The Sugar Mill: History and Evolution Part 8: Eugene Powell’s and G. H. Laub’s Innovations

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Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is a perennial grass of the family Poaceae. It is primarily cultivated for its juice, from which alcohol (through fermentation and distillation) and sugar (through dehydration and refining) can be obtained. Most of the world’s sugarcane is grown in subtropical and tropical areas.

It is commonly accepted today that sugarcane originated in Papua, New Guinea, where it was initially domesticated. The plant was then taken to other lands by traders, where its sweet virtues quickly made it a sought-after commodity.

It is also commonly accepted that around 10,000 years ago, the original inhabitants of Papua did not have tools to process the cane, meaning that they likely chewed it raw to extract the juice, which was consumed as- is (Noël Deerr, The History of Sugar: Volume One).

Not much written history exists that documents the early extraction of the juice for the purpose of dehydration and formation of sugar crystals until the publication of De Materia Medica, a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them, which was written between the years 50 and 70 of the current era by Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the Roman army. This is the oldest record documenting the existence of crystalized sugar, which was used at the time to “treat indigestion and stomach ailments.”

How did people manage to extract the dissolved sugar from the juice? The answers to this question are at the core of this series. so join us, as we explore this fascinating topic!

                 The Sugar Mill: History and Evolution

   Part 8: Eugene Powell’s and G. H. Laub’s Innovations

In Part 7 of this series, we explored the Vertical Hydraulic Press, as invented and patented by C. H. Dickinson, a sugarcane plantation owner from Bayou Grosse-tete, in Rosedale, Louisiana (USA).  While noteworthy, his invention from 1873 was not the first attempt by Americans to improve the sugarcane processing methods of their times.

One way to quantify the sense of urgency behind these innovations is to study the US Patent Office records for sugarcane-related patents issued (see a few examples on page 40).  The quantity and diversity of these patents give us a glimpse into the complexity of the problem and the attractive financial rewards for those able to solve them efficiently.

Between the years of 1790 and 1873, there were over one hundred sugarcane-related patents granted in the USA alone!

In this installment we will explore two of these earlier patents, accompanied by the respective illustrations, as submitted to the US Patent Office.

Eugene Powell 

On April 10th, 1860, Eugene Powell, from Conneautville, Pennsylvania, received US patent number 20,830 for a mill that featured five small rollers that rotated around a larger, central roller.  Each of the five smaller rollers was positioned slightly closer to the central roller than the previous one, allowing for additional pressure to be exerted on the sugarcane (see illustration on page 41).

G. H. Laub

On December 15th, 1863, G. H. Laub, from Macomb, Illinois, received U.S. patent number 40,938 for his concentrical crushing roller.  It consisted of a small roller gear that rotated around a larger one (see illustration on the left).

These are just two of the numerous sugarcane-related patents granted in the late 1700s and 1800s, all relying on the current understanding of physics and engineering, and all using the available materials of the time.

Truly revolutionary innovations, however, would take a bit longer to be developed.