First Biennial World Conference On Recent Development in Sugar Technologies

Marriott Hotel, Delra Beach, Florida, !S", Ma #$%#&, '(('

White and Refined Sugar )roduction from Cane Sugar Factories

Dr* Chung Chi Chou, )rincipal Scientist, Dr* Chou Technologies, +nc* !S"
,%Mail- drchouusa.aol*com We/site- esugartech*com
Drs* 0halid +1/al, 2* 3* Min, D* W* 3ao and ,mmanuel Duffaut, formerl
Research scientists4 ,ngineers, Sugar )rocessing Research +nstitute, !S"

+ntroduction
Sugar from sugar cane is extracted today much the same as it was 40 years
ago. Sugar extracted from sugar cane is processed to become raw sugar at sugar
mills and then further purified to refined white sugar in a sugar refinery, using
energy intensive processes. However, sugar from beet is processed to refined
white sugar directly in a beet factory. Volumes of research have been conducted
on nature of colorants, polysaccharide and inorganic profile of sugar process
streams over the past thirty (0! years. However very few research priority have
been directed to develop a sugar process that will produce the same "uality sugar
at cane sugar factories that is currently provided at sugar refineries at a significant
reduction in energy consumption.
#r. $hung $hi $hou, while he was the managing director of Sugar
%rocessing &esearch 'nstitute (S%&'! during ())) * +000, organi,ed and directed a
team to conduct a research pro-ect with the ob-ective specifically to produce
white*refined sugar directly in sugar factories. .he team succeeded in their effort
and developed the /S0.1 process to produce white sugar using clarified -uices
from Sterling sugar factory in 2ouisiana. 3oth the bench scale boiling pan at S%&'
and pilot scale boiling pan at 0udubon Sugar 'nstitute of 2ouisiana State
4niversity were used for this study.
.he /S0.1 process involves the addition of processing aids to clarified
raw -uice followed by 45 membrane filtration to produce refined "uality sugar
with color ranging from 60 to +00 '$4. .he sugar can further be crystalli,ed,
using existing pans, to give a color of (0 to +0 '$4 depending on customer
re"uirement ((!.
The S"T process
.he following flow chart, figure (, describes the S0. process. 0
conventional raw sugar mill clarifier is used to treat the mixed -uice first. .he
clarified -uice is then sub-ect to S0. process treatment as follow7 two processing
aids are added separately to the clarified -uice with at least five minutes apart
between the additions to facilitate the reaction. .he treated clarified -uice is then
(
filtered through a cross flow 45 membrane system which produces at least )08
of permeate and a maximum of (0 8 retentate. .he permeate fraction is sent
forward for evaporation. .he retentate fraction is further sub-ect to secondary
clarification together with the under flow from the drum filters to remove highly
concentrated suspended matter and macromolecules such as polysaccharides,
waxes and gums etc. 3y clarifying the vacuum drum filtrate together with
retentate and sending forward, the capacity of the primary clarifier would increase
by about (98. .he clear effluent from the secondary clarifier can either be sent
forward for evaporation or sent to the 45 system for filtration. .he /scum1 from
the clarifier is sent bac: to the drum filters for removal of suspended matter. .he
two processing aids meet the 4S regulatory re"uirements.
Figure # 5e6 S"T process
+ntegration of Mem/rane Sstem
Feed #((( 3)M 77( 3)M )ermeates
7(( 3)M #((( 3)M
!nder flo6 #'( 3)M
)a #8'

