking. That is, you add the ingredients, stir and "bake"and out comes your compost. There are three main ingredients: the activator, the sugarcane residues and the acidified solution. The activator contains cellulolytic fungi such as Trichoderma koningii, T. resii, T. viride, T. harzianum and Phanerochaete chrysosporium. These organisms are cultured in liquid media such as a rice bran decoction, coconut water and slops.
Next, you need sugarcane residues such as cane trash, bagasse and mudpress, wastes and manure. The scientists said that mudpress ranks first in nutrients, however, these nutrients are organically bound which means it needs to be broken down to make it readily available for plant use. This is the work of the fungi in the activator. Manure and green leaves are added to the compost pile since these are rich sources of nitrogen that are needed to promote accelerated growth of the microorganisms.