THE SUGAR PRODUCTION PROCESS

INTRODUCTION

The sugar crop in has evolved considerably during the last decades, and its course was
marked by predominant agricultural indicators. Some market requirements joined this
course along the way as did the need to satisfy the energy as well as the biofuel sectors.
From an industrial perspective, it is important to mention that some of the results sought
in the field brought about effects in the sugar mills that explain much of the final results
and that are worth highlighting. Changes that oriented the vivid operation during the last
30 years in the industrial areas were observed. The main processes in which these changes
took place were: Preparation, milling, sucrose recovery, and energy co-generation

The theoretical and descriptive fundamentals of the process and subprocesses that
intervene in the production of sugar are approached in this chapter; the production of the
different sugar qualities found in the local and the international market is covered: raw
sugar, sulphite-whited or white sugar and refined sugar.

Some aspects of the preparation and milling are also described, as the first stages of the
sugar production process; in which the harvested sugarcane is transformed into smaller
pieces, so as to expose the fibers, making the extraction of the juice as efficient as possible.
These processes have evolved technologically, therefore time losses have been reduced,
milling capacity has been increased, and the extraction of sucrose has improved.
Regarding the preparation and milling of the sugarcane, a brief timeline of the main
changes that have left a mark in the development of the Guatemalan Sugar Agribusiness,
is also presented.

SUGARCANE COMPOSITION

It is important to know the main components of sugarcane, even if only on general terms.
For some cases, the characteristics, properties, and interactions of those components are
also known which have a significant effect during development of the process and the
quality of the final products.

The ranges of the percent content for the main components of sugar are presented in Table
1.

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Table 1. Chemical composition average (%) of the stalks and juices of sugarcane

Chemical constituents in the stalks Percentage*

Water 73 – 76
Solids 24 – 27
- Soluble solids (brix) 10 – 16
- Fibre (dry) 11 – 16
In the soluble solids of the juice
Sugars 75 – 92
- Saccharose 70 – 88
- Glucose 2–4
- Fructose 2–4
Salts
- Inorganic 3.0 -3.4
- Organic 1.5 -4.5
Organic acids 1.0 - 3.0
Other non-sugar organics
- Proteins 0.5 - 0.6
- Starches 0.001 - 0.050
- Gums 0.3 - 0.6
- Fats, waxes, etc. 0.15 - 0.50
- Phenolic compounds 0.10 - 0.80

*In the stalks, the percentage refers to the sugarcane plant, whereas in the juice it refers to
the soluble solids.
Source: Chen, C. P. (1991),

Chemistry of Saccharose (inversion, pol, purity, and reducing sugars)

The main component of interest in sugarcane is sucrose. It is a disaccharide that results

from the chemical bond between two monosaccharides: glucose and fructose (both hexose
or sugars with six carbon atoms). The schematic chemical structures from the
monosaccharides involved in the chemical reaction and the disaccharide formed, are
shown in Figure 3. This reaction constitutes a biosynthesis performed by the sugarcane’s
own metabolism during its growth and maturity process.

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 .
Figure 3. Schematic structures and chemical reaction between glucose and fructose for
the formation of saccharose (Source:
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htm)
Sugars have optical activity, its acquous solutions divert (they rotate) the polarized
monochromatic light due to the asymmetry of several of its carbon atoms (quiral carbons).
Saccharose has an accentuated dextrorotary optical activity (it diverts or rotates polarized
light to the right). When the units of glucose and fructose separate due to acid hydrolysis
or enzymatic hydrolysis, the resulting mixture is notoriously levorotatory (diverts or
rotates polarized light to the left). Therefore, when saccharose hydrolyses, the optical
activity of the solution tends to reverse its rotation, from dextrorotatory at the beginning
of the hydrolysis to levorotatory toward the end of they hydrolysis. It is due to this fact
that in the sugar argot, the separation of saccharose into fructose and glucose is known as
saccharose “inversion”; thus, the separated monosaccharides are known as inverted sugars,
even though from a strictly chemical standpoint, it is an erroneous statement.

Taking advantage of the optical activity of saccharose, its approximate percentual

concentration is measured through the analytical technique known as polarimetry. The
saccharose concentration in sugary materials (juices, syrups, mascuites, bagasse, etc.)
determined by polarimetry is called polarization or “pol”. Another important property for
sugary materials is the percentual concentration of soluble solids. This concentration is
determined with a certain approximation from the measurement of brix degrees ( °Brix )
and is simply called “brix”. The brix can be determined by using brix hydrometers
(hydrometric brix) or by using refractometers (refractometric brix). From the percentual
relation between pol and brix (pol x 100/brix), another important property of sugary
materials is obtained. It is known as apparent purity, polarimetric purity or simply

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“purity”. Throughout this chapter, reference will be made to the brix, pol and purity terms
as has been explained in this section.

Glucose and fructose are also classified as reducing sugars, due to the fact that its carbon
group is available (be it in its open structure and/or that in its cycled structure its carbon
group is free or forming a hemiacetal) this availability refers to the fact that it can react
and reduce the copper cation (Cu2+) to copper in an oxidation state +I forming copper oxide
(Cu2O); on the other hand, with saccharose the carbon groups are blocked (the carbon
groups are in acetal form), and are not available to react with the copper ion (Cu2+). The
reaction between reducing sugars and the copper ion is called the Fehling reaction (see
Figure 1). There are very low concentrations of other reducing sugars in sugary materials
(which also react with the Fehling reactor) but its content is insignificant compared to the
glucose and fructose content. To determine the glucose and fructose content (to a specific
degree) in sugary materials, the Fehling method is applied by titration . From here on, and
in accordance to the sugar industry argot, when mentioning reducing sugars or RS, it will
be in reference to glucose and fructose.

Reducing sugars, “RS” do not cristalize, therefore if the purity of the juice
(pol/brix relationship) going into the mill is low, then this will be a preliminary
indicator of a major presence of RS in the material. This will also mean a
higher volume of syrups to be handled, more recirculation, and in consequence,
more difficulty saccharose recovery.

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Figure 1. Fehling reaction

Pigments and Color Precursors

The pigments present in sugarcane are attributed to phenols and polyphenols (among them,
flavonoids). Proteins also act as color precursors. Their primary amino groups (RNH2)
react with the glucose (non-enzymatic glication) to develop a series of complex reactions
(Maillard reaction). These, in turn, generate a brownish appearance in the crystal and in
the third massecuites.

Polymerized Sugars

Polymerized sugars are more or less long chains generated by the bonding of many units
of monosaccharides. Starch is a polymer made up of straight chains of glucose joined
together consecutively in positions 1-4; it is synthesized by the plant itself and its content
will depend on various agricultural aspects of the crop; starch can appear in the finished
product and is troublesome for industrial applications, especially in beverage factories,
because it gives products an undesireable appearance.

Dextrans are polymers that negatively affect the process. They are made up of straight
chains of glucose joined together in positions 1-6 that ramify into eventual bonds at 1-3.
In considerable concentrations, they add viscosity to the material and this, in turn, causes
problems during crystallization, centrifuging and in the quality of the finished product.
Dextrans are not synthesized within the sugarcane in the field; they are brought about by
the microbian action after the plant is cut and throughout all of the agroindustrial process.
The generation of dextrans can be prevented with a series of good practices such as: a
reduction in the time between the burning of the crop and its entry to the mill, and adequate
handling of the sugarcane in the receiving yard, sanitizing of the grinding mills and at
critical points throughout the process.

RECEPTION AND HANDLING OF THE SUGARCANE IN THE RECEIVING

YARD

The industrial process begins when the sugarcane is received in the yard. We can identify
two sub-processes that intervene here:

a) Weighing: The gross weight of the transportation unit is determined here (weight of the
truck and of the hauling bins that contain the sugarcane) to which the tare weight of the
truck and the empty bin is subtracted.

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b) Sampling and analysis: The frequency and the units that must go to the sampling area
of the sugarcane laboratory are determined and set in the scale program according to the
size of the “pante” from which it comes (pante or plot of land: Area of reference into
which sugarcane plantations are subdivided; it varies in size, generally between 10 and
20 hectares). Samples are taken from the selected units with a device called Core
Sampler. These devices are supplied with a revolving probe with a crown tip. The probe
is located in a horizontal-transversal or oblique-longitudinal position with respect to the
haul. The laboratory does the required analysis on the sample so as to determine the
quality of the entering sugarcane.