Retentate

7( 3)M





Filtrate #9( 3)M '(( 3)M
Capacity Expansion
'( 3)M
Scum

:"lternativel, a tu/ular mem/rane sstem at higher capital costs
+
Clarifier Mem/rane
Sstem
Crstalli;ation
White
Sugar
<acuum Filter
Clarifier:
.he S0. process is a /perfect1 replacement of carbonation and *or sulfitation
processes for production of plantation white sugar. $arbonation involves an
environmental issue for disposal of carbonate ca:e, particularly for long term
consideration. Sulfitation has been :nown for its serious problems with respect to
process instability, operational difficulties, low sucrose yield due to high sucrose
loss and poor product "uality, including, but not limited to, high S;
+
contents and
storage problems.
<ith the S0. process a raw sugar mill can easily produce Very 2ow $olor
(V2$! sugar with color of 400 to =00 '$4 and 4ltra 2ow $olor (42$! sugar with
color of (00 to +00 '$4. <hen V2$ /raw sugar1 is shipped for further refining,
0 refinery can eliminate affination and carbonation* phosphatation processes. 5or
42$ sugar, a refinery can eliminate all the processes before pan boiling with
considerable operating cost saving. .hese advantages are illustrated in the
following figure +.
.he illustration clearly shows that refined sugar can also easily produce in
a sugar mill by boiling 42$ sugar one more time. 0s to be shown later in this
presentation, a raw sugar mill can produce about 08 of its product as refined
sugar without additional capital investment in boiling pans.
.he S0. process will be perfect for a refinery attached to a raw sugar
mill. 'n fact, when a 42$ sugar is produced by the S0. process only some
additional pans and drying e"uipment are needed to produce (00 8 of refined
sugar in the attached refinery.
+ntegration of sugar mill 6ith refiner operation 6ith S"T
process (5igure +!

