Due to the seasonal character of sugar industry,
large amounts of bagasse should be stored for the
operation of the plants during the off-season
periods. Temperature rises in the stored bagasse
and workmen often suffer from “bagassosis”, an
allergy response that may occur in susceptible
individuals to the presence of bacterial spores
(Thermoactinomyces sacchari) that can develop in
stored bagasse. The allergic response affects the
lungs and may cause breathing difficulties.
Furthermore, the quality of products manufactured
from rotten bagasse is diminished (Schmidt and
Walter, 1978). Other organisms are cellulolytic and
cause fiber deterioration of the bagasse stored
(Rivacoba and Lois, 1982). Heating and
contamination could be much decreased either by
drying to about 25% water content, which halves
the spore content after storage, mostly at the
expense of the Actinomycetes, or by adding 2% by
weight of the propionic acid, which decreases the
spore content to 4 × 106 spores/g or less, even
after 18 months storage (Lacey, 2008).