Figure 2. Core Sampler diagram with oblique-longitudinal probe (Source: Chen, J. C. P.

1991. Sugarcane manual).

A report is then issued with weight at quality data collected on the sugarcane samples, as
well as the industrial yield data (pounds of sugar produced / tons of milled sugarcane). The
sugarcane suppliers (producers) are payed based on this report. Provisions are made in the
form of rewards and/or penalties for each of the supplying plantations.

After the weighing and sampling of the sugarcane in the transportation units, the handling
of the cane in the receiving yard begins. Improvement in harvesting, lifting and
transportation logistics, as well as in the industrial process (less time losses and more
continuity in the milling and sugar producing process) have made the handling of the
sugarcane in the receiving yard evolve. This has also contributed to a decrease in the
deterioration of the sugarcane (less hydrolisis of saccharose) due to the significant decrease
in the time between the burning/crop and the milling of the sugarcane.

With the implementation of special beds designed to unload the sugarcane directly from
the transportation units onto them, the operation pertaining the accumulation of the
sugarcane dispersed in the yard, as well as the use of bulldozers at ground level has been

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drastically reduced. The now efficient handling of the receiving yard uses modern
transportation units that pull two bins full of sugarcane in bulk. The bins are provided with
chains manifolds upon which the sugarcane is put during the harvesting and loading
process; this manifold is then lifted with a device that then turns the bins so as to unload
the sugarcane onto the set of feeder beds or conveyors (Figure 3). The feeder conveyors
have leveling rods that homogenize the height of the sugarcane mat. The sugarcane is
transferred from the beds to the conveyors that carry it to the preparation system (pre-
blades and crushers). A typical sugar mill receiving yard is illustrated in Figure 2. In it, a
radial crane, sugarcane spread on the floor and a feeding bed can be seen.

Figure 3. Diagram of the sugarcane unloading on to feeding tables, crusher and depither
preparation system, and extraction through a five mill tandem provided with a fourth
crushing rod (Source: http://www.fundicionesuniverso.com/azucar.php )

As the unloading process has become more efficient (the amount of unloaded and
discharged transportation units, per unit of time) the waiting lines of transportation units
to be unloaded and the number of units needed to transport, a given quantity of sugarcane
from a given distance have significantly decreased.

The sugarcane tables have a manifold through which a hot water curtain is applied to the
sugarcane to wash it, mainly to eliminate unwanted debris, soil and sand, which lead to
unwanted wear of the equipment due to abrasion. Elimination of this debris is also crucial
for the efficiency of both, the juice clarification and syrup depletion processes. These
impurities can also affect the finished product; they can be the cause of microbial activity
and the subsequent generation of viscosity (formation of dextranes); they can cause
problems in the purging of the centrifuges; and they may affect the color of the final
product, as well as the appearance of foreign particles in it.

Despite the benefits achieved by using water to clean the sugarcane, the contact between
the cleaning water and exposed surfaces of the sugarcane results in sucrose losses. This
procedure also has a significant environmental impact, since it produces a considerable
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flow of water full of suspended and soluble solids. This, in turn, requires a system to
eliminate such solids at a high cost. As a result, during the recent years the tendency has
been to eliminate the use of water as a means of cleaning the sugarcane, and instead,
alternative methods have been used (vibrating screens, air curtains, conveyors, returning
the debris to the plantation fields, etc.)

PREPARATION OF THE SUGARCANE

General Description of the Preparation Process

The preparation process comes after unloading the sugarcane. This is where the sugarcane
is transformed into a more homogeneous material, with a higher density, so as to benefit
the uniform and continuous feeding into the mills, improve the imbibition action, ease juice
extraction and reduce saccharose losses in the bagasse. This process includes defibring,
which is needed to increase the surface area exposed for the adequate extraction of the
juice from the sugarcane fibers.

Preparation of the sugarcane is done by combining two processes: a) Reducing the length
of the sugarcane into billets by means of revolving blades (pre-cutter blades and
shredders); b) The disintegration of the cane tissue by means of depithers. These have dull
oscilating cane knives (or hammers) which hit the reduced pieces of cane. Analysis and
measurements are carried out to determine the preparation index or the open cell
percentage, thus evaluating the cane preparation process.

In order to adequately prepare the sugarcane, pre-cutters and cutters are arranged in several
different ways; generally one pre-cutter is installed, followed by two or three shredders.
The rotational velocity of the shredder components (rpm) increases as the cane moves
along the preparation line; the number of blades also increases, and the height between the
axis and the cane carrier decreases.

Preparing the Sugarcane

During the 90’s, significant changes were made to the preparation of the cane. One of the
most important was substituting the fixed-blade cutters for swingback cutters. This allowed
an improvement in the Preparation Indexes up to 81%. In some cases, fixed-blade
shredders were placed at the end of the main feeder into the cane conveyor; this allowed a
homogenization of the sugarcane in a pre-preparation process, reducing air filled spaces
and increasing its density. This equipment brought about uniformity in the milling and
less pulsating loads in the main shredders.

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The first electrification projects in sugarcane preparation also came about in the 90’s. The
sugar mills that joined the co-generation business saw an opportunity in improving the
process by substituting the high-steamconsuming turbines of the shredders for medium-
tension electric motors or for more efficient turbines. Thus, the steam oscilating demand
from the shredder turbines decreased. The boilers were unable to meet the high peak
pressure demands and the consequence was frequent stops.

The introduction of sugarcane croppers and lifters in the fields allowed the transportation
of cane at night, and with it the “zero cane in the receiving yard” concept. The idea behind
this was to avoid the prolongued storage of sugarcane in the receiving yard and, as a
consequence, losses in sugar yield due to saccharose inversion. This originated the use of
huge hydraulic systems to unload the bulk sugarcane onto the carrier beds; the cane was
no longer being unloaded in “packets” but in bulk. These operations brought about a new
problem: Mineral trash in the sugar mills. The solution to this problem brought with it
huge water circuits used specifically for washing the cane on the carriers; they became
more and more important for the operation in the mills. Large pumping stations were
installed, energy consumption increased, and sugar losses were being questioned.

As sugar mills grew so did the amount of sugarcane being processed, and so, in some cases,
another sugarcane preparation line became necessary. Improvements made during the
previous decades are taken into account when implementing expansions. One of the main
implementations to take place during the first decade of the new millennium was the
introduction of the horizontal depither manufactured by Copersucar. It consists of a rotor
feeder, oscilating hammer depither, which makes the cane go through a screening wall,
decreasing the exiting area and therefore separating the fibers. Preparation indexes of up
to 91% have been obtained with this type of depither. An oscilating shredder is installed
before the depither in this arrangement in order to level out the cane. The output of
prepared sugarcane from this system falls as a shallow mat onto a conveyor belt with
enough speed to allow the removal of metals in the shredded cane with a magnet. There
are high-horsepower depithers dedicated solely to substituting shredders arranged in
sequence. Equipment such as this requires horsepower of up to 6,000 HP and 850 rpm.

Currently, some mills have begun using dry cleaning. A system like this eliminates the
use of water as a means of washing the cane altogether. It consists of a kicker at the end
of the first carrier; its function is to shake the cane and make it fall onto a roller bed with
discs separated in such a way as to form a sieve. A system like this is able to collect
between 1.6 and 3% in trash (both vegetable and mineral) of the cane milled per day.

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SUGARCANE MILLING

General Description of the Milling Process

The prepared sucarcane is fed to the milling tandem, where the juice extraction is verified
by the mechanical action of the mills, and by the physical-chemical action of the compound
imbibition process.

The milling tandem is positioned in four roll arrangements: Cane roll, top roll, bagasse
roll and fourth roll. Including the fourth roll in the milling arrangement (Figure 4)
integrates the Donnelly feeders (“chute”) into the system. These feeders allow the bypass
of any mill component that might need maintenance. With a vertical feeder a mat of
depithed cane is formed (in the first mill) or milled cane (from the second to the last mill)
in the box that feeds it to the opening between the top and the fourth roll. The height of
this mat (known as just height or chute level) is used to control the feed into the mill and
the flotation of the top roll. (Flotation: Height to which the top roll rises in counterflow
to the 3000-3500 psig exerted by the hydraulic heads.) Flotation should be between 5/8”
and 3/4”. The feeder control, the chute level and the flotation of the top roll is attained by
varying the rotational speed of said roll.