4
Selection of a mem/rane sstem for the S"T process

5rom technical and process view point the pore si,e of membranes, based
on molecular weight cut off limit, is the most important factor to be considered.
5or the S0. process to successfully remove sufficient fine particles, macro>
molecules, such as polysaccharides, dextrans, starches, gums, waxes, color and
the complexes of these constituents, the membrane selected should have a
maximum molecular weight cut off limit of 00,000. However, a molecular
weight cut off limit of ?9,000 to (00,000 is preferred.
5or the design and engineering of a membrane system, and most
importantly for economic -ustification, many factors need to be considered such
as those listed in the table below. .he table is a text boo: case of a membrane
pro-ect. 5or a given ob-ective*function of the pro-ect, four membrane vendors,
after extensive pilot testing, submitted the design as shown in the table. 't should
be noted that power consumption varies as much as twofold and one system
re"uires as many as five heat exchangers for the same application. 't is obvious
that each vendor has different types of membranes with diverse design criteria. 't
is up to the user to select the best technically and economically -ustifiable system
for applications. 't goes without saying that both operating and capital cost greatly
depend on the design and engineering of the system.
Design of mem/rane sstems
Membranes Flux Surface No. of Power Operating
Vendor pore size (Imh) area
(!)
No. of No. of heat
exch
"ecirc Footprint
#
$otal consumption pressure
rating needed modules stages re%uired pump
&P
height weight per da' ((ar)
) *.*+ ) ,*! ,- + + 5 x125 HP 39'L x 22'W 14 tons
(et!
.*** , / +
x 11'H
! *.*! ! !00 )! ! ! 1 x 2"" HP 3#'L x 3#'W 15 tons
(et!
-1+* , / +
1 x 1"" HP x 15'H $ tons
(%ry!
, *.) , ,!! , , none 3 x $5HP 15'L x 25'W 1" tons
(et!
,0** + / 1
x 25'H
- *.! , --0 -* ! ! 2 x 2"" HP 4"'L x 4"'W 3# tons
(%ry!
20** ! / -
x2"' H
9
)rinciple, ,=periments, and Results
5actors affecting the color of white*refined sugar includes7 purity and
color of pan feed li"uor, color types, polysaccharides, ash constituents, sugar
crystal si,e and distribution, and boiling time. S0. process is designed*developed
to reduce*minimi,e and improve or change these effect in order to produce
white*refined sugar.
)urit and color of feed li1uor%%.he crystal sugar color is greatly affected by the
color and purity of pan feed li"uor. @enerally crystalli,ation removes between )0
to )= 8 of color. .he lower the color of feed li"uor the better the sugar color.
Sugar refining processes use affination (mechanical separation of color!,
carbonation, phosphatation, bone char, granular carbon and ion exchange resin to
remove color before sugar boiling (crystalli,ation! to produce white*refined sugar.
0ny or combination of above processes selected should perform the highest net
color removal with minimum environmental problems. 4nfortunately, except
affination and crystalli,ation, all other processes create environmental issue.
.he 45 membranes used in the S0. process remove color with minimal
effect on environmental "uality as shown in the table below. .he color removal
ranges from 468 for raw sugar to 968 for affination syrup. .he ability of S0. to
remove color is essential to ma:e white sugar from sugar mill. .he maximum
color of clarified cane -uice entering the S0. system should not exceed (+,000
'$4.
Srup color and purit improvement / the S"T process
"un No. Samples Co&or ('C(M)*! Purit'
"un ) 3ffination
s'rup ,* 45
-*+1! 0*.,2
S3$
treated
)2.-* 0-.*,
"un ! 3ffination
s'rup ,* 45
,.!-- 0-.*.
S3$
treated
)1*!- 00.-1
"un , "aw sugar
solution ,*
1011 .0.2!
S3$ treated -*-! .0.10
.he above data also indicate considerable improvement in purity due to
non>sucrose removal by the S0. process. .he increase in purity is as high as four
=
points for affination syrup used in the study, most li:ely due to the presence of
large "uantity of macro>molecules and well dispersed fine particulates. .he
increase in clarified cane -uice is expected to be less. .he higher the purity of cane
-uice the easier it is to ma:e white sugar. 5or the S0. process the cane -uice
should have a minimum purity of 69. $ane -uice with low purity would contain
large percentage of invert sugar, which would not only create color but also
induce significant sucrose loss, particularly at low %H as practiced in sulfitation
processes for production of plantation white. .he following data evidences the
tremendous sucrose loss due to sulfitation, up to 98, due to low %H and high
invert in the cane -uice.
> Sucrose loss at 7( C, pH ?*( of $? /ri= sucrose solution spi@ed 6ith
Fructose
8 fructose (.9 hr heating hr heating = hr heating
0 0.+=8 0.648 +.=8
(.9 0.)+ 0.)=) .4
.0 0.9(+ (.= 9.9(
Color TpesA.o produce white*refined sugar, in addition to lessen the color of
feed li"uor, a survey of literature suggests a need for removal of colorants
preferentially occluded in the crystal. #onovan and his cowor:er have concluded,
in their study on preferential color occlusion in sugar crystal, that the higher
molecular weight colorants, which can be separated by membrane, give much
high color transfer into sugar crystal (+!. $lar:e and her cowor:ers has proposed
that polysaccharide is part of the very high molecular weight color complex and is
preferentially occluded in sugar crystal (!* &emoval of these high molecular
weight color and polysaccharide by a membrane system, which is part of the S0.
system, should facilitate production of white*refined sugar from sugar mill. .he
following table shows the color and polysaccharide removal as a function of
membrane molecular weight cut off limits. 't should be noted that in general the
8 removal increase as the pore si,e of membrane decrease. $hou also reported
similar findings (4!.
Color and polsaccharide removal as a function of mem/rane pore si;e
em(r
ane
6 remo7al 6 remo7al 6 remo7al
olecul
ar
$ur(ilit' 8olor Pol'saccharide
)*9*** ...+ 0. .*.0
,+9*** )** 0+., 0-
1+9*** 00.+ 2*.0 0)
?
"sh tpesA$arpenter reported (9! that ionic constituents in sugar solution would
greatly influence the degree of color adsorption by adsorbents such as bone char
and granular carbon. $olorants in a sugar solution with excess polyanions (A%0!
has much less tendency to be adsorbed or pic:ed up by adsorbents, particularly as
the degree of con-ugated double bond decrease as shown in his data. He did not
advance his explanation for the phenomenon. $hou (4! advanced his reasoning in
term of ionic strength of the solution and the degree of con-ugated double bond of
the adsorbents. Since the sugar crystal has no con-ugated double bond, the
adsorption*occlusion of colorants into the crystal should be minimal as the A%0 is
increased by addition of polyanions as processing aids. Some other reasonings can
be found in the literature (=, ?!. 'n the S0. process, polyanions are added as
processing aids to increase A%0, and therefore minimi,e color occlusion into
sugar crystals.
Sugar crstal si;e and distri/utionA the sugar color, for a given weight of
sugar product, increases with surface area due to the fact that about (9 to 08 of
total color are on the outside of the crystal. .o minimi,e sugar color, the S0.
process re"uires a minimum of 0.=9mm average sugar crystal si,e (B0! and a
maximum of 9 coefficient of variation ($V! for its sugar products.
Boiling time%%'t is generally stated in the literature that ultrafiltration (45.!
treatment of sugar containing solutions improves the crystalli,ation rate during
boiling and therefore will subse"uently increase vacuum pan capacities.
However, there is little specific data available in the literature on the sub-ect. .oo
many parameters affect sugar boil, for instance, boiling schemes. .he table below
shows the increased rate of crystal growth achieved with -uice treatment by the
S0. process.
Crstal gro6th rate improvement 6ith S"T process
Samples
)st hr. !nd hr. ,rd hr.
3ffination -.1 ,.- !.1
S3$ treated 1 -.1 ,.1
6 Increase -.6 ,06 ,16
.he S0. process provides benefits, in addition to color reduction, in the
form of polysaccharide and other non>sucrose impurities removal.
5or example, the treatment of affination syrup using the S0. process removed
impurities as previously shown. 't can be seen (see above table! that removal of
polysaccharides and other impurities, which affect the rate of crystalli,ation, did
indeed improve the crystal growth rate by up to 4) 8, 6 8, and ? 8 for the first
6
hour, second hour, and third hour, respectively. .he subse"uent increase in
crystal growth rate will increase the factory*plant capacity, reduce sucrose loss,
and increase yield.
.he increased crystal growth rate can be attributed to a reduction in
viscosity caused by the membrane ultrafiltration along with processing aid
treatment. 't is well :nown that treating -uice with 4.5. and processing aids will
give reduced viscosity. .he table below shows the reduction in viscosity up to
()8 due to the S0. treatment. Since the viscosity is difficult to measure at 69
brix, they were measured at about ?9 3rix. 't is expected that viscosity reduction
would be significantly higher at 69 3rix, which is closer to the actual conditions
in sugar boiling.
Srup viscosit improvement 6ith the S"T treatment
Viscosit
' cps
"un No.
$emperature 2* 8 !! 8 2* 8 !! 8
8larified :uice )!0 )2!! )+* )0!*
S3$ treated )*0 ),-0 )!! )+20
6 "eduction )26 )16 ).6 )-6
)ilot plant testing%% 'n essence, .he S0. process uses (a! the membrane with
right pore si,e to remove color, polysaccharide, and their complexes, after
addition of processing aids, in order to reduce both feed li"uor color and color
transfer coefficient, and (b! processing aids to increase A%0 and to change the
nature of colorants in order to reduce occlusion of sugar color into sugar crystal.
.he experiment involved five scientists and engineers on three shifts*day basis
for about two months. .he clarified -uice were first treated with processing aids
and membrane filtered using a two gpm membrane pilot unit on site in Sterling
Sugar $ompany of 2ouisiana. .he treated clarified -uice was then evaporated to
=9 brix using an pilot evaporator on loan from 0S' of 2ouisiana 4niversity of
2ouisiana (2S4!. .he concentrated syrup were then truc:ed to 0S' of 2S4 and
boiled* crystalli,ed using a pilot vacuum pan with nominal capacity of twenty
gallons. .he results are shown below. .he data clearly indicate that white sugar
with color ranging from 60 to +00 '$4 can be produced from cane sugar
factories.
)
White sugar produced 6ith S"T process
Sugar
(oiling
"un No. Samples S'rup color Sugar color
(I8;S3)
1" sec+ Was,in- 2" sec+ Was,in- 3" sec+ Was,in-
"un ) 8larified s'rup ))-*2 201 --! ,,+
<ec. )... S3$ treated 2+.* !,. )+! 0+
"un ! 8larified s'rup ))--, +21 -!! ,-*
=an. !*** S3$ treated 0,0- !)1 )!+ 0*
Benefits of the S"T process is sho6n in the follo6ing list
#B Spar@ling sugar 6ith color of 7? minimum
C+C!B meeting !* S* Food grade standard
'B SO
'
less than $ ppm
DB +ncrease vacuum pan capacit / D(>
9B +ncrease clarifier capacit / #?>
?B Reduce evaporator scale / up to &?>
$B Reduce sucrose loss / up to '>
&B ,=cellent sta/ilit in storage
7B !p to E(> De=tran removal
EB "n automated process
#(B 5o conventional sulfitation4car/onation4
flotation process facilitating automation of
mills to reduce manning, and consistent
high process efficienc and products 1ualit
##B "/ilit to produce D(> of refined sugar
6ithout additional vacuum pan
#'B Operate in conFunction 6ith the Cti process
to produce 6hite4refined sugar and value added
sugarcane e=tract Cantio=idant etc*B
(0

