SUGAR PROCESS, TECHNOLOGY

and RELATED PRODUCTS

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIgavNuBRRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT6IQx26eHk
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PRODUCTION FROM SUGAR BEET

Harvesting the beet

The harvesting of the sugar beet, or the "campaign" as it is known, starts around the end
of September and continues until mid-January. Production of sugar from the beet is a
continuous process. Once the campaign starts it continues 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, until all the beet is processed.

Harvesting is also done by mechanical methods. It not alone takes the root out of the
ground, it also cleans it and cuts off the top of the plants. The leaves are a valuable
source of animal feed equal in value per acre to one acre of turnips.

The beet is taken by lorry from the harvested field to one of Ireland's two sugar
processing factories. For the duration of the "campaign" a steady stream of
lorries/tractors can be seen on the roads to the sugar factories.

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1. WEIGHING AND SAMPLING
Once inside the factory grounds the lorries drive over a weighbridge where their gross
weight is automatically measured. At the same time a sample of the particular load is taken
to determine the sugar percentage and the amount of tare in the overall load.

Tare may consist of clay, stones, beet tops, etc. It is deducted from the gross weight of the
load in order to determine the net weight of clean beet delivered. The farmer is paid a
predetermined price per ton of clean beet delivered based on a sliding scale related to
sugar content.

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Reception
Each load is weighed and sampled before it gets tipped onto the reception area,
typically a "flat pad" of concrete, where it is moved into large heaps. The beet
sample is checked for
soil tare - the amount of nonbeet delivered
crown tare - the amount of low-sugar beet delivered
sugar content ("pol") - amount of sucrose in the crop
nitrogen content - for recommending future fertilizer use to the farmer
From these elements, the actual sugar content of the load is calculated and the
grower's payment determined..

The beet is moved from the heaps into a central channel or gulley, where it is
washed towards the processing plant.

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2. UNLOADING
There are two systems of unloading - dry unloading and wet unloading. When dry
unloading, the beet is conveyed from the lorry by a series of conveyer belts to open air
silos where it is stored. In wet unloading the beet is washed from the lorry by means of a
powerful jet of water.
Beet is transferred from the silos to the factory by means of water. En route to the
production process, stones and grass are removed in a series of stone and grass catchers.
The beet is thoroughly washed before processing to remove all traces of clay and sand

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3. DIFFUSION
The actual sugar is inside the beet and has to be extracted. In order to extract the sugar
the beet is first cut up into elongated slices.
Sugar is then extracted from the beet by diffusing (see Diffusion) it out with hot water.
This is done in a large vessel specially designed for this purpose. Beet slices are fed in
continuously at one end and hot water at the other end. A solution of sugar emerges
from one end and the exhausted beet slices emerge from the other. The exhausted beet
slices, or pulp, are mixed with molasses then dried and sold as an animal feed.
The solution now left to continue for the rest of the process is referred to as the raw
juice. This contains about 14% sugar and is black in colour.

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 The sugar is extracted from the cossettes by means of hot water (around 70 °C) in
a diffuser, with the cossettes moving in the opposite direction to the water flow
(counter-flow-principle), in a process known as extraction. The raw juice or liquor
obtained contains around 98% of the sugar in the sugar beet as well as organic
and inorganic constituents (so-called non-sugars) from the beet.

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Extraction Tower
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Diffusion

After reception at the processing plant, the beet roots are washed, mechanically sliced into
thin strips called cossettes, and passed to a machine called a diffuser to extract the sugar
content into a water solution.

Diffusers are long vessels of many meters in which the beet slices go in one direction while hot
water goes in the opposite direction. The movement may either be caused by a rotating screw
or the whole rotating unit, and the water and cossettes move through internal chambers
flow rates of cossettes and water are in the ratio one to two.

Typically, cossettes take about 90 minutes to pass through the diffuser, the water only 45
minutes. These countercurrent exchange methods extract more sugar from the cossettes using
less water than if they merely sat in a hot water tank.

The liquid exiting the diffuser is called raw juice. The colour of raw juice varies from black to a
dark red depending on the amount of oxidation, which is itself dependent on diffuser design.
The used cossettes, or pulp, exit the diffuser at about 95% moisture, but low sucrose content.
Using screw presses, the wet pulp is then pressed down to 75% moisture.

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This recovers additional sucrose in the liquid pressed out of the pulp, and reduces the
energy needed to dry the pulp.

The pressed pulp is dried and sold as animal feed, while the liquid pressed out of the pulp is
combined with the raw juice, or more often introduced into the diffuser at the appropriate
point in the countercurrent process. The final byproduct, vinasse, is used as fertilizer or
growth substrate for yeast cultures.

During diffusion, a portion of the sucrose breaks down into invert sugars. These can undergo
further breakdown into acids. These breakdown products are not only losses of sucrose, but
also have knock-on effects reducing the final output of processed sugar from the factory.

To limit (thermophilic) bacterial action, the feed water may be dosed with formaldehyde
and control of the feed water pH is also practiced. Attempts at operating diffusion under
alkaline conditions have been made, but the process has proven problematic. The improved
sucrose extraction in the diffuser is offset by processing problems in the next stages.