Figure 4. Roll disposition in a mill with vertical feed. (Source:

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Co-generating sugar mills have substituted steam powered turbines with electric and/or
hydraulic motors because they are much more efficient at converting high pressure steam
into an electric current in the turbogenerator that will be transmitted through conductors to
the electric motors, as opposed to the transmission of steam from the boiler to the steam
turbine in the mill.

The compound imbibition process (the most widely used in Guatemala) consists of
applying 70°C - 75°C hot water to the bagasse which feeds the last mill. The juice
extracted in the last mill is applied to the bagasse that feeds the next to last mill and so on,
until reaching the second mill. A diagram of the compound imbibitions process is
illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Compound imbibition diagram (Source: Chen, J. C. P. 1991. “Manual del

azúcar de caña” [Sugarcane manual].

Imbibition is not applied to the prepared defibered sugarcane that feeds the first mill. The
juice extracted from the first mill (first extraction juice) together with the juice from the
second mill (also called second extraction juice, where retroextractions from the last mill
are added) is called mixed juice. The latter constitutes the raw material for the factory
itself (also known as the cooking house).

An important process that takes place in the mill tandem is the removal of the coarser
“bagacillo” particles and of suspended solids generally found in the mixed juice. One of
the equipments used for this purpose is a bagacillo separator (FivesLille) also known as a
“cush-cush”, “pachaquil” or bagacillo strainer. It consists of rectangular deposits covered
with a sieve screen, over which passess a series of brushes passes that scrape and unclog
the filtering holes. The particles are removed and returned to the extraction system. DSM

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strainers with a 45° inclination or rotating strainers may also be used. These are cleaned
with steam, so in this way, keep the filtrating holes unobstructed.

The bagasse that comes out of the last mill, which should contain the least amount of
saccharose (pol less than 2%) and of humidity possible (less than 50%), is transported to
feed the furnaces of the boilers and to be stored away to meet the sugar mill’s requirements
according to its dimensions. The amount of bagasse stored should be enough to cover the
demand of the boilers for non-programmed stops, programmed maintenance stops,
production line liquidations (mass balance accounts ), partial or final, and start-ups.

Process of the Sugarcane Milling

The 90’s represented an awakening for the Guatemalan sugar agroindustry to a series of
events that marked the development of the milling. One of the most relevant technological
updates was the implementation of the fourth roll to the cane mills. For decades the
industry had evolved around three roll mills. Thus, this change allowed for an increase in
the milling, an improvement in juice extraction in the mill tandem, and a reduction in time
losses, due to mill malfunction because of the substitution of the middle conductors with
the Donnelly chute. This improvement allowed the development of a bypass in the
malfunctioning mill and it still continues with the milling. With this change also came the
elimination of chevrons and messchaert grooves which were used before in the rolls.
Grooving 3” was introduced in the first mills, as well as the perforated Lotus roll, which
brought about a considerable increase in the juice extraction of the first mill, thanks to the
elimination of reabsorption and an increase in the capacity.

As a result of the improvements made in the preparation and mills, sugar mills were able
to increase their milling times to higher levels. In some cases, they did run into horsepower
limitations in the low-speed motoreducers. This permitted the beginning of the use of
high-torque hydrostatic motors in the rolls, which goal was to lower the load on the
motorgear and allow an increase in the milling. Various advantages were obtained:
Independent speeds between the cane mills and all the rest, an increase in energy efficiency
in this operation and the busting of the myth involving the sole use of turbines to move the
mills. The use of hydraulic power was the first option when the sugar mills evaluated the
elimination of steam powered turbines, completely. However, after much consideration,
variable speed motors, both with direct (DC) and alternating (AC) current, were the most
efficient, setting a milestone in the Guatemalan and international sugarcane industry.

Because of the increase in the volume of sugarcane to be processed, some sugar mills
found it necessary to split the bagacillo sieve in two sections, and the use of centrifugal
pumps for maceration. This changed radically afterwards when the pumps were changed
for non-clogging pumps, thus making only one sieve necessary. Thanks to this
improvement, the amount of imbibition water increased to values close to 35 percent of its
weight in cane, and the pol percent of bagasse decreased to values close to 1.6. In some

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cases, this system was changed to a rotary sieve which has some advantages, mostly
operational, sanitary, and of capacity.

Imbibition water was applied with much stability. It was controlled automatically, and
priorities were taken into account when it came to the water supply. Both, temperature
and flow were controlled. The maximum milling rate during the 90’s was between 8,500
and 15,000 tons of sugarcane per day.

During the current decade, some facilities have placed six roll mills in order to increase
their milling capacity. In other cases, they opted for a second or third mill tandem. Thanks
to the introduction of electric motor power to the mills, to more efficient turbines and to
hydrostatic transmissions, monitoring and controlling have become an integral part of the
distributed control system; in which visualizing the operation and monitoring the energy
items has become a new tool in the continuous improvement of the processes.

Interest for systems powered by hydraulic motors has diminished and all new projects are
being powered by AC electric motors and MV (medium voltage) variable speed systems.
Usage of steam powered turbines is no longer considered in new projects, nowadays.

Usage of flexible couplings or torque converters substituting bar couplings began. This
technology helps to correct misalignment. Its major benefits are: Low maintenance, less
energy losses and they offer protection to the motoreducers.

There is an advanced regulatory control that may directly influence the milling speed; it
has the capacity to adapt to the previous and posterior processes to minimize losses.
Donnelly chute´s levels, milling speeds, flow, and temperatures of the imbibition water
and energy consumption of the whole operation are indicated with better accuracy.

The milling rates for this decade reported were between 15,000 and 30,000 tons of cane
per day.

STEAM POWER AND ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION

Bagasse (a sub-product of the process) is used as fuel. It feeds the furnaces of water-tube
boilers for the generation of high pressure superheated steam. This steam is utilized to
move the steam powered turbines in mills and in electric power turbogenerators.
Depending on the design of the turbines and turbogenerators, the generated high pressure
steam may be between 200 and 1500 psig.

After the high pressure steam has given its energy to the turbines (either from the mills
and/or from the turbogenerators) the exhausted steam, which has a pressure of 20-25 psig,

13
is used for the processes involved in the production of sugar and Ethanol in adjacent
distilleries. Figure 6 shows a diagram illustrating the steam cycle at counter pressure,
applied to a sugar mill.

Figure 6. Diagram of the steam generation cycle at counter pressure

The consumption and production of steam at high pressure depends upon the amount of
sugarcane processed per day, the amount and quality of sugar produced, the electrical
power demand, the electrical power co-generation, and the efficiency at which the sugar
mill works. After making an analysis of certain implied variables, Hugot gives a generic
value to the capacity of the required boilers; such capacity is around 637 kg of steam to be
produced per ton of processed sugarcane.

Energy Efficiency

Sugarcane varieties and their industrial impact: During the beginning of the 90’s, the predominant
cane variety was CP57603, with an average fibre percentage of 11%. This variety of cane
completely changed the outlook, by offering better quantities in fuel. Levels of yield reached
10%, similar to the ones obtained the previous decade: 200lb sugar/ton of milled cane. The energy
balance of the factory became the daily operative strategy. The sugar mills suggested a variety of
equipment and procedure combinations to achieve the coveted balance. Most of the mills obtained
the benefit with technological support, operative excellence and technical skill from a whole new
generation of technologists. All this, boosted the race to reach the highest yields in milling and
sugar production. Elements worth highlighting: Energy balance, milling increase, identifying
periods with bagasse surplus, the beginning of technification, and the opening of the electric power
market.

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At the beginning of the new millennium, the predominant variety of sugarcane was CP72-
2086 . In some cases, it was already the predominant variety cultivated by the end of the
20th century. Yields were around 11-11.5 per cent (230 lb sugar/ ton of milled cane). More
and better information was available regarding its fiber’s performance. Yields were around
10 percent during the beginning of the season, 12 percent around the middle, and up to
13.5 towards the end of the season. During that decade, bagasse surpluses became more
and more predictable and the performace of the “tercios” ( thirds of crop season or zafra)
became better known.

