Vol. 5 (3) : 137 - 142 (2003) ~ .

SUGAR INDUSTRY

Management of Biological Losses in Milling

Tandem to Improve Sugar Recovery
S. Solomon 1, R. Ramadurai, S. S h a n m u g n a t h a n , A.K. Shrivastava 1,
Santa Deb 1 and Ishwar Singh 1
qndian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow - 226 002, Uttar Pradesh, India
2General Manger, Sakthi Sugars Limited, Dhenkanal (Orissa), India
3Deputy General Manager, Sakthi Sugars Ltd., Dhenkanal (Orissa), India

Sugarcane varieties show perceptible difference with respect to their post-harvest quality characteristics.
The loss in CCS% varies between 8-12% due to inversion and dextran formation. P r e s e n c e of dextran
was noted in juice of freshly harvested cane of some varieties, possibly due to physiological or mechanical
damage of standing crop. A big mill study show about 5 kg sucrose loss per tone of cane ground due to
biological agents. The sugar losses escalates during transition of primary juice to m i x e d juice stage.
Continuous application of organosulpher based formulation @10 ppm on chopped cane could minimize
biological losses and improved sugar recovery.

KEYWORDS : Biological losses, Sugar factory, Sugar recovery, Milling tandem

The biological losses such as inversion of sucrose
by plant and microbial invertases, organic acid and
dextran formation by m i c r o o r g a n i s m s are largely
r e s p o n s i b l e for loss of r e c o v e r a b l e sugar after
harvest of cane and its subsequent processing in
mill. Soil borne bacteria viz., Leuconostoc sp. (L.
m e s e n t e r o i d e s or L. d e x t r a n i c u m ) are o f t e n
a s s o c i a t e d with the d e t e r i o r a t e d cane, entering
through the cut ends and thriving at the expense of
stored s u c r o s e . This m i c r o b e has the ability to
synthesize alpha-glucan p o l y s a c c h a r i d e s (dextran)
from sucrose through an extracellular e n z y m e called
dextransucrase. The level of dextran synthesis varies
with the geographic location, climate , cane variety,
quality of cane, c u t - t o - c r u s h delays, m e t h o d of
harvesting and sanitary conditions inside the mill.
Recently, senior author has detected dextran in
juice of freshly harvested erect cane, this may be
due to vertical splitting of lower interuodes in some
sugarcane varieties. The primary juice in many
sugar units contains very high amount of dextran
due to certain physiological conditions, post-harvest
d e l a y s or m e c h a n i c a l i n j u r i e s . P o l y s a c c h a r i d e
dextran, in addition to its adverse affect on sugar
recovery, is infamous for its anti-filtration, anti-
Author for Correspondence : S. Solomon
e-mail : drsolomonsushil@rediffmail.com
evaporation and anti-crystallization properties during
sugar manufacturing (Clarke, 1997; Hylton, 1997;
Solomon, 2000, 2002; Solomon et al., 1990, 1997,
1999, 2000). In addition to sugar loss through
d e x t r a n f o r m a t i o n , losses due to i n v e r s i o n and
organic acid formation in harvested cane and milled
juice are enormous. In majority of sugar factories,
especially in north India, the cane quality is not up
to desired level due to post-harvest delays and other
biotic and abiotic s t r e s s e s , which entails huge losses
in r e c o v e r a b l e sugar and adversely affect sugar
recovery. The present study highlights decline in
quality of some cane genotypes due to post-harvest
biological losses under sub-tropical conditions. The
objective of this study was to develop a post-harvest
quality profile of cane geno'types for their scientific
logistic management. Studies have also been focused
on the biological losses of sucrose due to inversion,
acid and dextran formation in harvested cane and
milled juice in a sugar unit. An alternative method
to minimize these losses in milling tandem has also
been discussed.
M A T E R I A L S AND M E T H O D S
Sucrose loss and dextran formation due to post-
harvest time lag was evaluated in ten sugarcane
genotypes viz., CoS 767, BO 91, C o L k 9617, CoLk
9606, C o P t 8 4 2 1 2 , C o J 6 4 , CoS 95255, C o P t 8 4 2 1 1 ,

