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Among the by-products originated in the agro-industrial process of sugar cane, bagasse is one of the most relevant (Paturau, 1989). The negative infl uence of signifi cant amount of pith, or parenchymatous tissue, present in sugarcane bagasse is discussed. Since this non-fi brous material does not give any desired properties in the pulp and paper, agglomerated boards and polymer productions, it is remarked the importance of its maximum removal. A brief historical review in the development of bagasse depithers and depithing systems is presented in this paper. Further results in the development of depither, named S.M. Caribe by its author, are described. The mechanical performance of fi rst prototypes was evaluated in a test installation where vibration control values and temperatures in the upper and lower rotor bearings were monitored. For comparison it was made a vibrational analysis of other depithers that were in operation. For the technological evaluation the input capacity, the bagasse fi ber quality obtained and the infl uence on the produced paper quality were controlled during two sugar cane crop seasons, as well. The results obtained were superior of those reached by most of depithers currently available in the market.

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An experimental evaluation was carried out on three bagasse storage piles with the following characteristics: wet baled raw bagasse, wet baled depithed bagasse and pre-dried baled depithed bagasse. In each of these formerly mentioned alternatives, the storage time influence was analyzed on temperature profile, humidity behavior, granulometry and morphology, with and without mechanical treatment, solubility in hot water, NaOH and alcoholbenzene extractives. In the same way, the behavior of brightness in mechanical pulps produced from stored bagasse was studied. Storage losses were calculated for each alternative on the basis of obtained results and it wasdemonstrated that pre-dried bagasse as compared with wet bagasse storage, yields lower losses and better conservation of its characteristics.