• Sugar :

 The generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble

carbohydrates,
School of Biological and Chemical Science and Technology
(BCST)  Many of which are used in food
Food Science and Applied Nutrition Department  Are Carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen
Sugar, Starch, Honey and Confectionary • Various types of sugar can be derived from different
Technology sources
• The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as
Habtamu Asmare food is sucrose, a disaccharide
Tel: +251 912 849 939
• In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and
Email: habtamu.asmare@aait.edu.et
habtastat@gmail.com glucose
.
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 3

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 2 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 4

 The world produced about 172.5 million tons of sugar in  Industrially three types of sugar are produced
2011 based on their quality and processing methods:
 The average person consumes about 24 kg of sugar each
year (33.1 kg in developed countries), equivalent to over  Raw sugar - further processed to produce
260 food calories per person, per day refined sugar
 Ethiopian total annual sugar production is about  Plantation white sugar (PWS) - used for
300,000 tons, which only covers 60% of the annual
demand for domestic consumption.
direct consumption
 The difference has to be bridged through importation  Refined sugar -used for direct consumption
from abroad.
 Per-capita consumption of sugar in Ethiopia is one of the
lowest in the world with about 5 to 6 kg.
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 5
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 7

Top 10 Sugar Producing Countries Of The World; 2011

The main raw materials of sugar industries are:
S.N Country Production (1000 tonnes ) • Sugar cane: 70% world sugar production
1 Brazil 455,291
2 India 281,170 • Sugar beet: 30% world sugar production
3 China 100,684
4 Mexico 50,597  All sweet materials contain sugar; but what matters
5 Thailand 47,658 is the % content of sucrose
6 Pakistan 44,666
7 Colombia 39,849 • Raw material acceptence criteria = f(% sucrose content)
8 Australia 38,169
9 Indonesia 30,150
10 USA 26,835

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 6 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 8

 Sugar Cane (raw material) = 100%
 Water = 70-75 % 1. Sugar Cane
Water  Fiber = 12-15%
 Sugar (sucrose) = 10-14%  Sugar cane typically takes 1 year (12months) to reach
 Solid non-sugar = 2-3% maturity although the times varies around the world,
 When harvested it is about 3m tall.
Input  When cut, will re-grow in another 12 months provided the
Sugar (Final Product)
Chemicals
10-13% roots are undisturbed.
 A typical sugar content for mature cane would be 10% by
Water
Final Molasses weight but the figure depends on the variety and varies
3-4%
from season to season and location to location
 The process whereby cane plants make sugars is
Filter Cake Bagasse (Fiber + Moisture + Sugar) photosynthesis
3- 4% 25-30% 12 CO + 11 H O + Energy =
2 2 C H O + 12 O
12 22 11 2

Carbon dioxide + Water = Sucrose + Oxygen

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 9
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 11

1. Sugar Cane Different Parts of Sugar Cane

 Sugar cane refers to any of several species of giant grass
in the genus Saccharum that have been cultivated in
tropical climates

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 10
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 12
 General processing scheme of sugarcane
HARVESTING  Sugar cane 

Composition of Sugar Cane CLEANING

 Water 70- 75% CUTTING 

 Sucrose 10- 15% SHREEDING 

 Fibre 10-13% Milling /Juice 
Extraction 
CRUSHING 
 Reducing sugars 0.5-2%
 Other organics 0.5-1% PRESSING  Bagasse 
 Inorganics 0.5-0.8%
PRESS JUICE
***Note: Organic matters other than sugar include proteins, PURIFICATION 
organic acids, pentosan, coloring matter and wax
CONCENTRATION 

Molasses
11/6/2015
CRYSTALIZATION 
Habtamu A.
REFINING SUGAR
15
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 13

Flow Sheet for Processing of Sugar

Composition of Sugar Cane
 In practice the composition of cane received by a factory
depends not only on the composition of the cane stalk, but
also on other combination of factors such as:
 The cane variety
 Agricultural practices
 The amount of tops, leaves and other extraneous matter
 The time of season
 The maturity of the cane
 The delay between burning and cutting and delivery to
the mill
Crusher
Heater Filter Evaporator Crystallizer

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 14 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 16

 Integration of Sugar and Ethanol plants
SUGAR
JUICE Main advantages
 Cane of low content of sugar and purity goes to ethanol
production
BAGASSE Ethanol  Sugar of better quality – no need to recycle molasses of
low purity
 No hard work to recover sugar in final molasses
 No loss in final molasses
LEAVES & TOPS CO-GENERATION  Variation on the ratio of sugar and ethanol produced
OF ELECTRICITY according to the market

