By Atherton, PG; Dow, JC; Mathew, PJ; Noble, AG; Ridge, DR
Soil is acknowledged to be the worst form of extraneous matter, causing severe wear in harvesting and milling equipment, making juice clarification more difficult, increasing losses of pol to mud, and in severe cases, adversely affecting sugar quality. BSES, by referral from Tully Mill, became aware of a technique used by CSIRO to determine the ash content of coal by measuring the natural radiation from elements of soil such as potassium, uranium and thorium. After some preliminary work with CSIRO, a collaborative program, partially funded by the Sugar Research Council (SRC), was commenced in 1989.