Sugar Production from Sugar Cane
Practical Action
Because the cane quality deteriorates quickly after harvest, it is important that the suppliers are
contracted to supply cane at given times. This enables the factory to work continually while
minimising the time harvested cane is allowed to stand.
This type of factory is suitable for medium scale production of between 50 and 500 TCD where
cane is available all year round or for a substantial part of the year.
Sugar estates
The sugar estate takes control of all aspects of sugar production from growing cane to processing
and marketing. It is usual for the estate to provide the bulk of their requirements and
occasionally to contract local growers to produce certain amounts of cane for them. The estates
can be fully owned by the factory or leased from the farmers in the area. In both cases the
factory farms the land in accordance with its needs, providing all equipment, fertiliser,
pesticides and transport.
Operating and managing an operation of this magnitude requires resources such as tractors,
ploughs and harvesting equipment as well as a skilled workforce, all of which add to the cost of
the process.
Operation and management
Costs
Sugar production, even at the small scale, is a complex business which requires skilled people to
manage and supervise all aspects of the production, from the collection of cane to the delivery of
sugar to the market place. If these skills are not available locally then they will have to be
brought in to set up the business and to train staff, which will add cost to the project.
The costs involved with any sugar factory need to be taken into account. Small service extraction
factories are the cheapest option but will require a crusher, boiling pan and furnace and some
means of driving the crusher.
Although OPS is a low-cost option compared to large-scale production plants, it still requires
substantial investment. In addition, there would be costs involved with operation, maintenance,
transport and marketing.
Energy
Sugar production uses a great deal of energy to boil the juice as well as that required to operate
crushers and other equipment. In most cases sugar factories rely on bagasse as the main fuel for
the boiling process and care is required, especially with open pan systems, to ensure that
sufficient bagasse is available.
For most small to medium-scale single or multi-pan factories producing lump sugars or syrups
there is usually sufficient bagasse. In larger multi-pan factories producing granular sugars, such
as OPS, it is often difficult to obtain enough bagasse. In these situations additional fuel is
required which may be bagasse obtained from another factory or wood. Using forced-draught
shell furnaces, as developed for OPS factories, it is possible to obtain a fuel balance for the
boiling operation (first sugar only) using bagasse.
To operate the crushers, crystallisers, centrifuges and other powered equipment, an additional
energy source is required. This may be electricity or diesel, both of which add to the total cost. If
electricity from the grid is not available then it will be necessary to generate power at the factory.
This means the installation of diesel powered generators requiring a reliable supply of diesel fuel
and engine spares.
Most VP factories are self-sufficient, producing their own electricity and heating for both the
process and the factory as a whole. With careful management and using modern, highly efficient
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