Energy Evolution in Sugar Mills with co-generation: As previously discussed, the raw
material used, is decisive in obtaining a satisfactory operation at the plant. Saccharose
recovery and the energy balance are predicted as soon as the sugarcane is received in the
yard.

The correct usage of either thermal or electrical energy is vital for obtaining good results
in a sugar mill. Steam is necessary for cooking the sugarcane juice, since at least 85% of
the water contained in it, must be evaporated before it leaves the mill. Each sugar mill
operates by keeping an energy balance that allows it to mill and process a specific quantity
of solids going into the process, evaporating the water, and having enough fuel available
to use in the production process.

The use of steam in the sugar producing process marked, during the last 30 years, an
evolutionary line in technology development. It is defined as an essential element for
sugarcane processing, and for that reason, the industry was forced to redesign and improve
efficiency and competitiveness. Boilers and power generators marked the evolution of the
business from the energy point of view. Through history, we can observe how steam
pressures and temperatures have slowly increased. This moved the industry from burning
fuel in the traditional locomotive-type boilers, with extremely low pressures (100 to 200
psig) together with very inefficient turbines; to the use of high pressure, high capacity, and
high efficiency boilers (1500 psig or more).

The power generating systems used during the nineties were formed by many small
turbines with capacities ranging from 350 kW to some 850 kW, with specific consumptions
of 35 to 45 lb/kW. As the slowly growth was happening, it was necessary for them to
work in synchronization in order to withstand the electric load required by the factories.
Even though some of the machinery used was in good operating condition, much of the
ancilliary equipment dated back to the first half of the 20th century (1935-1950). The
energy usage of these machines was very high, though they were extremely versatile in
their operation. Many of the interconnections from the sugar mills to the Guatemalan
Electric Company [EEGSA, from the acronym in Spanish] were done in 13.8 kV lines,

15
mainly to help in their start-ups and to maintain the operations keep going during the
offseason.

In the factory, steam consumption concentrated mainly on the triple and quadruple-effect
evaporators. The direct usage of steam within the factory was commonplace. Outlet steam
was the main source of energy for all the unit operations in the factory. Steam consumption
per ton of sugarcane exceeded 1,500 to 1,800 lb/TC.

From the energy standpoint, a new era began with the new millennium. A new market
opened up with the first private contracts between the Guatemalan Electric Company
(EEGSA) and the sugar mills. Finally, the existing monopoly in the power generating
business brokedown with the new “Law of Electricity” (Decree Number 93-96), which
allowed the introduction of private power generators into the national network. With this
new horizon on line, sugar mills had to adapt their factories to change the existing operation
philosophies to the most important one from that moment on: Work all throughout harvest
time linked to the national electric power network.

During this stage, sugar mills looked after energy efficiency within the sugar mills. Its
main goals were: To assure the bagasse surplus all throughout harvest time, and to sell
electric energy by means of a new concept called Co-generation. This new definition
linked the sale of electric energy with sugar production. The main improvements in many
of the sugar mills were: a) changing the steampowered turbines to electric motors to drive
the cane shredders, pumps, and large sized fans; b) arrangements of triple and quadruple
effect evaporators to quintuple effect evaporators; c) use of pre-heaters for the alkalized
and clarified cane juice; d) usage of low pressure steam for the massecuite, as well as other
particular to each sugar mill.

All of these improvements, together with the arrangements that permitted energy savings
within the sugar mills, allowed sustainable bagasse surpluses. These surpluses appeared to
be consistently higher every harvest. Even though, the management of bagasse became
more complex, its value as potential fuel commodity became increasingly evident. As a
result of this apparent problem, there was an “awakening” of a secondary bagasse market.
Sugar mills which had improved their steam consuming efficiency and had no capacity to
burn it for cogeneration began to sell their surpluses of bagasse to other sugar mills that
did have the capacity to do it. From this period on, bagasse obtained an economic value
per ton. Its heat value was the reference for its price in an emerging market.

Some of the sugar mills that visualized the newly created country’s incentive, by promoting
cheaper electric power generation, they proceeded to install redesigned or modified boilers.
Most of the equipment was modified to work at higher pressures in revamped preexisting
equipment or in completely renewed facilities. This broke the old myth created by the
sugar mill idiosincracy: Sugar mills cannot work at a pressure above 200 psig. The
learning curve was complex, and the experience attained was varied, yet it brought the

16
guild together; they decided to share their experiences and advance as a group. A large
part of this growth was supported with generating equipment with higher efficiency and
capacity than the one used in the previous decade. Typically, the capacities found in these
projects were: 400 psig (635°F) or 600 psig (750°F) boilers, with steam production around
125,000 to 150,000 lb/hr; generators were around 1.5 to 7.5 MW, with consumptions in
the range of 20 to 30 lb/kWh.

By the end of the decade, the concept of a thermal plant began to emerge. These types of
facilities brought about a combination between generation and cogeneration, and they
broke another paradigm: Operating during the off-season to sell electrical energy. They
began to install and operate condensing-type thermal plants, all of them generating
between 20 and 35 MW. The combined burning of bagasse-petroleum fuel (Bunker C or
Fuel Oil No.6) in their boilers is emphasized. Efficiencies within the thermal plants were
forced to improve since the new business demanded strict control of operative costs. Usage
of petroleum fuel and its financial impact made management focus its attention toward a
new form of administration, to insert an unknown, management structure, until then.
Figure 7 shows the fuel oil consumption during the different seasons; as a worthy group´s
effort to use bagasse instead of fossil fuel. Almost all of the sugar mills belonging
negotiated direct individual contracts with the Guatemalan Electric Company (EEGSA).
These thermal plants emerged with average capacities between 250,000 and 325,000 lb/hr,
and used “condensing” type generators of 20 to 35 MW with consumptions in the range of
9.6 to 10.5 lb/kWh. All of these were connected to the national electrical network with
lines of 69kV, and parallel to this, a growth of equipment for co-generation with available
capacities of 10 to 20 MW, specific consumptions of 16.5 to 18.0 lb/kWh.

Figure 7. Bunker consumption (Fuel Oil No.6) of all the sugar mills under CIASA
consulting (Source: Annual CIASA reports [Sugar Mill Consultants, for their
acronym in Spanish]
17
 As a result of the continuing process of improving the efficiency of operations, the electric
power load within the factories, also slowly increased. This was mostly due to the
continuous replacement of steam-powered turbines with low efficiencies used as primary
motors of mill rotative equipment. One of the most remarkable application was the
powering of the drivers for mills with variable speed controllers, through the use of either
AC or DC.

Unit operations in the factories also underwent a series of changes and improvements
during this period. Among the most significant: Quintuple effect evaporators, primary
heating, using vapor two bled from the second effect (4 psig duplex steam), and rectifying
heating with vapor one from the first effect (10 psig). Continuous crystallizers were
installed for first massecuits extraction, and the cooking in batch crystallizers using vapor
from the first effect, was also implemented (10psi-g). Going from pneumatic to digital
technology in industrial instrumentation gave the process continuity, by optimizing the
amount and quality of the information in the plant. Long range automatization projects
allowed more inmediate responses and an increase in milling volumes, every harvesting
season. The result of this combination of improvements was a decrease in the steam
consumption within the factory to levels of 900-850 lb/ton of cane or less.

Continuous improvement in the consumption of steam in sugar production plants was

achieved through the application of new engineering technology. Among them it can be
found: Continuous crystallizers for all massecuites, usage of first and second effect bled
steam in operating crystallizers, and heat exchangers, preheating of the juice and syrups,
etc. All of this, added to the integrated operations and businesses to the sugar mill, as sugar
and bioethanol refineries.

JUICE CLARIFICATION

The mixed juice obtained from the milling tandem still contains a considerable load of dirt,
sand, bagacillo and other forms of trash typical of sugarcane. The juice clarification process
implies the removal of the impurities contained in the mixed juice in order to produce the
required sugar quality.

