SUGAR and STARCH

There are those who contend that agriculture should only be concerned with the
production of food, feed, and fiber. CertainlY, we must rely on agriculture to feed the
people of the world, and through continued improvement in agricultural technology, to
continue to provide adequate food for the world's growing population.

Sugars are a major form of carbohydrates and are found probably in all green plants.
They occur in significant amounts in most fruits and vegetables. There are three main
simple sugars sucrose, fructose and glucose. Sucrose is in fact a combination of
fructose and glucose and the body quickly breaks down into these separate substances.

Plants have their own way of 'bottling' energy. They do this by storing energy as starch.
Starch​ is long chains of sugar molecules linked together like a chain. A single sugar
molecule is a ​monosaccharide​.
Many sugar molecules linked together is a ​polysaccharide​. Starch, therefore, is a
polysaccharide.
Specifically, starch is composed of the sugar ​glucose​. Glucose is a sugar molecule
made up of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen

The primary sugar, glucose, is a product of ​photosynthesis​ and occurs in all green
plants. In most plants, the sugars occur as a mixture that cannot readily be separated
into the components. In the sap of some plants, the sugar mixtures are condensed into
syrup. Juices of sugarcane and sugar beet are rich in pure ​sucrose​, although ​beet sugar
is generally much less sweet than cane sugar. These two sugar crops are the main
sources of commercial sucrose.
The sugarcane is a thick, tall, perennial grass that flourishes in tropical or subtropical
regions. Sugar synthesized in the leaves is used as a source of energy for growth or is
sent to the stalks for storage. It is the sweet sap in the stalks that is the source of sugar
as we know it. The sugar beet is a beetroot variety with the highest sugar content, for
which it is specifically cultivated. While typically white both inside and out, some beet
varieties have black or yellow skins.
Other sugar crops include sweet sorghum, sugar maple, honey, and corn sugar. The
types of sugar used today are white sugar (fully refined sugar), composed of clear,
colorless or crystal fragments; or brown sugar, which is less fully refined and contains a
greater amount of treacle residue, from which it obtains its color.
Harvesting of both cane and sugar beet is done primarily by machine, although in some
states it is also done by hand. The harvested cane stalks and beets are loaded
mechanically into trucks or railroad cars and taken to mills for processing into raw
sugar. Once there, they are cleaned, washed, milled to extract juice, filtered, and
purified. The result is a clear, sugar-filled juice.
Starch is manufactured by green plants during the process of photosynthesis. It forms
part of the cell walls in plants, constitutes part of rigid plant fibres, and serves as a kind
of energy storage for plants, because its oxidation to carbon dioxide and water releases
energy.

Mill sanitation is an important factor in quality control measures. Bacteriologists have

shown that a small amount of sour bagasse can infect the whole stream of warm juice
flowing over it. Modern mills have self-cleaning troughs with a slope designed in such a
way that bagasse does not hold up but flows out with the juice stream. Strict measures
are taken for insect and pest controls.

Because cane spoils relatively quickly, great steps have been taken to automate the
methods of transportation and get the cane to the mills as quickly as possible.
Maintaining the high quality of the end-product means storing brown and yellow refined
sugars (which contain two percent to five percent moisture) in a cool and relatively moist
atmosphere, so that they continue to retain their moisture and do not become hard.

Starch tubers contains 70-80% juice with a valuable content of nutrients, which maybe
utilized as a substitute to artificial fertilizers.
In Denmark landspreading is practiced both by road tankers and distributed by pipeline
to
near by farmers for landspreading.
One pipeline method uses a flexible tube and another uses aluminium pipes. The
flexible tube is wound round a drum slowly pulling the distant nozzles home before the
system is moved.

Sugar​ increases the ​risk​ of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. While we all like to
indulge once in a while, foods that quickly affect blood ​sugar​ contribute to a greater ​risk
of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

If your body does not need all the glucose from the starches you eat, excess is stored
as glycogen in your liver and muscles and the remaining is converted to fat to store all
around your body. The starches in your diet could be worsening your health. Keep an
eye on both your starch and sugar intake to keep your blood sugar levels under control.

WATERTREATMENT

Wastewater treatment​, also called ​sewage treatment​, the removal of impurities from
wastewater, or sewage, before they reach ​aquifers​ or natural bodies of water such as
rivers​, ​lakes​, ​estuaries​, and ​oceans​. Since pure water is not found in nature (i.e.,
outside chemical laboratories), any distinction between clean water and polluted water
depends on the type and concentration of impurities found in the water as well as on its
intended use.

Water is a chemical compound needed by most plants and animals on Earth in order to
sustain life. Pure water is a tasteless, odorless, transparent liquid. In small amounts it is
colorless, but it takes on a bluish tint in larger amounts. Water is an excellent solvent
and as a result it usually contains a wide variety of dissolved minerals and other
chemicals.

In the process of treating water for use in a municipal system, several chemicals may be
added. These include disinfectants like chlorine, chloramine, or ozone; coagulantants
like aluminum sulfate, ferric chloride, and various organic polymers; acidity neutralizers
like caustic soda or lime; and chemicals to help prevent ​tooth decay​ in the form of
various fluoride compounds.

The specific water treatment process depends on the intended application. Some water,
such the water used to irrigate crops, receives no treatment. Other water, such as the
water used to make pharmaceuticals, is highly purified.

The federal and state water quality standards set maximum contamination levels for
more than 90 organic, inorganic, microbiological, and ​radioactive materials​ that may be
found in water. These standards are further divided into primary standards, which cover
materials that may be harmful to humans, and secondary standards, which cover
materials and properties that may affect aesthetic qualities such as taste, odor, and
appearance. A typical water district may perform more than 50,000 chemical and
bacteriological analyses of the water supply each year to ensure the standards are
being met.
Work in sewage water plants can involve exposure to different types of microorganisms
and chemicals. The bacterial exposure is dominated by bacteria that naturally occur in
nature. However, different bacteria and viruses that give rise to infections can be
present in this environment and thus there exists a risk of infection, especially of
hepatitis A. Investigations suggest that gastrointestinal tract symptoms are more
common among employees at sewage treatment plants than among controls.

Exposure to potentially high level of airborne bacteria, fungi, & endotoxins.

Exposure to toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide & methane. Noise pollution. Exposure
to corrosive chemicals such as chlorine gas,ozone.