137
CoLk 94184, CoLk 9411 under sub-tropical climate.
The 12 months mature crop grown at the research
farm of IISR, Lucknow, was harvested during the
last week of February and allowed to stale for seven
days under natural field conditions. The average
maximum and minimum atmospheric temperatures
were 27.2 and 13.1~ during the post-harvest storage
period. The mean relative humidity was 82/35% (M/
E) w i t h o u t any rainfall d u r i n g the period of
experimentation.
Analysis of cane and process juice for quality
p a r a m e t e r s (Brix, Pol, purity, r e d u c i n g sugars,
acidity) were carried out by the methods described
in earlier communications. Dextran in cane juice was
estimated by modified rapid haze method after
enzymatic removal of starch.
Assessment of biological losses in process juice
i.e. primary (PJ), mixed (M J) and clear (CJ) were
carried out by observing rise in invert sugars, acidity,
dextran from p r i m a r y to mixed j u i c e stage. The
organosulpher c o m p o u n d (OS) based formulation
was applied on chopped cane (after cutter) through
a pump operated device and sucrose losses before
and after application were evaluated.
R E S U L T S AND D I S C U S S I O N
The results o f various field e x p e r i m e n t s and
observations on biological losses are presented in
Tables 1-4.
(1) Sugar Loss and dextran formation in cane
varieties
The cane varieties showed perceptible difference
in Commercial Cane Sugar % (CCS) at the time of
harvest, which r a n g e d b e t w e e n 11.99 to 13.59,
however, varieties CoS 95255 and C o L k 9 4 1 8 4
showed significantly less reduction in sucrose %,
purity and CCS% during cane staling. On the other
h a n d , varieties CoS 767 and CoJ 64 r e c o r d e d
maximum drop in sucrose % juice, purity and CCS%
after 7 days of cane staling. The total soluble solids
(TSS%) in juice increased with cane staling and this
increase ranged between 8.83 to 21.51% among the
test varieties. Varieties CoS 95255, CoLk 94184 and
CoLk 9411 showed relatively less increase in TSS,
while appreciable increase in TSS was recorded in
varieties CoLk 9617, BO 91 and CoPt 8421 1 (Table
1).
The varieties also differed slightly in the dextran
(0 - 85 ppm) and reducing sugars (0.58 - 3.43% per
100 brix) contents in juice at the time of harvest,
however, the dextran and reducing sugars build up
was much faster in varieties which were susceptible
to p o s t - h a r v e s t d e t e r i o r a t i o n . An i m p o r t a n t
observation during this study was presence o f
dextran (Table 2 and Figure 1) in juice of freshly
harvested cane. We have noticed vertical splitting
of lower internodes in many cane varieties during
early and late maturation phase, which probably
get infected with Leuconostoc bacteria present in
the soil (Plate 1). This possibly leads to some
dextran formation in primary juice as noticed by
the senior author in many sugar mills in north India.
The maximum dextran formation was observed in
varieties BO 91 and CoJ 64, while the reducin'g
sugars contents were higher in varieties CoS 767 and
CoLk 9617 after 7 days of staling. On the other hand
significantly less dextran and reducing sugars were
recorded in juice extracted from cane of varieties

Table - 1 : Effect of Post-harvest storage on juice quality and Commercial Cane Sugar (CCS %) in ten sugarcane genotypes
under sub-tropical climate

Genotype/ TSS % Pol % juice Commercial Cane Sugar

Variety ( c c s %)
Fresh Stale Percent Fresh Stale Percent Fresh Stale Percent
increase decrease decrease

CoS 767 19.26 21.94 13.91 17,87 13.93 22.04 12.64 7.83 -38.05
BO 91 19.06 22.44 17.73 17.44 15.19 12.90 12.25 8.97 -26.77

CoLk 9617 18.22 22.14 21.51 16.94 14.33 15,44 11,99 8.18 -31,77
CoLk 9606 19.22 21.94 14.15 17.63 14.63 17.01 12.40 8.23 -33.62

CoPt 84212 20.20 22.94 13.56 18.80 16.57 11.86 13.31 10.20 -23.36
CoJ 64 21.00 23.44 11.61 18.96 14.82 21.83 13.24 8.30 -37.31
CoS 95255 20.50 23.44 11.90 18.53 17.20 7.17 12.95 10.88 -15.98
CoPt 84211 20.00 23.44 17.20 19.02 16.35 14.03 13.59 9.86 -27.44

CoLk 94184 21.50 23.14 8.83 19.97 18.12 9.26 14.13 11.76 -16.77
2oLk 9411 21.00 22.94 9.20 19.42 16.24 16.37 13.71 9.89 -27.86
Mean 20.00 22.76 +13.80 18.46 15.74 -15.74 13.02 9.41 -27.73

138
Table - 2 : Dextran and reducing sugars formation during post harvest storage in ten sugarcane genotypes under sub-
tropical climate ,:

