The analysis of ethanol in shredder gases.

It has been established that post harvest deterioration of burnt cane results in the formation of ethanol. In South Africa the ethanol content of cane, as sampled through the Direct Analysis of Cane (DAC), is measured at factories. A procedure involving the continuous sampling and automated analysis of shredder gases is proposed in this short communication. Preliminary results show that the method can estimate the ethanol concentrations in cane consignments, but that the presence of moisture in the gases causes problems. Procedures to clean the gases are required.