SUGAR- INTRODUCTION

What is Sugar?
Sugar is a broad term applied to a large number of
carbohydrates present in many plants and
characterized by a sweet taste. The primary sugar,
glucose, is a product of photosynthesis and occurs in all
green plants. The sugarcane is a thick, tall, perennial
grass that flourishes in tropical or subtropical regions.

Juices of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and sugar

beet (Beta vulgaris) 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.

Sugar crops include sugar beet, sweet sorghum, sugar

maple, honey, and corn sugar. The types of sugar used
today are white sugar (fully refined sugar), composed
of clear, colourless or crystal fragments; or brown
sugar, which is less fully refined and contains a greater
amount of treacle residue, from which it obtains its
colour.

TO EXTRACT SUCROSE FROM SUGAR

CANE
The extraction of sucrose from sugar cane is an
industrial process which utilises several
separation techniques (such as filtration and
evaporation).
1. SHREDDING
- As cane enters the factory, it is cut by knives on
feeder table into smaller bits, so as to make it easier,
to crush the cane.

2. CRUSHING/MILLING/GRINDING
- Cane is crushed in the mills into smaller bits that
make it efficient for the extraction of juice.
- In this process, water or dilute juice is sprayed onto
the cane to dissolve juice from cells. Rollers then
apply pressure to crush the cane. The cane fibre,
known as bagasse is later burnt to supply fuel for
the boilers. Only about 8%-12% has been extracted
in this process.

3. CLARIFICATION(Which involves the processes of

Neutralisation and Precipitation)

- As dilute juice/ water the cane juice is acidic. Slaked

lime, Ca(OH)- Calcium Hydroxide is added into the
settling tank to:
Neutralise acids (to raise pH level), thus
preventing inversion of sucrose to glucose and
fructose.
Precipitate impurities in the form of insoluble
calcium salts and drive off excess water in the
juice from heating.
4. FILTRATION (ON A LARGE SCALE)
- The precipitated solid materials, like muddy
impurites, are removed via washing to extract all
sucrose. The mud is returned to the fields. The
clear/clarified juice passes to the first of several
evaporators/boilers.

5. BOILING
- Boiling is a special case of evaporation which is done
at reduced pressures. The concentrated juice is
evaporated under reduced pressures to prevent
charring and caramelisation. In several evaporators
(concentration by heating changes -steam from first
evaporator is used to heat second and so on).
- Boiling the concentrated juice makes the sugar
crystals separate.

6. CRYSTALLISATION ( at low pressure)

- The thick syrup is supersaturated. Pure sugar crystals
are added to aid in the formation of sugar crystals.

- There is, further a boiling process, in a vacuum pan

during crystallisation.

7. CENTRIFUGATION
- The mixture from the crystalliser sugar crystals and
molasses is spun at high speeds in a centrifuge to
separate raw brown sugar from molasses.
- Molasses is returned for further crystallisation (used
in the manufacture of rum and alcohol, manufacture
of animal feed, and other uses).
Note: Brown sugar is the raw sugar crystals here. This
still unrefined sugar is transported to the local market
or exported. Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar
because it still has lots of its sugar content inside.
To further refine this sugar, the following steps are
taken:

Question 2: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO USE A SERIES OF

EVAPORATORS IN THE EXTRACTION PROCESS?
The concentrated juice is evaporated under reduced
pressures to prevent charring and caramelisation.
Boiling the concentrated juice makes the sugar crystals
separate.

REFERENCES
Websites:
1. http://www.madehow.com/Volume1/Sugar.html#ixzz2fWEJX867
2. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_separation_techniqu
es_are_used_to_separate_sucrose_from_sugar_cane
3. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/571880/s
ugar
4. http://www.hyfoma.com/en/content/processingtechnology/separation-techniques/extraction/
5. http://www.sugar.ca/english/consumers/sugarfromfiel
d.cfm
6. http://www.sugar.ca/english/images/consumers/sugar
totable/process.gif

Books:
Chemistry
A concise Revision Course for CXC by ANNE TINDALE
Longman Chemistry for CXC by Jim Clark and Ray
Oliver
Heineman Chemistry for CSEC by Cheryl Remy,
Louise Maison, Norman Lambert and Marine
Mohammed