Harvesting System Design and Performance - Engineering and Science of Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision - page 119

Continuous Loader . This machine has wide chain elevators that pick up the windrow
andconveythecanestoachoppingdevicewhichcutsthecaneinto40-50 cmbil-
lets.Thebilletsareloadedintoafollowingtrailer.Thecapacityisabout200 th −1
but losses are high.

5.4.3.3 Transport and Delivery of Whole Cane

Caneistransportedbyagriculturaltractorsandtrailersovershortdistances(upto
10 km) andby high-capacity(70 m 3 ) road trailers or articulated lorries (trailer
trucks) for long distances. Some sugar factories transport cane by rail, with sidings
wherecaneispickedupfromcollectionpointsontheedgeoftheields.Cane
weighing and sampling at the receiving stations is an integral part of the system.
Chainedbundlesareunloadedbyasuitablecraneonatravelinggantry.Wholecane
can be tipped from the side or rear of the trucks. In addition, agricultural trailers
(wagons) can be elevated and then emptied into a bigger trailer. The cane is picked
up at the factory again by a loader or a stacker and thrown on to the feed table,
which conveys the cane to the crusher.

5.4.3.4 Harvest of Chopped Cane

A chopper-harvester cuts the cane at the base, chops the cane into billets of
20-40cmsize,andloadsthebilletsintoafollowingwagon.Figure 5.34 shows a
schematic of functional components of a chopper-harvester. A topper removes the
green cane tops, and extractor fans remove the trash. Feed rolls convey the cut cane to
the chopping unit, and billets are conveyed by an elevator. A chopper-harvester is dis-
tinguished by the location of where it chops the cane. It is called a bottom chopping
type when it chops the cane immediately after base cutting. This type consumes less
power, but the chopping blades are exposed to rocks. A second type chops the cane
after conveying it through the machine and is called a top chopping type. It consumes
more power but eliminates potential damage by rocks.
The wagons typically transfer the chopped billets into a truck trailer with crates
fabricated with plain or steel-mesh walls (Fig. 5.35 ). The capacity of trailers varies
from6to14tonsofchoppedcane.Highertonnageispossibleinlatterrains,similar
to“canetrains”inAustraliathatcarryover100tons.Atthefactory,thetrailerstip
their load into the receiving hoppers. An elevator empties the billets on to the main
conveyor table for feeding to the crusher.

5.4.3.5 Sorghum Harvesting

Sorghum can be harvested green similar to corn silage using forage choppers or har-
vested dry similar to hay by mowing-conditioning, field drying, and baling. Mower-
conditioner capacity is affected by harvest time (Table 5.5 ) and also lodging direction