THE SUGAR CANE

PROCESS

BY

JEKILYAH GISON

CHEMISTRY

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 01, 2011

MRS. MOTILAL

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 INTRODUCTION
The process of extracting sucrose from sugar cane is not very complex, but relates
to all of us as we all use sugar, and the other products of extraction, for our various
needs. This process is the perfect example of the chemical processes needed to
extract something as common as sugar and shows the application of chemistry to
our everyday lives. I hope you enjoy this project and learn from it.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PG. NO.
1. Sugar Cane 4
2. The Sugar Process 5
 Part 1 - Cane Preparation
 Part 2 – Milling
 Part 3 – Evaporation and Filtration
 Part 4 – Boiling
 Part 5 - Separation

3. Simple Chart Showing the Process 9

4. Conclusion 10
5. Bibliography 11

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 SUGAR CANE
Sugar cane is a tall, perennial grass, with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich
in sugar. It can measure from two to six meters tall. It is indigenous to the tropical
regions of South and South-east Asia. Christopher Columbus first brought sugar
cane to the Caribbean during his second voyage, where it quickly became the most
important crop grown in colonial times for many centuries. Today, sugar cane is
still an important part of the economies of several Caribbean islands, including
Barbados, Guyana, Belize, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Jamaica and others. Today, sugar
cane is grown in over 110 countries and some of its products are molasses, rum,
ethanol, bagasse and, of course, sugar.

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 THE SUGAR PROCESS
PART 1: CANE PREPARATION
When the sugar cane enters the factory, it is cut into pieces by rotating knives and
sometimes hammer mills called shredders. This process is critical to good sugar
extraction, especially with the processes of diffusion and extraction within the
sugar process.

PART 2: MILLING
In this process, the juice of the sugar cane is extracted from the sugar cane fibre.
Most factories do this by applying pressure/force by crushing the sugar cane in
mills at least five times. Between the forth and fifth time, hot water or dilute juice
is added to remove as much juice from the cane as possible. It does this by
dissolving the juice from the cells of the cane. The more water that is used, the
more juice that is extracted, but the more dilute the mixed juice is and therefore the
more energy needed to evaporate the juice.

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The remaining cane fibre, called bagasse, is carried away to the boiler room to be
burnt to create steam by boiling water, which gives off enough heat to generate
electricity.

PART 3: EVAPORATION AND FILTRATION

The mixed juice form extraction is pre-heated before liming, a process where the
milk of lime or calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 is added to the juice to hold a required
ratio. It then enters a clarifier or settling tank, where the juice travels very slowly
and the solids settle out. Also, the acids in the juice are neutralized to prevent the
sucrose from turning to glucose and fructose (other forms of sugar).

The mud remaining in the clarifier still contains sugar and so is filtered on rotary
vacuum filters where the residual juice is extracted and the mud is washed,
producing sweet water, which is returned to the process with the juice. The mud is
returned to the fields.

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Then, the juice is placed in steam heated evaporators at low pressure. This is the
best way to get the juice saturated or concentrated. The concentrated sugar liquor
contains 80% sugar content than the juice, which only has 15%. The steam from
one evaporator is used to power another, which conserves energy.

PART 4: BOILING
The concentrated juice is then placed in a large vacuum pan, a large, closed kettle
with steam heated pipes, where it is boiled at low pressure. This causes pure sugar
crystals to form and prevents charring and carmelisation. The crystallization is
repeated several times to get rid of non-sugars. The mixture of the sugar crystals
and sugar liquor or molasses is dropped into a crystallizer, where it cools down and
more crystals continue to grow.

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PART 5: SEPARATION
The mixture is then centrifuged to separate the sugar crystals from the molasses.
The crystals are then dried with hot air before being packaged and used, while the
molasses is used to manufacture rum, alcohol, animal feed and others. The sugar
must be refined before it is used as it gets dirty in storage and has a taste which
most people don’t like.

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SIMPLE CHART SHOWING
THE PROCESS

SEPARATION
CANE OF CRYSTALS
PREPARATION AND
MOLASSES

EVAPORATION
AND
FILTRATION OF
MILLING CANE JUICE
BOILING SUGAR
AND MOLASSES

BAGGASSE POWERS
IS EVAPORA-
COLLECTED TORS

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 CONCLUSION
As you can see, even though extracting sucrose from sugar cane is a long process,
with the right method or the right application of chemical apparatus, the results of
the hard work is truly gratifying as sugar is used to enhance the eating experience
of millions around the world.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.gpt.com.my/process.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane

http://www.sucrose.com/lcane.html

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+sugar+extraction+process&view=detai
l&id=B1BBB9DB77B363F6A75D4E9F0E9BD4ABD0365105&first=1&FORM=I
DFRIR

Lambert, Norman and Mohammed, Marine. Chemistry For CXC. Oxford:

Heinmann, 1993.

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