THE SUGAR CANE PROCESS

BY

JEKILYAH GISON

CHEMISTRY

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 01, 2011 MRS. MOTILAL

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.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PG. NO.
1. Sugar Cane 2. The Sugar Process Part 1 - Cane Preparation Part 2 Milling Part 3 Evaporation and Filtration Part 4 Boiling Part 5 - Separation 3. Simple Chart Showing the Process 4. Conclusion 5. Bibliography 4 5

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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 dont like.

SIMPLE CHART SHOWING THE PROCESS

CANE PREPARATION

SEPARATION OF CRYSTALS AND MOLASSES

MILLING

EVAPORATION AND FILTRATION OF CANE JUICE BOILING SUGAR AND MOLASSES BAGGASSE IS COLLECTED POWERS EVAPORATORS

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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