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4- SATURATION
At the diffusion stage other substances are extracted from the beet as well as the sugar. But
before sugar can be produced in a white crystalline form it is necessary to remove as many
of these non-sugars as possible. This part of the process is referred to as juice purification.
The main raw materials used in the purification are lime and carbon dioxide gas which are
got by burning limestone in a kiln. These substances are added to the juice causing non-
sugars to be precipitated out of the solution. The solid material is then filtered off. After juice
purification the juice has a light yellow colour.

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Carbonatation
Carbonatation is a procedure which removes impurities from raw juice before it
undergoes crystallization. First, the juice is mixed with hot milk of lime (a suspension of
calcium hydroxide in water).

This treatment precipitates a number of impurities, including multivalent anions such as

sulfate, phosphate, citrate and oxalate, which precipitate as their calcium salts and large
organic molecules such as proteins, saponins and pectins, which aggregate in the
presence of multivalent cations.

In addition, the alkaline conditions convert the simple sugars, glucose and fructose, along
with the amino acid glutamine, to chemically stable carboxylic acids.

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Carbonatation

Left untreated, these sugars and amines would eventually frustrate crystallization of the
sucrose.

Next, carbon dioxide is bubbled through the alkaline sugar solution, precipitating the lime as
calcium carbonate (chalk).

The chalk particles entrap some impurities and absorb others. A recycling process builds up
the size of chalk particles and a natural flocculation occurs where the heavy particles settle
out in tanks (clarifiers).

A final addition of more carbon dioxide precipitates more calcium from solution; this is
filtered off, leaving a cleaner, golden light-brown sugar solution called thin juice.

Before entering the next stage, the thin juice may receive soda ash to modify the pH and
sulphitation with a sulfur-based compound to reduce colour formation due to
decomposition of monosaccharides under heat.

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5- EVAPORATION
The purified juice is a sugar solution containing approximately 14% sugar and 1% non-
sugars. It is now necessary to concentrate this solution. This is done by boiling off water
from the solution in large vessels known as evaporators.

On entering the evaporators, the solution contains approximately 14% sugar. On

leaving the evaporators it contains approximately 60%

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Evaporation

The thin juice is concentrated via multiple-effect evaporation to make a thick juice, roughly 60%
sucrose by weight and similar in appearance to pancake syrup. Thick juice can be stored in tanks
for later processing, reducing the load on the crystallization plant.

Crystallization

Thick juice is fed to the crystallizers. Recycled sugar is dissolved into it, and the resulting syrup is
called mother liquor. The liquor is concentrated further by boiling under a vacuum in large
vessels (the so-called vacuum pans) and seeded with fine sugar crystals.

These crystals grow as sugar from the mother liquor forms around them. The resulting sugar
crystal and syrup mix is called a massecuite, from "cooked mass" in French.

The massecuite is passed to a centrifuge, where the liquid is removed from the sugar crystals.
The remaining syrup is rinsed off with water and the crystals are dried in a granulator using
warm air.

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The remaining syrup is fed to another crystallizer from which a second batch of sugar is
produced. This sugar ("raw") is of lower quality with intense color and impurities, and is
the main source of the sugar dissolved again into the mother liquor.

The syrup from the raw is also sent to a crystalliser. From this, a very low-quality sugar
crystal is produced (known in some systems as "AP sugar") that is also redissolved.

The syrup separated is molasses, which still contains sugar, but contains too much
impurity to undergo further processing economically.

Actual procedures may vary from the above description, with different recycling and
crystallisation processes.

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 White sugar centrifugals are for
recovering sugar
crystals from "boiled" syrup and moss.

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6. VACUUM PANS
In order to turn the sugar into a crystalline form it is now necessary to evaporate still more
water.

This is done at a reduced temperature and pressure in large vessels known as vacuum
pans.

Syrup is fed to the pans and as the water is evaporated off, the crystals of sugar begin to
grow.

When the pan is full it contains about 50 tonnes of a mixture of sugar crystals in syrup.
The contents are then discharged into large holding vessels known as crystallizers.

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7. CENTRIFUGALS
The next step in the operation is to separate the sugar from the syrup. This is done in
automatically controlled machines known as centrifugals. In them the syrup is spun off and
the sugar crystals remain. The wet sugar is then dried, screened, cooled and sent to large
bulk storage silos each of which can contain up to 50,000 tonnes.
The syrup from the centrifugals still contains a lot of dissolved sugar. This syrup is put back
through two more boiling stages in order to extract still more sugar.
The final syrup from which it is no longer practical or economical to extract more sugar is
known as molasses. It contains some sugar together with non-sugars which were not
removed at the juice purification stage. It is mainly used for animal feed.
The total time from beet washing to white sugar is about twelve hours. Depending upon
sugar content of the beet, 100 tonnes of beet will give approximately 12-14 tonnes of sugar
and 3-4 tonnes of molasses.

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 combination of a small amount of road and
aSUAGR
large amount
CANE of rail transport.

