Raw Sugar Production Byproduct Utilization

Project Goal: Design an environmentally and economically friendly process for using sugarcane waste.

Sugar is among the most valuable commodities and traded agricultural products worldwide. The two common forms are white (refined) and brown (unrefined or raw), which can be granulated or ungranulated. The raw sugar crystallization process produces a large amount of solid waste from the cane stalks. The proposed process recycles the waste as a renewable energy source and synthesizes a biofuel from the molasses byproduct.

The cane stalks are crushed and milled to extract the cane juice, with the solid waste burned as an energy source. Suspended solids are removed from the juice. The resulting clarified juice continues through a series of evaporators to a crystallizer, attaining the optimal sugar crystals. The molasses byproduct goes to a fermentation reactor, where ethanol is produced to be sold as a fuel. During the process, steam is recycled to ensure sustainability.

The process minimizes energy cost and creates economic stability for the processor.