CO5CG!S+O5S
&eported here is a new sugar processing method (S0.! providing an energy
efficient and environmentally friendly process for production of white*refined
sugar from cane sugar factories. .he S0. process is a direct replacement of the
sulfitation, carbonation, and 3lanco #irecto processes for plantation white sugar
productions.
.he S0. process will7 a! minimi,e color occlusion into sugar crystal during sugar
boiling producing sugar product with color ranging from 60 to +00 '$4
depending the need of the mar:et C b! reduce scale formation in the evaporation
process by up to ?98C c! increase pan boiling capacity by 08C d! increase
primary clarifier capacity of (9 8 by elimination of vacuum drum filtrate recycleC
e! reduce sucrose loss by up to +8C f! reduce sulfate*sulfite content of the sugarC
and g! improve the storage stability of sugar products.
.he crystalli,ed 42$ and V2$ sugar products from the S0. process in raw sugar
mills*factories can be used as food grade products for direct consumption as
refined sugar, plantation white sugar, and other low purity refined sugar.
0pplication of the S0. process in raw sugar mills in con-unction with a sugar
refinery can eliminate one or more of the various refining processes such as
affination, carbonation, phosphatation, and*or granular carbon*bone char*ion
exchange for decolori,ation.
'n summary, the environmentally friendly S0. process can produce high "uality
food grade sugar products meeting customersD needs with considerable savings in
both capital and operating costs.

