Sugar production is divided into two stages: (a) raw sugar extraction from sugar cane or sugar beets, and (b) refined sugar extraction from raw sugar.
Sugar extracts from cane and beets include sucrose as well as unwanted levels of polysaccharides, lignins, proteins, starches, gums, waxes, and other colloidal contaminants that add color and/or flavor to the crystalline product while lowering yield.
As a result, the raw juice is heated, liming added, then clarified to eliminate proteins and colloidal debris [25].
Sugar refining is an energy-intensive operation, hence membrane technology appeals to many people.
However, due to high osmotic pressure and viscosities, the usage of membranes in the juice extraction step is restricted to dilute streams for clarifying and purification.
Operations that could be able to be replaced . The dotted regions in Figure 3.12 [23] illustrate possible procedures that might be substituted by UF or MF.
Before the cleared juice is evaporated and crystallized, UF and MF might be employed to remove these colloidal and macromolecular contaminants with little or no lime, carbon dioxide, or sulphite.
Furthermore, eliminating macromolecules and lowering lime levels minimizes evaporator fouling and scaling.