11/6/2015
Habtamu A. 17 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 19

SUGARCANE Sugars = Suc + Glu + Fru 2. Sugar Beet

 Sugar beet, a cultivated variety of Beta vulgaris, is generally
MILLING grown as a root in moderately cold climates but can also
JUICE FOR SUGAR JUICE FOR ETHANOL adapt itself to very cold and warmer climates as well
 Sugar beet is a root crop and it stores sucrose in its root
FACTORY juice  It produces sugar during the first year of growth
FERMENTATION  A typical sugar content for mature sugar beet would be 17%
MOLASSES
&
DISTILLATION by weight but the figure depends on the variety and varies
from season to season and location to location
 Sugar beet needs between six to eight months to grow and
become ready for processing in the factory
SUGAR ETHANOL  When fully grown, it weighs 0.5 to 2 kg
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 18 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 20
 2. Sugar Beet 2. Sugar Beet

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 21 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 23

2. Sugar Beet 2. Sugar Beet

 Typically, sugar beets produce sugar (granulated-refined
sugar) equal to one-seventh of their weight after sugar
beets are processed in the factory
 The sugar yield per hectare (ha) planted from beets is about
7 tons per ha
 This value for sugarcane (usually contains about 12 to 17%
sucrose) is 10 t/ha
 Higher value for sugarcane is because of the much higher
yield of sugarcane (about 100 t/ha), compared with about
40 tons of sugar beet per hectare

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 22 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 24

 SUGAR CANE Products
 8.5 tons millable sugar cane  1 ton of sugar
 10 tons of sugar per hectare for cane (high yield)
 7 tons of sugar per hectare for beet( low yield)
And
Byproduct: Bagasse
• 8.5 tons sugar cane  2.5 ton bagasse (50% hum)

11/6/2015 Habtamu A.
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 2
25

Where does the cane or beet grow?

 Cane is a tropical plant and hence grows in tropical zones

Requires strong sunlight and abandent water for satisfactory growth
• Beet is atemperate plant and grows in temperate zones

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 26
 Choice of the Harvestin/Cutting methods
 Labor cost
 Field topography
 sloppy or
 hilly fields
 Whether fields are free from rocks
 Cane quality required for factory
 Typically there are two types of harvesting:
i. ”Traditional” Harvest/Hand Cutting
ii. ”Green” Harvest/ Mechanical Cutting
i. ”Traditional” Harvest/Hand Cutting
 Can employ lots of people in areas where jobs are scarce
 Requires high labor cost
 Can be suitable for any land topography
 leads to lower field losses and better quality cane than
mechanical harvesting
 Less leaves, tops, soil, stone /less extraneous matter in
the cane to factory
 Less physical and microbiological loss

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 29 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 31

i. ”Traditional” Harvest/Hand Cutting ii. ”Green” Harvest/Mechanical Cutting

 Green cutting  Highly mechanized
 Burn cutting  Machines separates the tops and leaves (cane trash) from the cane.
 Makes the canes easy to handle (for hand cut by knives)  140kg dry cane trash can be recovered per ton of cane.
 Pollutes the nearby environment  Chop harvesting
 Loss of biomass potential (tops, leaves )  whole stock harvest
 Burn harvest
 Green harvest

Cutter/Chopper harvester

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 30 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 32

 ii. ”Green” Harvest/Mechanical Cutting
Advantages
• It is a faster process
• Less labor intensive
• Cane is fresher when it reaches the mill
• A lower dextran and impurity content
• It degrades more slowly in storage
Note: Dextran; anaerobic fermentation of sucrose in
wet conditions by Leucnostoc mesentroid bacteria
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 33
ii. ”Green” Harvest/Mechanical Cutting
Disadvantages
 High Machinery cost- capital, maintenance, fuel
 Damage to the field, harming future cane crop (ratoon)
particularly this occurs when harvesting is done during the rainy
season in which damage to the next years cane can be appreciable
 Sugar Losses are higher with chopper harvest
 loss of juice and cane fragments
 Loss with trash remover
 Bacterial infections
 Where cane is machine-handled, cane washing is indispensable,
combined with stone removal, especially when the loading of cane
is mechanical, push-racking and grab loading
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 34
Disadvantages if leaves are not properly removed
There is more material to process
The higher fiber content means that there is a greater loss
of sugar in bagasse
More molasses is produced as a result of the lower juice
purity, and a higher loss of sugar in molasses results
The sugar color is affected adversely
There is more starch in the juice because of the higher
starch content of the tops and leaves
The bulk density of the cane in the transport vehicles is
considerably lower
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 35
 Cane Transporting
 The cane harvested is mechanically loaded by grab loaders into
cane carts
 The cane carts or traillers are driven by tractors, which may go
to a cane yard of the factory or directly to the mill for unloading
 Cane weighing
 Measuring the mass of cane delivered is an important operation
– Cane payment implications
– Material balance
 It is generally done on a weighbridge or large platform scale at
the factory gate, whether the cane is delivered by road or rail
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 36
  Cane Storage  Cane Unloading and Handling
 Some factories transport cane from field for 24hrs; But in most Two methods of Cane unloading
sugar factories cane is transported only during day time
Unloading by crane
 Some cane has to be stored for crushing through the night
Tipping- Self unloading trucks
 The stock of cane should be as low as possible to reduce the  To transfer the cane from transporting equipment to cane tables
overall delay from cut to crush
 To feed the factory
 Various methods of storing cane are used;
– Cane may be stored in bundles and retrieved as needed
– Cane may be stored on wheels, i.e. in vehicles or trailers in
the mill yard, and emptied as necessary
– May be stored in containers
– May be spilt loose onto the floor
 Strict first-in first-out (FIFO) policy should be practiced