"C05OWG,D3,M,5T
.he authors are grateful to Sterling Sugars, 'nc. (5ran:lin, 20! for facilities and
support provided for this study and to 0udubon Sugar 'nstitute of 2ouisiana State
4niversity for the use of its facilities.
.he authorsD sincere appreciation are extended to the Sugar %rocessing &esearch
'nstitute (S%&'! group for analytical support including #r. 2inda 0ndrews, Bary
0n @odshall, &onnie .riche, Sara Boore, Barie Euebel, and Favier Biranda.
((
R,F,R,5C,S
(. $hou, $. $. Sugar %rocessing> <here are we goingG 'nternational Sugar Hournal,
Bay +00(, pp +(=>++
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to Sugar $rystals. %roceedings of the ())+ Sugar %rocessing &esearch $onference,
pp. (>46.
. Bargaret 0. $lar:e, etc. ( ())+! . %olysaccharide of beet and cane sugar7 a progress
report. %roceeding of the Sugar %rocessing &esearch $onference, pp9>=4
4. $hou, $. $. %rocess #evelopment %ro-ects for the Iew Billennium, %roceeding of
the .echnical Beeting of Sugar 'ndustry .echnologists, 'nc. +00(. % (=.
9. 5ran: $arpenter, 3one $har &esearch %ro-ects, .echnical &eport Io. =).
=. $hou, $. $.C &i,,uto, 0. A. (()?+!. .he 0cidic Iature of Sugar $olorants.
%roceedings of the ()?+ .echnical Session on $ane Sugar &efining &esearch, pp. 6>
++.
?. &ichard &iffer, Ion>sugar and Sugar refining, $hapter =, pp=+?>==0, /Handboo: of
Sugar &efining1 by $hung $hi $hou (+000!
6. 2ionnet, @. &. A. (()6?!. 'mpurity .ransfer #uring 0>Bassecuite 3oiling.
%roceedings of the South 0frican Sugar .echnologists 0ssociation, pp. ?0>?9.
) Shore, B.C 3roughton, I. <.C #utton, H. V.C Sissons, 0. (()64!. 5actors 0ffecting
<hite Sugar $olor.
Sugar .echnology &eviews, (+7 (>))
(+

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