Sugar Cane Refining

Raw Sugar - In tropical regions where sugar cane is grown, sugar cane is partially refined into raw sugar at mills operated near the sugar fields. At the mills, the sugar cane is first cut up into small pieces, and then crushed to extract its juice. The juice is clarified by removing most of the impurities (plant fibre and soil, for example). This sugar-rich solution is boiled down to a thick syrup to which tiny "seed" sugar crystals are added and allowed to grow to larger crystals of raw sugar. Centrifugals (similar to a washing machine when it reaches the spin cycle) are then used to separate the raw sugar crystals from the syrup (molasses). The remaining raw sugar crystals are refined in a local refinery or more often shipped in bulk by sea, to refinery warehouses across the world. In India.

Shipping raw sugar - Raw sugar, transported by boat, is covered with a thin coat of molasses, residual plant matter, and particles from shipping and handling. It must undergo purification at a cane sugar refinery before it is ready for human consumption.

At the refinery - The first step is to remove the thin coat of molasses and residual matter from the raw sugar crystals. This is accomplished by blending the raw sugar in a hot syrup and then spinning off the dark brown syrup (molasses) from the sugar in high speed centrifugals. The washed crystals are then dissolved in water and filtered through a mechanical ‘strainer’ to remove larger particles, and clarified to remove the remaining microscopic particles. The result is a pure, colourless syrup consisting of sugar and water.