Genotype/ Dextran (mg/I juice) Reducing sugars (%) Titrable Acidity Index
Variety (per 100 Brix) (per 100 Brix)

Fresh Cane Stale Cane Fresh Cane Stale Cane Fresh Cane Stale Cane

CoS 767 24 1528 2.69 35.41 18.94 23.24

BO 91 56 3107 2.15 24.91 19.47 24.50

CoLk 9617 78 2017 2.96 37.48 19.75 22.58

CoLk 9606 50 1283 3.43 25.88 15.78 20.51

CoPt 84212 52 1134 2.62 23.63 11.50 20.05

CoJ 64 85 3733 2.47 23.93 13.65 22.18

CoS 95255 12 867 0.58 17.13 16.92 20.90

CoPt 84211 85 1615 1.15 24.40 20.00 23.64

CoLk 94184 Q 480 1.53 12.18 15.23 20.74

CoLk 9411 :22 902 1.28 17.65 14.50 19.62

LSD0.05 12 105 0.53 2.87 1.51 2.07

CoS 95255, C o L k 9 4 1 8 4 and C o L k 9411 a f t e r 7 d a y s

Fig. 1 : Dextran formation in sugarcane genotypes after seven
days of staling (early milling)
Plate 1 : Vertical splitting of lower internodes of sugarcane - a
possible site for harbouring Leuconostoc sp. and other sugar
devouring microorganisms
of post-harvest storage.
C a n e v a r i e t y a r e s u s c e p t i b l e to L e u c o n o s t o c
i n f e c t i o n d e p e n d i n g u p o n the m e t h o d o f h a r v e s t i n g ,
physio-morphological conditions of cane, time lag
between harvesting-to-milling and ambient
temperature. Studies carried out by Legendre (1984)
s h o w e d that in f r e e z e d a m a g e d c a n e , t h e r e was a
s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e o f v a r i e t y on l e v e l s o f d e x t r a n . A
s t u d y f r o m J a m a i c a i n d i c a t e s t h a t v a r i e t i e s with h i g h
potassium l e v e l s in l e a f s h o w l o w l e v e l s o f
Leuconostoc infection.
O u r s t u d i e s on c a n e v a r i e t i e s s h o w t h a t d u r i n g
the p r o c e s s o f s t a l i n g , i n v e r s i o n o f s t o r e d s u c r o s e
resulted into formation of reducing sugars, and
dextran was produced through dextransucrase
enzymes s e c r e t e d b y L e u c o n o s t o c sp. This has
d e t r i m e n t a l e f f e c t on r e c o v e r a b l e s u g a r v i s - f t - v i s
s u g a r r e c o v e r y . T h e v a r i e t i e s C o L k 9 4 1 8 4 and C o S
95255 w e r e f o u n d to be t o l e r a n t , w h i l e v a r i e t i e s B O
91 a n d C o J 64 w e r e p r o n e to p o s t - h a r v e s t
d e t e r i o r a t i o n u n d e r the w e a t h e r c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l i n g
at the t i m e o f e x p e r i m e n t . It-is i m p e r a t i v e that p o s t -
harvest quality profile of each cane genotypes which
is r e c o m m e n d e d for commercial cultivation l~e
w o r k e d o u t b y e v e r y s u g a r m i l l , e s p e c i a l l y in n o r t h
I n d i a . T h i s w i l l h e l p the m a n a g e m e n t to a s s e s s
the m a g n i t u d e o f s u c r o s e l o s s e s d u r i n g d i f f e r e n t
c r u s h i n g p e r i o d a n d also to o r g a n i z e c a n e s u p p l y
on s c i e n t i f i c l i n e s .
(ii) Biological Losses in Milling Tandem
B i o l o g i c a l l o s s e s in s u c r o s e d u e to i n v e r s i o n ,
d e x t r a n , and o r g a n i c a c i d f o r m a t i o n w e r e a s s e s s e d
in a s u g a r unit, p r o c e s s i n g s u b - o p t i m a l q u a l i t y c a n e .
T h e r e s u l t s are s h o w n in T a b l e 3.

