Let us introduce you to the technology involved in the sugar manufacturing process.

The Sugarcane is harvested and the clean cane is loaded in the vehicles and brought to the factory. The gross weight is taken and the cane is unloaded on the feeder table with an electric crane. The tare weight of the vehicle is taken to arrive at the net weight of cane. The cane is fed to the cane carrier from the feeder table.

The preparatory devices viz. the kicker, cutter, fibrizer etc. are installed on the carrier for the preparation of cane. The prepared cane is taken to the mills by the second carrier, where the juice is extracted using the compound imbibition process and hot water is applied to it for maximum extraction before the last mill. This process is called masceration. The mixed juice is strained and sent for processing. Water for imbibition and mixed juice are both weighed in automatic weighing scales separately. The Bagasse obtained after crushing from the mills (residues of cane after juice extraction) is used as a fuel for the boiler and the surplus bagasse is baled & is sent for storage.

The mixed juice is clarified by the sulphitation process by heating at 70ºC in a juice heater. Phosphoric acid, milk of lime and SO2 gas as produced by burning sulphur are used as clarificants. This helps in removing the impurities. These ingredients are thoroughly mixed in the juice sulphiter. Then the sulphited juice is heated to 105ºC in another juice heater. This juice is passed on to the continuous clarifier through a flash tank for settling. The settled mud is filtered with the help of a vaccum filter where the filtrates are separated and sent to the clarification treatment plant. The washed filter cake with minimum sugar content is sent out as by-product. Decanted clear juice from clarifier is taken to evaporators (multiple effect). The concentration here is increased to syrup consistency. The heat required for heating and evaporation is used from the exhaust steam and the bled vapours from the evaporators. Exhaust steam is obtained from the primemover turbines and this steam is used for the process in the boiling house. Further clarification treatment is done in the integrated SCFC plant. (Sugar Clarification & Filtrate Clarification plant)

The sugar is produced from further concentration of this syrup & sugar melt by evaporation in a vaccum pan. The necessary seed crystals are taken into the pan and boiled with the syrup at about 60ºC. This gives 'A' massecuite. The 'A' massecuite from the pan is discharged in to the crystallizers. Then the sugar crystals are separated from the surrounding film of mother liquor in a centrifugal machine. The seperated liquor is called as ‘A’ Heavy Molasses.

The sugar is well washed and dried with super heated water and then, it is dropped on to the hopper from the centrifugal machine. The sugar is conveyed onto the hoppers and is then elevated to the top of the grader by a bucket elevator. It is graded according to the size & bagged in 'A' Twill bags 100 kgs. net.
‘A’ Heavy Molasses is subjected to second boiling to get ‘B’ Massecuite thereby producing ‘B’ Sugar and ‘B’ Heavy Molasses. ‘B’ Sugar is used as seed or melted. ‘B’ Heavy molasses is subjected to a third boiling to get ‘C’ Massecuite and thereby producing ‘C’ Sugar and Final molasses. ‘C’ Sugar is melted and used. The Final molasses is weighed and stored in storage tanks.

Ugar Sugar Works has used innovative technology in the form of Distributed Control Systems to help automise the plant to a great extent. This automation has been effected in the following areas :