Sucrose loss and color formation in sugar manufacture

The chemical reactions contributing to sucrose loss and color formation in evaporators in sugar manufacture (i.e., hydrolysis of sucrose and degradation of monosaccharides at acid pH) are reviewed. A case study of a sugar factory's evaporator system demonstrates that the measurement of small but real losses of sucrose across the process is not possible by conventional sugar factory analyses. Alternative, more accurate techniques (e.g., capillary gas chromatography or high performance ion chromatography [HPIC] with pulsed amperometric detection [PAD]) are considered. In the case study, glucose:sucrose ratios are determined by HPIC, and sucrose loss across the evaporator is estimated to be 1.39% of total sucrose. Loss measurements are thought to be underestimates; reasons for underestimation and the sources of errors are discussed. An approach to a more definitive loss measurement is proposed.