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US 7,910,341 B1Granted
Process for harvesting and processing sugar-producing crops
OwnerLee F. McCluneinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Present-day harvest methods for sweet sorghum are labor intensive, and/or require that large quantities of matter be removed to a central location for processing. A field harvesting process for harvesting and further processing sweet sorghum includes cutting the crop and reducing it to its separated juice and solids in the field. The juice is stored and fermented on the farm, followed by distillation by a mobile distillation process to separate the valuable alcohol from the stillage.
Claims8
A method for harvesting a sweet sorghum crop with a mobile field harvester, the method comprising:
- (a) cutting the sweet sorghum crop near a base of said sweet sorghum crop;
- (b) feeding the sweet sorghum crop into the mobile field harvester;
- (c) extracting juices from a solid component of the sweet sorghum crop in a roller press within the mobile field harvester;
- (d) transferring the juices to a storage tank, which is on board the mobile field harvester or trails behind the mobile field harvester or is maintained to one side of the mobile field harvester during operation of the mobile field harvester;
- (e) transferring the juices from the storage tank to a fermentation tank;
- (f) adding yeast type agents to the fermentation tank to create fermented juices;
- (g) moving a mobile distillation unit that is mounted on wheels to a location adjacent the fermentation tank;
- and
- (h) transferring the fermented juices to the mobile distillation unit.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.