Phosphoric Acid Dosage and Sulphitation

If the sugar quality to be produced is white sulphited sugar, it is recommended that

phosphoric acid be added to the mixed juice. Soluble phosphates are typical components
of sugarcane. They intervene in the conditioning of slugde for the formation of precipitates
when they react with the calcium from the lime (calcium oxide CaO). It is estimated that
a phosphate concentration of 300ppm in the juice is necessary, but there are sugarcane
varieties with less phosphate concentrations. The juices of such sugarcane varieties are
known as refractory, due to the difficulty they present in their clarification.

18
Mixed juice is pumped to the sulphitation process where the juice comes in contact in
countercurrent with sulphurous anhydride (SO2), a gas generated by the combustion of
elemental sulphur. The furnaces and pipe through which the sulphurous anhydride is
conducted, are cooled down with jackets with cold running water. This is done to avoid
the formation of sulphuric anhydride (SO3) and the subsequent formation of sulphuric acid
(H2SO4). A typical sulphitation tower arrangement is equipped with a furnace for sulphur
combustion and a steam ejector to produce the draft in the system by Venturi effect.

The sulphurous anhydride forms sulphurous acid (H2SO3) through hydrolysis with the
juice. The sulphurous acid disassociates into protons (H+) and a sulphite anion (SO32-).
Sulphite is a chemical species classified as a medium power reducing agent; it chemically
reduces pigments and coloring agents, disactivating conjugate systems that partially
absorbe the electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum range. It also eliminates color
precursors. Juice sulphitation is essential in obtaining less color in the final white sugar
product. The criteria most widely used, is to burn as much sulphur as necessary to achieve
a drop of 0.5 pH units between the mixed juice coming from the mills and the suphited
juice coming out of the sulphitation tower. Sulphur consumption is between 0.5 and 0.8
pounds per metric ton of milled cane.

As a positive additional effect of sulphitation, it has been proved that juice decants more
rapidly,it also decreases the viscosity in the main virgin syrup or “meladura”, in the
subsequent syrups or “molasses“ and in the massecuites, which in turn produces faster
cooking; there is an improvement in crystal formation, syrup deplation and syrup purging
in the centrifuges.

Clarification Process

Alkalinization: The fundamental process for juice clarification lies in the formation of a
sedimentable solids of complex composition. Its basic chemical reaction is between the
phosphate anion PO43- (contained in the cane and added during the phosphoric acid
dosage) and the calcium cation Ca2+ (given by the lime dosage). The chemical reactions
involved in the process are the following:

19
Juice alkalinization is done when it exits from the sulphitation tower. A lime slurry may
be used (lime as calcium oxide dispersed in water until a suspension with a 15 °Baumé
density, is obtained); the problem with this slurry or whitewash, is the frequent scaling of
pipes and pumping equipment. Usage of calcium saccharate (a mixture of lime and
clarified juice or main syrup) produces a real solution with the lime and avoids the
problems of pipe and equipment obstruction; although some saccharose losses occur due
to material recirculation; the benefits obtained in the quality of alkalinization and
equipment maintenance, are considerable.

The pH of the alkalized juice is fixed between 6.7 and 7.2, but the variable that must be
controlled is the pH of the clarified juice. If the clarified juice has pH under 6.4, sucrose
inversion (acid hydrolysis generating reducing sugars) will be significant and this affects
the recovery and recirculation of syrups (even if it favors color decrease in the final sugar).
If the pH in the clarified juice is over 7.0 the increase in color due to caramelization during
heating in the evaporators and cristallizers, is significant. Alkalinization of the mixed juice
in order to get a pH between 6.5 and 6.9 in the clarified juice is recommended. The quality
of sugar to be produced should be considered; if white sugar is to be produced, this pH
range is more rigid, whereas if raw sugar is to be produced, the pH in the clarified juice
may reach a value of 7.2.

Heating: Colaterally to the formation of insoluble calcium phosphate species, alkalized

juice should be heated up to a temperature slightly above the boiling point of water (218-
220 °F). When juice is heated up to this temperature, the system is given necessary heat
for the involved reactions to occur. Proteins present in the juice also denature at this
temperature; they cease to be soluble and they are no longer suspended in the medium.
Denatured proteins become part of the settleable, insoluble solids. A temperature above
the boiling point of water is also important for an adequate flashing of the juice in the flash
tank. Flashing (instant boiling of water) is due to the sudden decompression of the juice
when passing through the pipes to a tank open to atmospheric pressure (flash tank);
elimination of water vapor through flashing prevents the formation of bubbles from
emerging gases, which negatively affect the sedimentation of impurities.

Heat exchangers, whether they be shell-and-tube or plate-and-frame heaters (the latter

being smaller and more efficient), may be used for the different heating stages of the
process. Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a shell-and-tube heat exchanger and a plate-and-frame
heat exchanger, respectively. Sugar mills use both types in a variety of combinations in
order to reach the required final temperature in the alkalized juice.

20
Figure 8. Shell-and-tube heat exchanger (Source:
http://avibert.blogspot.com/2010/06/patrones-de-flujo-en-intercambiadores.html

Figure 9. Plate-and-frame heat exchanger (Sourcee: http://www.wcr-

regasketing.com/es/heat-exchangers.htm

An additive necessary to complete the clarifying process is the floculant or flocculating

polymer dosage, a long chain synthetic polymer. There are many types of flocculant, the
most frequently used are the partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides. The flocculant is
prepared by dissolving it in water and letting it rest and mature before dosifying it. This

21
allows the polymer chains to extend themselves. The dosing of the flocculant is done
directly into each clarifier.

Clarifier Operation (clarified juice decanting and mud removal): The hot alkalized
juice is pumped to the flash tank and it tangently enters the wall of such tank; in it, besides
liberating water vapor, the juice loses velocity (which will favor the sedimentation of the
insoluble impurities). From the flash tank the juice is fed by gravity to the clarifiers.
Clarifiers are equipments to sediment insoluble solids and separate them from the liquid
phase. These have four independent compartments with conic bottoms, each one with a
decanting head for the clarified juice and a set of diaphragm pumps to extract the
sedimented sludge. Figure 10 shows a cross section of this type of clarifier. Some sugar
mills are already using SRI type Australian-made clarifiers with a single compartment;
these, by design, can manage a larger flow of alkalized juice for the clarifying process with
a lower retention time than a Dorr-Oliver.

During retention time in the clarifier, the precipitates of the calcium phosphate species in
formation are associated with the suspended solids in the juice (dirt, bagacillo, trash,
debris, etc.) and with the denatured proteins. This initial combination forms solid particles
called first stage flakes or flocs (first stage flocculation process). The first-stage floc
particles are joined in larger and more compact conglomerates called clots (coagulating
process). Parallel to coagulation, the extended flocculant chains begin to bond with various
firststage flocs resulting in spongy aggregates (second stage flocculation), which at the
same time, join the clots and together form a highly dense sludge with a high sedimentation
velocity. This sludge is called clarifier mud or “cachaza” (Not to be mistaken with the
brazilian alcoholic beverage).

The decanted clarified juice is discharged by gravity and it is pipe conducted all the way
to a set of rotating sieves. These sieves are provided with a mesh small enough to eliminate
even the finest bagacillo particles: Which are not eliminated during the mixing of the juice
and its clarification process. The strained juice is then collected in a clarified tank juice,
from where it is then pumped to the evaporation system. The quality of the clarified juice
is evaluated organoleptically in the overflow outlet of each of the compartments for all the
operative clarifiers. The clarified juice should contain the least amount of suspended
particles possible, and its color should be bright yellow.

The mud ( sedimented at the bottom of the clarifier compartments) is then pumped by
means of diaphragm pumps to a process where the last of saccharose content will be
extracted for its final disposition of it as a byproduct.

22
Figure 10. Dorr- Oliver clarifier cross-section diagram (Source: Chen, J. C. P. 1991.
Sugarcane manual.

Rotating Sieve Operation (Cachaza Sucrose depletion and Disposition)

The muds took out from the clarifiers still contain a considerable amount of juice, which
has to be eliminated as much as possible, so that the byproduct (sludge) contains as
minimum amount of sucrose as possible. Depending on the system and the equipment, it
can have a pol of under 2%.
The equipment used to recover sucrose from the cachaza consists of continuous rotary
vacuum filters. The raw cachaza, which has a slurry consistency, is pumped from the
cachazón ( cachaza container) to the filter vats. The vat is a deposit or tray located under
the filter drum. It contains a constant volume of slurry so that the filter wall should always
be in contact with it and form a layer of mud. It has an oscillating stirring system.