139
Fig. 2 : Dextran, invert sugar and activities of invertase and dextransucrase enzymes during different stages of cane processing
(l) Cane Yard; (2) Cane carrier; (3) Primary juice; (4) Mixed juice; (5) Clear juice

T h e s u g a r l o s s e s due to v a r i o u s p o s t - h a r v e s t (>20%). Besides regular quality parameters,

b i o c h e m i c a l p a r a m e t e r s w e r e as f o l l o w s :
(a) S u g a r l o s s e s d u e to r i s e in i n v e r t s u g a r s f r o m
PJ to M J = 3.13 k g / t c g
(b) S u g a r l o s s e s d u e to a c i d f o r m a t i o n f r o m PJ
to M J = 0 . 6 9 k g / t c g
(c) D i r e c t l o s s e s d u e to d e x t r a n f o r m a t i o n = 1.00
kg/tcg
Total Sugar losses = 4.82 k g / t c g
T h e a b o v e s t u d y i n d i c a t e d that l o s s e s due to
p o s t - h a r v e s t c a n e s t a l i n g in this s u g a r p r o c e s s i n g unit
w e r e a r o u n d 5.0 k g s u c r o s e p e r ton c a n e m i l l e d .
E x c e s s i v e l o s s e s in s u c r o s e t a k e p l a c e d u r i n g
t r a n s i t i o n f r o m p r i m a r y to m i x e d j u i c e s t a g e .
A s i m i l a r s t u d y w a s u n d e r t a k e n in a s u g a r unit
r e c e i v i n g high p r o p o r t i o n o f stale c a n e in the s u p p l i e s
activities of sucrose converting enzymes viz.,
i n v e r t a s e and d e x t r a n s u c r a s e d u r i n g d i f f e r e n t s t a g e s
of cane transport and milling process were also
a s s a y e d . T h e i r t r e n d s are s h o w n in F i g . 2.
These studies indicated high levels of invertase
and d e x t r a n s u c r a s e in h a r v e s t e d cane ( s t a l e ) , w h i c h
increased further during milling process. The losses
in r e c o v e r a b l e s u g a r i n c r e a s e d a p p r e c i a b l y d u r i n g
t r a n s i t i o n o f p r i m a r y j u i c e to m i x e d j u i c e s t a g e as
e v i d e n t in Fig. 2. T h i s l o s s e s in r e c o v e r a b l e s u g a r
are h i g h e r when the p r o p o r t i o n o f s t a l e / b u r n t / b i o t i c /
a b i o t i c s t r e s s a f f e c t e d c a n e a r e m o r e in s u p p l i e s .
Minimization of Post-harvest Biological Losses
C o n t r o l o f b i o l o g i c a l l o s s e s in the f a c t o r y c o u l d
be c o n s i d e r e d in two p a r t s ; first, c o n t r o l o f t h e s e
l o s s e s in h a r v e s t e d c a n e and second, control of
s u c r o s e d e v o u r i n g p r o c e s s in p r e p a r e d c a n e or m i l l e d

Table - 3 : Progression of biological losses in recoverable sugar in a sugar processing unit

Stage Pol%Cane Brix Pol% juice Purity RS/100 Brix Titrable acidity Dextran/
Index (TAI) 100 Brix

Field 13.38 18.84 16.96 90.02 8.01 9.55

Cane yard 13.72 20.56 18.31 89.06 8.11 10.76 1450

Carrier 12.58 21.82 18.43 84.46 8.29 20.62 1467

Primary J. 18.48 15.37 82.51 8.66 20.56 1578

Mixed J. 14.46 11.60 80.25 ! 1.03 23.51 1865

Clear J. 14.51 11.70 80.63 11.23

140
juice. Studies conducted by Coote (1984) have
s h o w n t h a t b a c t e r i c i d e s a p p l i e d d i r e c t l y to the k n i v e s
on m e c h a n i c a l h a r v e s t e r s o r c o n t i n u o u s l o a d e r are
b e n e f i c i a l . F u r t h e r w o r k b y t h e s a m e autl~,or h a s
suggested t h a t b i o c i d e s a p p l i e d in the fit ld c a n
e l i m i n a t e up to 40 % o f d e x t r a n in j u i c e . S~)lomon
(2000) has also suggested use of corabined
application of a biocide and anti-inversion chemical
on h a r v e s t e d s t o r e d c a n e to m i n i m i z e s u c r o s e l o s s e s .

