Sugar is one of the most important and necessary products in a diet of the person. It is used in many branches of the food industry. From a sugar cane make the greatest number of sugar in the world.
Sugar cane: from a stalk to juice
Production of sugar begins with cultivation on plantations of a sugar cane. This cereal grows in tropical and subtropical climate and needs a large number of the sun and water. During harvesting in the manual or machine way cut off plant stalks, separating from them tops, unsuitable for production of sugar, and leaves.
The world leader in production of a sugar cane is Brazil.
It is very important to deliver the received raw materials as soon as possible to the sugar plant as in the cut-off stalks the sucrose level falls. For transportation usually use trucks or small railway networks.
After delivery to the plant, raw materials are very carefully washed out. Clean stalks mill into small pieces in crushers. The next stage — juice squeezing. At the same time the crushed fibers press between cylinders in special mills. Sweet juice which will be processed further for receiving sugar, and cake is as a result formed.
The dry cake which remained after a juice extraction is used as fuel for coppers and furnaces, for production of paper, cardboard, chemicals and an agricultural mulch.
Cleaning and evaporation
The squeezed-out juice is checked for the level of content of sucrose and availability of impurity. After that liquid is subjected to influence of chemicals. For cleaning and regulation of level of acidity juice is mixed with limy solution and after a while separate the firm particles which settled on a bottom. The next stage of receiving sugar is called evaporation. He assumes transformation of sweet liquid into dense syrup. At this process the purified juice is heated and boiled in special tanks. Level of content of sugar in a product much more increases: from 15 to 60%.
Crystallization of sugar
The received syrup is placed in vacuum installations for further boiling. To initiate formation of crystals of sugar, pour a number of ready crystal sugar into weight. As a result dense mix of crystal sugar and not crystal syrup turns out. Further paste is placed in high-speed centrifuges where crystals of sugar separate from treacle. The received sugar has a brownish shade. At some plants it is subjected to additional cleaning, and it finds white color. Drying of sugar by means of hot air is the final stage then the product is packaged and packed.