Bagacillo, lime, and flocculant are added to the cachaza (usually in the cachazón) to give
it a consistency that will allow it be adhered to the filter drum surface, and therefore
increase its “filterability.” The layer of mud adhered to the filter drum is then sprayed with
hot water; this water is the one that washes the saccharose away from the cachaza layer.
The filtrate pipes suck away the juice and they transfer it to the high and low vacuum tanks.
The juice obtained is called filtered juice. It is pumped back to the alkalized juice tank so
it can be integrated back into the process.
23
The filters discharge the final cake of the depleted cachaza. This is conducted to an
elevated hopper chute that unloads it onto dump trucks. It is then used as fertilizer in the
sugarcane fields. Figure 11 shows a diagram of a typical rotary vacuum filter.

Figure 11. Typical Rotary Vacuum Slurry Filter Diagram (Source:

http://www.proequip.com.mx/todos_completos.html)

JUICE EVAPORATION

During the juice evaporation, the clarified juice is concentrated from 15°-18° Brix, until
forming the material denominated as syrup of 65°-67° Brix. This concentration is
achieved by evaporating the water contained in the juice through boiling (heating it until
it reaches its boiling point) in evaporators (also called evaporating vases or simply vases ).
The most widely used evaporators in are tube evaporators and rising-film Robert
evaporators. Some sugar mills use plate and descending-film evaporators. These have
proved to be quite efficient but have an inconvenience: They require frequent cleaning
with chemicals so as to preserve the contact area (hest transfer area) between the plates
and the juice, and therefore maintain their efficiency.

Evaporators are arranged so as to form a multiple effect evaporating system based on the
Rillieux principle (first exposed in Louisiana around 1830 by the French-American
Norman Rillieux.) This principle establishes that the steam generated by the evaporation
of water, which is originated from juice heated by an evaporator or set of evaporators, is
able to heat up and evaporate water from an already concentrated juice being transferred
24
to another evaporator or set of evaporators; therefore developing a multiple effect
evaporation. The internal pressure in the second evaporator (or set of evaporators) will be
less than the internal pressure in the previous evaporator (or set of evaporators), so as to
decresase the juice’s boiling point from system to system. Each set of evaporators that
form a system with determined pressure, temperature and boiling point conditions, is called
an“evaporation effect.”

If the arrangement of evaporation is in a quadruple effect, the bled vapor of the third effect
will heat the calandria (shell-and-tube unit) of the last effect evaporator (this is where non-
clarified meladura of 64°- 67° Brix is obtained.) If the arrangement has five effects (Figure
22), then the bled vapor generated in the fourth effect, with a manometric pressure of -7.0
psi (14.3” Hg vacuum at 181°F) heats the calandria of the last effect evaporator vase.

The last effect evaporator’s operation, even the system works from a four effect or a five
effect, is at vacuum pressure of -10.8 psi (22” Hg vacuum at 150°F). To obtain boiling
point at such a low pressure, a barometric condenser is employed; in which, a cold water
flow condenses and drags the steam generated during boiling. Multi jet condensers are
provided with a nozzle cage where the nozzles are set up in such a way as to produce a
negative differential pressure (through the Venturi effect); they require a considerable
injection flow of cold water with a manometric pressure of at least 10 psi. These
condensers also extract the noncondensable gases from the evaporator’s body; their only
inconvenience is their large water consumption. Due to the problems in cold water supply
presently faced by sugar mills, and in an attempt to reduce environmental impact, systems
with countercurrent condensers (barometric condensers provided with water curtain
producing boxes) are currently used; a vacuum pump is added so as to extract the
noncondensing gases in the system (Figure 13).

It can be observed from Figure 12 that the bled vapors used to heat up the juice for the
masscuites and any other process in the factory, are extractions made from the bled vapor
lines of the various effects from the multi-effect evaporators.

25
Figure 12. Five effect evaporator diagram with extractions

Figure 13. Multi-jet and counter-current barometric condensers

Source: Chen, J. C. P. 1991. Sugarcane manual.

26
 SYRUP CLARIFICATION

The impurities present in the clarified juice (color and suspended solids) increase and are
concentrated during evaporation, so if white sulphited sugar is to be produced, these
impurities should be removed as soon as possible; the clarification process of non-clarified
meladura is what gets this done.

Syrup clarification can be made with a combination of various sub-processes. In general,

a physical-chemical treatment must be done in order to prepare the impurities for future
separation. This physical-chemical treatment consists in the formation of solid particle
conglomerates and the removal of coloring substances. The formation of solid particle
conglomerates is accomplished through the dosification of phosphoric acid, flocculant, and
lime (as lime slurry or as calcium saccharate.) The removal of coloring agents is achieved
by dosing sulphyte water or commercial chemical products for this particular purpose
(decolorants). After the chemical dosification and homogenization, the syrup is heated
from 145°-150° F (temperature at which it comes out of the lasteffect evaporator) to 175°-
180° F. Figure 14 shows a generic diagram of the syrup clarification process.

Figure 14. Diagram of the syrup clarification process

Source: www.engenovo.com.br/es/artigostecnicos/fxc.pdf

Syrup is injected with tiny air bubbles that drag up the impurity flocs (sludge) when they
rise, forming a floating foam on the top surface of the syrup in the clarifiers.

The Jacob-type syrup clarifiers are rectangular in shape and the Talo-type syrup clarifiers
are round. Both have a blade system that removes the foam from the surface and it unloads
it onto a canal; this canal returns the foam by gravity to the alkalized juice tank. Talo-type
clarifiers are a more recent design, and therefore more efficient than the Jacob-type

27
clarifiers. Clarified syrup is decanted through a header to a tank, and is then pumped to
the respective tanks in the crystallizars or “tachos” area.

CRYSTAL DEVELOPMENT AND SYRUP DEPLETION

From the clarified syrup, two parallel and interrelated processes are verified. One is the
development of the sucrose crystal and the other is syrup exhaustion (syrup exhaustion
means the decrease of its apparent purity). The saccharose crystals grow (develop)
because the saccharose molecules in the syrup solution are able to integrate themselves to
a crystal structure. Therefore, as the saccharose crystals grow, the syrup purity decreases
(depletion or exhaustion ).

Some terms have to be defined so they can be used and understood during the remainder
of this section:

Massecuite ( or cooked mass ) : Material in which both the depleted syrup at a determined
purity and the developed crystals of an established size, are mixed together after finalizing
its cooking process and reaching its final density (Brix of the masscuite). Cooking of the
masscuite is made through the elimination of water in the boiling process at vacuum
pressure in a crystallizer tank or “tacho”.

Strike, or “Templa”(Tempered massecuite): Massecuite taken to its final cooking point

and discharged onto a batch tank. It is appropriate to refer to a Strike or Templa when
talking about the material contained inside a tacho or in the process of being unloaded.
But at the point where it is joined to the total of masscuite found in a mixer, waiting to be
discharged into a centrifuge, it is not appropriate to refer to this generic material as a stike,
rather it is commonplace and appropriate to refer to this material simply as masscuite.

Saturation point of a sucrose solution: It refers to the maximum sucrose concentration

that can be maintained dissolved in water under determined temperature and pressure
conditions. At this point, the rate at which the saccharose molecules dissolve (dissolved
saccharose molecules per unit of time); and the velocity at which the saccharose molecules
crystallize (saccharose molecules that become part of the crystal network per unit of time)
are in equilibrium (they are the same). If the maximum concentration of sucrose is
surpassed under the given conditions, an oversaturation point is reached, equilibrium is
lost, and the mixture becomes unstable. To reestablish equilibrium, two things can occur:
The amount of molecules that crystallize increases (and the size of the crystal increases as
well) or new crystals form spontaneously. The oversaturation coefficient is equal to one
(1.0) when the system is at saturation point; if it is greater than one, the system is
oversaturated; if it is less than one, the system is undersaturated.

28
Seed: Slurry or suspension formed by the milling and the dispersion of sugar grains in
isopropyl alcohol. There is specific equipment to prepare the seed which guarantee a 95%
of crystals with a maximum size of 10 µm. The best equipments are those able to obtain
a seed that varies less in the crystal sizes.

