THE PRODUCTION OF BEET-SUGAR. 



209 



slices increasingly rich in juice, and acquiring density in its prog- 

 ress. Before entering the last cylinder the solution is heated, 

 and the richly charged fluid is sent forward to the carbonation 

 tanks. This process of saturation consists in the treatment of the 

 diffusion juices with lime and carbonic acid, whereby the non- 

 saccharine substances are precipitated and partly decomposed, 



Fig. 8.— Vacuum Strike-Pan, Vertical Section (Maumene). 



the sugar remaining unaltered in solution. These foreign or non- 

 saccharine substances, which are present in the juice in consider- 

 able proportions, would interfere with the crystallization of the 

 sugar. 



The carbonic-acid gas is generated in a lime-kiln, Fig. 7, which 

 consists of a hollow circular chamber of incombustible material 

 provided with furnaces and delivery apertures, and is generally 

 placed in the open air in the factory yard. The lime and carbonic- 



