Integrated process for preparing and firing bagasse and the like for steam power generation

Claim 1

An integrated method for preparing and suspension firing bagasse and bagassillo as a primary fuel for heating and steam power generation in a sugar cane refinery which produces bagasse and bagassillo as a wet by-product which comprises the repetitive substantially continuous sequential steps of: mixing the wet by-product with de-ashed hot flue gases of a bagasse fired suspension burner, thereby driving it and reducing the temperature of the drying flue gases; separating the by-product dried thereby from the drying flue gases in a primary cyclone collector and directing the flue gases emitted from said primary cyclone collector through a secondary cyclone collector to capture substantially all suspended particulate material preventing its exhaustion into the atmosphere; thereafter sizing the dried by-product, directing by-product fines up to a maximum pre-selected size to temporary substantially enclosed storage while regrinding and resizing oversized by-product; thereafter metering out, spacing and pneumatically suspending the by-product fines, for providing a smooth-flowing suspended fuel-air mixture; thereafter controllably firing the suspended mixture in a suspension type furnace burner to produce a relatively high temperature heat output and a combustion effluent characterized by substantially complete combustion; thereafter directing the combustion effluent through a cyclone collector to extract substantially all ash from the hot flue gases of the burner; and thereafter utilizing the resultant flue gases for subsequent drying of further wet by-product.