Vacuum Crystallizers: Equipment designed to develp the sucrose crystal by eliminating

water through boiling at vacuum pressure. When boiled, the concentration of the syrup is
increased and the migration of sucrose molecules toward the growing crystal network is
produced (sucrose crystallization). The vacuum crystallyzers most widely used in are the
fixed shell-andtube type. Just like in the evaporators, vacuum is achieved through the
combined operation of a barometric condenser (countercurrent) and a vacuum pump.
These tanks work at a manometric pressure of -12.8 psi (26’’ Hg vacuum) 1.9 absolute psi
(at a temperature of 125 OF). Most of crystallizers are provided with a mechanical mixer,
but they can also be provided with feeder manifolds for the meladura, designed to create
natural stirring (by way of density gradients). Figure 15 shows a diagram of a typical fixed
shell-andtube crystallizer.

Purge: Separation of the crystals and the syrup from a masscuite in a centrifuge.

Centrifuge: Equipment designed to separate the sucrose crystals and the syrup combined
in the massecuite. It contains a basket lined with a specific sized filter screen. The
masscuite is fed to the basket and a centrifugal force makes the syrup goes out through the
filter screen; the sucrose crystals are held by the filter screen and are later discharged and
guided by the transportation systems for their conditioning and disposition. There are two
types of centrifuges:

29
Figure 15. Shell-and-tube crystallizer or tacho with mechanic mixer
Source: Chen, J. C. P. 1991. Sugarcane anual.

Continuous centrifuges: As their name implies, they are fed and operated continuously.
They consist of an inverted conic basket, fed from down deep at the vortex of the cone.
Sugar ascends the walls of the cone all the way up to the top; syrup is collected in the
internal wall of the shell. Figure 16 shows a diagram of a typical continuous centrifuge.

Automatic or batch centrifuges: As their name implies, these centrifuges are fed
discontinuously, one batch of masscuite at a time. They are provided with perforated
cylindric baskets lined with a set of filter screens, and counter-filter screens. The syrup
goes through the screens, counter-screens and basket; and it is collected in the housing. A
complete purge cycle is made with automatic movements which can be controlled by
electric timers and switches. Recently, PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) and
proximity switches have been incorporated (Figure 17).

Magma: Material with a slurry-like consistency. It is obtained by conditioning the sugar

coming from the purge of mass B or mass C. Sugar is conditioned, so it can be managed and
fed to the crystallizers as nucleus for the development of crystals, for being dissolved and
pumped to the meladura tanks.

30
Figure 16. Continous centrifuge and its main components: 1) Stainless steel basket. 2)
Load container. 3) Support with rubber shock absorbers 4) Motor. 5) Masscuite feeder
Source: Chen, J. C. P. 1991. Sugarcane manual.

Figure 17. Automatic centrifuge and its main components. Source: Chen, J. C. P. 1991.
Sugarcane manual.

31
Crystallization

The crystallization process consists in starting the development of the sucrose crystals.
The most widely used process is through seeding. In this process a sugar solution of
defined purity is concentrated in a crystallizer working at a vacuum pressure around 24’’
Hg until it reaches a supersaturation coefficient (SS) between 1.00 and 1.25. The region
found between these ranges of supersaturation is known as a metastable zone and it
corresponds to 80°-81° Brix; its main characteristic is that in such zone, crystals increase
their size, but do not appear spontaneously. At this point that a determined amount of
seed is added and the evaporation regime is maintained by adding hot water; this allows
the definition of the crystals faces when they are separated from the viscosity of the
solution ( priming or clearing). When the grain is adequately defined, the vaccum pressure
is set at 26” HG and the feeding of a sugary solution begins, by means, syrup or meladura.

It is important not to concentrate the sugar solution to a labile supersaturation point (SS
greater than 1.40) because then sucrose crystals begin to appear spontaneously. These
crystals, also known are false grain, are smaller than the seed that is introduced artificially
to the system and they cause the conglomeration of many crystals and they produce a
crystal population with too much size variation in the size.

Three-mass and two-magma system for crystal development and syrup depletion:
This is the base system most widely used for crystal development and syrup depletion.
Figure 18 shows a simplified diagram of this system.

Figure 18. Three mass system and double magma system for the crystal development
and syrup exhaustion

32
 This is the basis and the most used for the crystal development processes and for the syrup
exhaustion, this is the three mass and double magma system. In Figure 28, a simplified
diagram is shown, ir order to illustrate the three mass systems (mass A, mass B, and mass
C); and double magma (magma B and magma C).

First, the focus is on the development of the crystal. It is crystallized so the third mass can
develop crystals from the seed, with crystals (initial nuclei), which have a size of 10 µm.
The crystallized mass is fed into the crystallizer with syrup A and syrup B until mass C is
obtained. Mass C is then discharged into the crystallizing tank system, where the process
continues the crystallization process through cooling tanks. From the crystallizers, mass
C is conducted to a mixer; And it is purged into continuous centrifuges, until sugar C and
molasses are obtained, the first with a grain size of 350 µm and the molasses with an
apparent purity of 33%. Magma C is prepared with sugar C and such magma is loaded
into the crystallizer for the development of mass B.

Magma C is loaded into the crystallizers that contain the seeds. The tanks are fed with
syrup A until mass B is developed. This mass, in turn, is fed to the continuous centrifuges
to be purged and to obtain sugar B, with a grain size of 505 µm and a syrup B with an
apparent purity of 51%. Magma B is prepared with sugar B and such magma is unloaded
into the crystallizer for the development of mass A.
Magma C contains the crystallization seeds. First Crystallizer are fed with meladura with
an apparent purity of 86-88% until mass A is developed. Mass A is fed to the automatic (
batch) centrifuges so it can be purged and sugar A (finished product) and syrup A are
obtained, the first with a grain size of 800-1000 µm and the latter with an apparent purity of
70%. The size of the crystal of sugar A can vary according to the desired quality of sugar to
be produced: Raw-normal, raw-granulated or free flowing, standard white, etc.

Figure 19 sythesizes the diagram of interrelated parallel processes where it can be observed
how the purity of the syrup is depleted in one sense and the size of the crystal is developed
in the opposite direction.

Figure 19. Illustrative diagram of the crystal development and syrup depletion in a
three mass and double magma system. NOTE: Pty = apparent purity

33
REFINED SUGAR PROCESS

The process to refine sulfite white sugar consists in dissolving sugar of 230250 ICUMSA
units in water; the resulting syrup is called dissolved liquor. This dissolved liquor is treated
with activated carbon and heat to remove pigments by their adsorption to the activated
carbon particles. Simultaneously, diatomaceous earth is added as an aid in filtering. The
mixture obtained is called treated liquor and it is filtered again in a set of primary filters.
The obtained liquour is re-filtered in a second set of filters called rectifiers. The final
filtrated liquor has around 150 ICUMSA color units and is free of suspended solid particles
(Figure 20).

Figure 20. Diagram of a four stage system for refining sugar from white sulphite sugar

Table 2 shows the expected color values for the different process materials and for the
sugars in a four stage system when refining white sulphited sugar.

Table 2. Color of materials and sugar in process, for a four mass system in the
production of sugar from white sulphite sugar.

34
 Material Color ICUMSA
Sugar to be dissolved 240
Filtered liquor 150
Mass A 240
Syrup A 350
Mass B 410
Syrup B 610
Mass C 730
Syrup C 1000
Mass D 1355
Syrup D 2100
Sugar A 20
Sugar B 30
Sugar C 40
Sugar D 60
Packaged sugar 25 - 35
A total of 15 stages (8 A strikes, 4 B strikes, 2 C strikes, and 1 D strike) is needed to close
a cycle of a four stage sugar refining system.

Other process and system variations for refining sugar consider to start with sugar 500
ICUMSA color units. To do this, the dissolved sugar must undergo a pre-treatment of
clarifying the dissolved liquor in order to remove the excess of solid and color impurities,
first with decoloration using activated carbon, and then through filtering. A mixed stage
system is also used as one of the variations. This system crystallizes the final liquor
(decolored and filtered liquor) and develops the strike with syrup mixtures (obtained from
the previous mass purges). This mixed stike process is done to avoid using solid sugar,
since it is more efficient to mix and homogenize liquids (with less degrees of liberty) as
opposed to mixing and homogenizing solids (with more degrees of liberty.)