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 37 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 39

Effect of cane delays after harvest (Damage and  Cane Unloading and Handling
Deterioration of Cane)
 Cane being perishable raw material susceptible to
microbial deterioration; and it starts immediately after
cutting,
 This results in the loss of sugar and the formation of
undesirable impurities Crane cane unloader (Fixed)
 Therefore cane transportation and storage time should
always be kept to a minimum
 Deterioration is accelerated by:
 high temperature,
 light,
 loss of moisture and
 inversion
 All of which factors are greater under tropical conditions
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 38
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 40
 Cane Unloading and Handling  Cane Unloading and Handling
Tipping truck
Grab unloader

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 41
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 43

 Cane Unloading and Handling  Cane Conveying Units

Overhead moving crane
Cane is unloaded from transporting trucks on to cane table
Then cane table conveys the cane to the cane carriers
The cane carriers transfer the cane to juice extraction plant
passing the cane through different cane preparatory units
which are installed over the cane carriers
 Major cane conveying equipment
 Cane tables
 Cane carriers
 Cane levelers

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 42
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 44
  Cane Conveying Units
 Cane Tables
Is used to supply regulated amount of cane to the
carriers
There are usually two cane tables to receive cane from
unloaders and transfer to can carriers
Used as intermediate storage between unloader and
carriers
Speed; of cane table is made lower than that of the
main carrier to avoid risk the carrier overload
Slope; may be horizontal, or may have a slight forward
slope of about 5°, or a slope of 15° towards the rear
 Cane Conveying Units
 Cane Leveler /Tumbler/Equillizer Cane/ kicker
 Cane levelers are used on the cane table and cane carrier in an
attempt to obtain a constant height of cane fed to the knives or
shredder
 They are horizontal shaft placed above the cane table and carriers,
and rotates slowly in the reverse direction
 Provided with arms arranged in a helix along its length
 They ensure the cane falls into the carrier in small lots, avoiding a
heavy fall of large masses which would be liable to provoke chokes
at the knives
 Give a more regular , uniform and steady feed to cane preparatory
units

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 45 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 47

 Cane Conveying Units  Cane Conveying Units

 Cane Tables  Cane Leveler /Tumbler/Equillizer Cane/ kicker

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 46
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 48
  Cane Conveying Units  Cane Conveying Units
 Cane carriers  Cane carriers
The cane carrier is the moving apron which conveys the
cane into the factory and which assures the feed to the mills
Slope
by transporting the cane from the cane table to the mill  The slope of the inclined portion varies from 15° to a maximum
Since effective feeding of the mills requires an elevated of 22°
hopper /chute/, and the cane must be raised to this high  If too a slope is adopted, the cost of the installation and the
level from the level of the yard space occupied are increased
Cane carrier has three portions:  Too high slop would be liable to slip and the conveyor would
The horizontal portion move forward without picking it up.
The inclined portion  The best and commonest values are 17° to 21°
The head where the cane arrives above the mill

11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 49 11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 51

 Cane Conveying Units  Cane Conveying Units

 Cane carriers  Cane carriers
Width
The width of the carrier is always made equal to the length
of the mill rollers
Speed
The speed of the carrier is not fixed in any absolute fashion
the drive is provided by electric motor, through variable
speed gear so as to maintain speed varying from 3-10
m/min which is usually about half the peripheral speed of
the mills
it is advisable to relate speed of the carrier to the peripheral
speed of the mills
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 50
11/6/2015 Habtamu A. 52