How do you extract sugar from cane or beet?

Step 1: Harvesting and Preparation

- Sugarcane is harvested at its peak maturity.

- The harvested canes are transported to the sugar mill for processing.

- The leaves and tops are removed, and the stalks are cut into smaller pieces.

Step 2: Crushing

- The sugarcane pieces are fed into a series of heavy rollers that crush them and extract the juice.

- This process is repeated multiple times to maximize juice extraction.

Step 3: Clarification

- The raw juice obtained from crushing contains impurities such as mud, fiber, and other suspended particles.

- The juice is heated and treated with various chemicals (like lime) to remove these impurities.

- This process helps in clarifying the juice.

Step 4: Evaporation

- The clarified juice is heated in evaporators to remove water and concentrate the sugar content.

- Multiple stages of evaporation are employed, resulting in a thick syrup called "concentrated juice."

Step 5: Crystallization

- The concentrated juice is cooled and seeded with sugar crystals.

- As the mixture is slowly agitated, more crystals form and grow, adhering to the seed crystals.

- This process leads to the formation of larger sugar crystals.

Step 6: Centrifugation

- The mixture of crystals and syrup is spun rapidly in centrifuges.

- This separates the sugar crystals from the remaining liquid (molasses).

- The crystals are washed and dried to remove any residual molasses.

Step 7: Refining (Optional)

- The raw sugar obtained from the centrifugation stage can be further refined for higher purity.

- Refining involves dissolving the raw sugar in water, filtering out impurities, and recrystallizing the sugar.

- This process yields granulated white sugar ready for consumption or industrial use.

Extracting Sugar from Beets:

The sugar extraction process from beets follows similar principles but differs slightly in the initial stages due to the different composition of beets.

Step 1: Harvesting and Preparation

- Sugar beets are harvested when they reach maturity.

- They are topped and washed to remove soil and impurities.

- The beets are then sliced into thin strips called "cossettes."

Step 2: Diffusion

- The cossettes are placed in a diffuser, where hot water is used to extract the sugar from the beet cells.

- The diffusion process continues until the cossettes are almost depleted of sugar.

Step 3: Clarification

- The extracted juice undergoes a clarification process similar to that used in cane sugar extraction to remove impurities.

Step 4: Evaporation and Crystallization

- The clarified juice is concentrated and crystallized using processes similar to those used for sugarcane.

Step 5: Centrifugation and Drying

- The crystallized sugar is separated from the molasses using centrifuges.

- The sugar crystals are dried to remove moisture and obtain granulated white sugar.

Step 6: Refining

- As with sugarcane, the raw sugar obtained from beets can undergo further refining for higher purity.

Both cane and beet sugar extraction processes end with the production of granulated white sugar suitable for various culinary and industrial applications.