CONDITIONING AND HANDLING OF SUGAR

The sugar obtained from the automatic centrifuges has too much humidity to be adequately
handled in bulk, despite of the time it spent drying during the centrifuge cycle. It would
suffer damages during its transportation and/or storage, and during the time it takes to get
it to its final customer (sugar refineries, in the case of raw sugar) or to be packaged and
preserved with its original quality (in the case of white refined sugars).

Thus, humid sugar is submitted to two sequential processes: First, drying and then,
cooling.

35
The sugar goes through an inclined rotating cylinder (approximately 6 feet in diameter and
25 feet long) for both processes. The cylinder has a series of combs that divide and form
a sugar curtain transversal to the air flow. Such sugar curtain moves lengthwise due to the
cylinder’s inclination (Figure 21). The sugar moves along from the extreme where it is
fed, to the place where it unloads (the level at which it enters the cylinder is higher than
the level at which it leaves.)

Air goes against the current through sugar curtain. The air thrust is produced by a fan at
the feeder end of the rotary cylinder. A series of bronze tubes provided with bronze fins
forming a beehive-like pattern, are situated at the cylinder entrance. Steam flow inside
them at 100 psig. These tubes heat up the air up to 290°-293° F. Sugar inside a centrifuge
contains humidity between 1 and 2 percent. The temperature conditions of the drying air
are fixed as a function of the humidity requirements of the sugar to be produced. Raw
sugar should contain humidity between 0.11 and 0.35 percent, whereas refined sugar
should be at less than 0.04%.

The air that flows through the cooler can be atmospheric air. A temperature of 110°-115°
F is adequate for raw or white sulphite sugar, but lower packaging temperatures must be
achieved for refined sugar. This low temperature combined with the right size and
homogeneity of the crystals, and adequate storage conditions prevent clumping of the
product during storage.

Figure 21. Operation diagram for the sugar in line drying and cooling system.

36
THE FUTURE: BIO-REFINERIES

From the beginning of the sugar production, in any of its forms or presentations (juice,
concentrated syrup or meladura, panela, moscabado, melcocha, raw sugar, table sugar,
etc.) to the beginning of the 20th century, the main and almost only goal of sugar mills and
trapiches, was the production of the sweetener known as sucrose or table sugar.

The necessary energy for this purpose was provided by animal or human drive and by
firewood cut from the nearby woods.

The main sub-product of these processes was molasses, which in some occasions, and
depending on the circumstances, was considered a “waste material” and a nuisance; and it
was used to keep the dust from rising on dirt roads. Later, a more valuble and useful
application was found for it, as a nutritional supplement for cattle feed and a carbon source
(substrate) for the emerging alcoholic beverage industry (potable ethanol).

As the milling process got better, another use was found for another accumulating
nuisance: Cane bagasse, which began to be used as fuel for the generation of heat and
mechanical energy.

Thus, the next stage in the development of the sugar industry already had, besides their
main product, sugar, two sub-products with considerable value: Molasses and bagasse.

Globalization of the sugar market also introduced the diversification of the main product
and the necessary technology for producing refined sugar and inverted syrup (High Test
Molasses – HTM), among other products.

With the energy crisis during the second half of the 20th century, the opportunity to add
even more value to two by-products of the main subproducts: The generation of electric
power in turbines moved by the steam generated by the boilers, for both sugar mill use and
for the national network, and the production of ethanol for motor fuel in distilleries
annexed to the sugar mills. These, additionally, presented the problem of two by-products:
Distilling slops (vinasse, stillage) and carbon dioxide (CO2). In most cases the CO2 is
released into the atmosphere, and occasionally it is used industrially in carbonated drinks
or compressed for the production of dry ice (widely used for food preservation.)

Recently, stillage ceased to be considered a “waste by- product” and it became a valuable
by-product from which heat, protein, fertilizing nutrients, a substrate for methane
production, etc., can be extracted.

Recently, an integrated sugar mill can be producing various valuable products and by-
products for the country’s economy:

37
 Sugars: Raw
Brown
White
Crystal
Refined
Bagasse: Lignocelullosic fiber
Steam: Heat
Movement / work
Electricity
Syrups: Hydrolyzed meladura (syrup, inverted or HTM)

Molasses: Food supplement for cattle

Ethanol: Potable, Industrial, Fuel
Vinasse: Fertilizer
Methane
Single cell protein
CO2

The next step, in which huge advances have already been reached in more industrialized
countries, is the development of industrial complexes called “BioRefineries”, which
exploit every fraction of the sugarcane in a large diversity of products and by-products
according to their technical and economic factibility, during specific market moments. The
concept was developed at industrial level during the 70’s, in grain (corn) processing plants
for ethanol production. In them, originally the whole grain was cooked to produce the
fermentable must, which was later distilled to get ethanol, and the residue was destined
towards cattle feed. The innovated process separates the fiber, oil, protein, and the
cellulose; so they can be separately processed and create a wide range of products.
Starches are left for fermentation, which not only makes fermentation easier, but the
protein enriched residue with the yeast protein is easier to dosify in animal diets.

Likewise, the integrated processing of sugarcane can permit the development of a big and
growing number of products, sub-products and by-products; their only limits are the
economy of scale and product demand. These go from residual biomass in the field to
products with specific reactions, in which the cane byproducts can be reactants and
important raw materials, including, of course, the products already mentioned which
already have commercial value.

The 70’s, Paturau (Byproducts of the Sugarcane Industry) mentioned a considerable

quantity of special chemical products directly obtainable from using sucrose and molasses
as reactants, the use of bagasse as a fiber source, and the cellulose for the production of
several agglomerated products (Figure 22).

38
Figure 22. Sucrose products with important potential. (Source: Paturau, J.M. “By-
products of the cane sugar industry”. Elsevier)

The diagram of interactions between primary energy producers, raw material, and product
and by-product users that impulse the global idea of bio-refineries based on the growing
of sugarcane, is illustrated in Figure 23.

39
Figure 23. Interactions between raw material and primary energy producers
Source: Murillo et al. “Chemistry based on renewable raw materials: Perspectives
for a Sugar cane- based Bio-refinery”

Given the accelerated and changing situation of the world economy and of the demand of
ever more specific products, must to be expected that the coming decades will bring with
them the development of processes that use sugar and ethanol more and more, as reactants.
Henceforth the recent rise of applied chemistry branches such as “Sucrochemistry” and
“Alcochemistry,” which document the technical feasibility of many chemical reactions,
which of course, are possible since the necessary technology exists and some of them are
already being produced at an industrial level. It is necessary to note, though, that for others,
their economic feasibility depends on the product’s demand and its economy of scale.
Such is the case of ethanol obtained from cellulose; it has been technically possible for
over thirty years, yet some authors estimate that another 30 years will pass before it
becomes economically feasible.

Figure 24 illustrates a summary of some of the derivatives of the complex technology of

what is called a bio-refinery, which, as it has already been pointed out, it is more a concept
than an actual facility, since much of the operations, could be done outside the sugar mill.

40
Figure 24. Sugarcane subproducts in a bio-refinery
Source: Murillo et al. Chemistry based on renewable rawmaterials: Perspectives
for a Sugar cane- based Bio-refinery

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Guthrie, J. P. 1975. Carbonyl addition reactions: factors affecting the hydrate-

hemiacetal and hemiacetal-acetal equilibrium constants (en línea). Can. J. Chem. 53
(6):898-906. Consultado 30 julio 2011. Disponible en
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/v75-125.

2. Manohar, P. J. 1997. INDUSTRIAL UTILIZATION OF SUGAR CANE AND ITS

CO-PRODUCTS. ISPCK Publishers. New Delhi.

3. Murillo, F.; Araujo, C.; Bonfá, A.; Porto, W. 2011. Chemistry based on renewable raw
materials: Perspectives for a sugar cane based biorrefinery. 8 p.

4. Paturau, J. M. 1989. By – products of the cane sugar industry. 3a. ed. New York,
Elsevier. 436 p. Sugar series No. 11.
Chart
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