Sugar from sugar cane is produced in factories located near the area of cultivation. The reason for this is the fact that the cane severed after harvest must be processed as soon as possible in order to preserve sugar and avoid reduction in the amount of sugar caused by microbial reactions.
Raw sugar cane is filtered, pressed and ground, and then sprinkled with hot water to extract the juice. The juice is filtered and concentrated by evaporation under low pressure and then crystallized. Next centrifuge separates it from the remaining basic syrup. At this point, the sugar is partially purified and it is in a crystallized microbiologically stable form.
In large quantities it can be well treated, stored and transported to be refined anywhere in the world.
The most important stages in sugar refining from raw sugarcane are:
- Raw sugar melting
- Raw juice purification(saturation and filtration)
- Concentration of filtered juice (evaporation)
- Crystallization
- Centrifugation
- Drying, cooling and packaging