B i g m i l l t r i a l s w e r e c a r r i e d out in a few s u g a r
p r o c e s s i n g u n i t to m i n i m i z e b i o l o g i c a l l o s s e s o f
sucrose using organosulpher based chemicals Plate 2 : Spraying device for continuous application of
(Solomon and Shahi, 2001). However, as p e r organosulphur based formulations on prepared cane
c o n v e n t i o n a l p r a c t i c e in s u g a r m i l l s , the OS b a s e d
f o r m u l a t i o n s w e r e n o t a p p l i e d in the m i l l e d j u i c e , q u a l i t y vis-~-vis s u g a r r e c o v e r y c o u l d b e a s s e s s e d
but sprayed c o n t i n u o u s l y on c h o p p e d / p r e p a r e d f r o m d a t a p r e s e n t e d in T a b l e 4 and F i g . 3.
c a n e ( P l a t e 2) ( S o l o m o n et al., 2003). T h i s t r e a t m e n t
r e s u l t e d in s i g n i f i c a n t d r o p in i n v e r t s u g a r s , a c i d i t y It is e v i d e n t f r o m the large scale trials that
and d e x t r a n f r o m p r i m a r y to m i x e d j u i c e stage. T h e b i o l o g i c a l l o s s e s in s u c r o s e d u e to c a n e s t a l i n g or
i m p a c t o f this t e c h n o l o g y on i m p r o v e m e n t in j u i c e other abiotic/biotic stresses could be reduced

Table - 4 : Minimization of biological losses during milling process using new application device

Parameter/ Brix Pol% Purity IS/100 Bx Acidity/ Dextran/ Recovery %

Juice Juice 100Bx 100 Bx cane

Quality analysis during regular factory operations w i t h n o r m a l s a n i t a t i o n - N o T r e a t m e n t

Primary 17.90 14.23 79.41 6.66 18.97 2566 (9.30)

Mixed 13.85 10.90 78.70 8.85 18.77 1733

Quality analysis 2 hour after continuous application of OS based formulation @ 10 p p m o n p r e p a r e d c a n e -

Without sanitation chemical

Primary 18.89 15.39 81.47 4.20 17.12 2435 (9.50)

Mixed 14.49 11.55 79.71 4.92 15.18 414

Note : Cane supplies contained 4-6 days stale cane and burnt cane
Location : Sakhti Sugars, Badamba (Orissa)

Fig. 3 : Purity drop, rise in Invert sugars from primary to mixed juice and recovery percent cane after application of organosulpher
based formulation during milling of cane (Sakhti Sugars Ltd., Dhenkanal, Orissa)
Note : Continuous application of OS based formulation (10 ppm) on prepared cane; No sanitation chemicals were added in milled
juice

141
appreciably by judicious application of selective
c h e m i c a l s in m i l l i n g t a n d e m .
B a s e d on the s t u d i e s c a r r i e d out b y o u r g r o u p ,
the f o l l o w i n g m e a s u r e s are r e q u i r e d to b e taken
d u r i n g p r o c e s s i n g o f stale c a n e / p o o r q u a l i t y cane:
(i) T h e f i e l d q u a l i t y o f c a n e n e e d s to b e
monitored carefully especially when the
supplies contain physiologically or
mechanically damaged cane. These may
b r i n g in h i g h e r m i c r o b i a l l o a d a n d d e x t r a n
in p r i m a r y j u i c e l e a d i n g to loss in r e c o v e r a b l e
sugar during subsequent milling operations.
(ii) A r e a l i s t i c a s s e s s m e n t o f all b i o l o g i c a l losses
is n e c e s s a r y in o r d e r to use s u i t a b l e c h e m i c a l
f o r m u l a t i o n f o r m i n i m i z i n g s u c r o s e l o s s e s in
m i l l i n g t a n d e m and i m p r o v e s u g a r r e c o v e r y .
T h e new a p p l i c a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y d i s c u s s e d in
this p a p e r c o u l d b r i n g i n s t a n t i m p r o v e m e n t
in t h e p r o c e s s i n g system by effectively
curbing the biological losses of sucrose.
T h e r e is no n e e d to a d d a n y s a n i t a t i o n
c h e m i c a l ( s ) at l a t e r s t a g e s o f c a n e p r o c e s s i n g .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors a r e g r a t e f u l to W o r l d B a n k
C o m p e t i t i v e G r a n t P r o j e c t and I C A R f o r f i n a n c i a l
s u p p o r t . We are a l s o g r a t e f u l to the M a n a g e m e n t o f
S a k h t i S u g a r M i l l s , C o i m b a t o r e for t e c h n i c a l h e l p
r e n d e r e d to us in c o n d u c t i n g the b i g m i l l trials at
t h e i r B a d a m b a a n d D h e n k a n a l s u g a r units.
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I for "Sugar Tech" ]|
| India Abroad |
| Rs US$ s Euro |
| Individuals 300.00 25.00 15.00 25.00 I
Institutions/Universities/Factories 750.00 75.00 50.00 75.00 ~IS
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