SUGAR
AfterPRODUCTION PROCESS:
harvesting, cane is transported to the mill where it is weighed and
processed at automated cane receiving stations. At this time the producer of
In Australia the sugar miller is mostly responsible for transport of
the caneThis
sugarcane. and the weight
is mainly achievedisthrough
recorded.
a substantial cane railway
network
ible for and rolling
transport of stock. Australian mills operate over 4,000km of
narrow-gauge railway and almost 95% of the cane crop is transported
esubstantial
tipped cane
onto
to sugar a railway
mills cane carrier There
using railways. and transported
are however some mills that use
erate over 4,000km
shredder reducesof and shreds the
only road cane into
transport and most mills use a
cane crop is transported
nd ruptures the juice cells.combination of a small amount of road and
ver some mills that use a large amount of rail transport.
and most mills use a
dallthe cane of
amount through
road and a series ofharvesting,
After mills. Each cane mill
is transported to the mill where it is weighed and
ilrge rollers arranged in a processed
transport. triangular at automated cane receiving stations. At this time the producer of
the cane and the weight is recorded.
ly coupled with pressure feeders. This
the
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ightthe
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mill boiler furnaces.
Pairs of rollers feed the cane through a series of mills. Each mill
and transported
consists of three large rollers arranged inJuice extracted from the crushing mills contains
a triangular
eds theformation,
cane into normally coupled with pressure feeders. This
impurities which are removed by adding lime and
process separates the sugar juice from the fibrous material,
called bagasse. The sugar juice is pumped heating
away forthe limedinto
processing juice. The and
raw sugar limetheneutralises
bagasse is
recycled
of mills. Eachasmill acids and precipitates impurities which "settle
a fuel for the mill boiler furnaces.
angular out" in large specially designed vessels called
Juice extracted from the crushing mills contains
eders. This clarifiers. The clearwhich
impurities sugar arejuice is run
removed off from
by adding the
lime and 28
rous material, top of eachheating
clarifier.
the limed juice. The lime neutralises
called bagasse.
formation, The coupled
normally sugar juicewithis pressure
pumped feeders.
away for This
processing into raw sugar and the bagasse is
recycledseparates
process as a fuel for
thethe milljuice
sugar boiler
fromfurnaces.
the fibrous material,
called bagasse. The sugar juice is pumped away for processing into raw sugar and the bagasse is
recycled as a fuel for the mill boiler furnaces. Juice extracted from the crushing mills contains
impurities which are removed by adding lime and
Juice extracted
heating fromjuice.
the limed the crushing
The limemills contains
neutralises
impurities
acids andwhich are removed
precipitates by adding
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"settle
heating
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large juice.designed
specially The limevessels
neutralises
called
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clarifiers. impurities
The clear sugar which
juice is "settle
run off from the
out" in large specially
top of each clarifier. designed vessels called
clarifiers. The clear sugar juice is run off from the
Muddy juice extracted from the bottom of the clarifiers topisof each with
mixed clarifier.
fine bagasse and then filtered
using cylindrical rotating vacuum filters to recover the sugar. The mud and bagasse
Muddy juice
mix (filter extracted
mud) frombythe
extracted thebottom ofused
filters is the clarifiers
as a soil istreatment
mixed with onfine
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farms. and
Thisthen filtered
using cylindrical
recycles much ofrotating vacuum filters
the phosphorous takento up
recover
from the
the sugar.
soil by The mud and
the cane bagasse
plant.
mix (filter mud) extracted by the filters is used as a soil treatment on cane farms. This
recycles
The clearmuch
juiceof the the
from phosphorous
clarifiers istaken up from the
concentrated soil by the
by boiling cane vacuum
it under plant. in a
series of connected vessels called effets or evaporators. The concentrated juice is
The clear
called juice from the clarifiers is concentrated by boiling it under vacuum in a
syrup.
series of connected vessels called effets or evaporators. The concentrated juice is
called syrup.
The syrup (about 65-70 percent sugar) is concentrated by boiling in a vacuum pan and
is seeded with small sugar crystals in a process called crystallisation.
The syrup (about 65-70 percent sugar) is concentrated by boiling in a vacuum pan and
is seeded with small sugar crystals in a process called crystallisation.

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The sugar crystals are grown to the required size by adding more syrup while boiling continues. When
the crystals reach the required size (approximately 1.0mm), the mixture of syrup and crystals called
massecuite is discharged from the pan.

Syrup is separated from the raw sugar crystals in centrifugals which contain
perforated baskets which spin at high speed in a casing (similar to a household
washing machine). The dark syrup surrounding the crystals is "thrown off" and
passes through the perforations. The spun-off syrup is boiled again and more raw
sugar crystals are recovered. This procedure is repeated until the amount of sugar
obtained is too small to make further extractions economical. Molasses is the
syrup left over from the final centrifuging. This is stored for later sale.

The raw sugar from the centrifugals is dried by

tumbling through a stream of air in a rotating drum.

The raw sugar is then transferred for short-term storage in bulk bins
at the mills.

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