Sugar: A Valued Commodity with a Rich History

Sugar is a highly valued commodity that has played a significant role in history, including the American Revolution, and is now a multi-billion dollar industry. It is produced in 121 countries, with annual production exceeding 150 million tons, and is a major source of pleasure, with the average American consuming 43 pounds per year.

Sugar Cane Production

Sugar cane is a tropical grass that thrives in ideal environments, such as Maui, and is grown by planting clones, making it an endlessly renewable resource. Sugar cane plants grow from an “eye” and in Hawaii, a hybrid cane takes two years to mature, resulting in high sugar content and 30-foot stalks.

• The crops are burned to remove dead leaves and then harvested, with 10 pounds of stalks producing 1-1.5 pounds of raw sugar.
• The harvested cane is processed at a factory, starting with a cleanup operation to remove debris, and then chopped into fine pieces.
• Cane pieces are crushed and passed through a hammer mill to extract juice, which is then clarified with lime to remove suspended solids.
• The clear juice is boiled in an evaporator to concentrate the sugar solution, forming a thick syrup.
• Crystallization is initiated by adding small sucrose crystals, allowing them to grow in size as more sucrose deposits.
• The mixture is then spun in centrifuges to separate the crystals from a thick liquid byproduct.

Sugar Beet Production

Sugar is also produced from sugar beets, with the latter accounting for 35 million metric tons of sugar produced each year, a quarter of global production. Despite differences in processing, the final product is virtually identical, with only varying trace minerals.

• Farmers in California’s Merced County grow sugar beets year-round on 17,800 acres of usable soil, using a four-year rotation that includes tillage, planting, and fertilization with specially developed seeds for maximum yield and disease resistance.
• The beets are harvested after a year, using a topper and rubber flails to cut and remove the leaf canopy, and then collected as soon as possible to prevent sucrose from being consumed by the still-alive beets.
• Sugar beets are harvested and loaded onto a tractor trailer, then taken to a factory to be processed into sugar within 48 hours.
• The beets are cleaned, sliced into thin pieces called cossets, and then processed to extract the sugar, with the factory producing 200 million pounds of sugar from 800,000 tons of beets each year.

Sugar Processing and Refining

Sugar is extracted from a plant through a water bath and boiling process, then refined using a centrifuge and dried in rotating drums. The residual liquid, molasses, can be further processed using an ion exclusion method to extract additional sugar, increasing the yield by 25%.

• The extracted sugar is then stored, packaged, or loaded into trucks for global distribution.
• Sugar is used as a preservative in jams and provides crispiness in cereals.
• It is highly uniform and an all-natural product, with white sugar being created by spinning raw sugar to remove molasses.
• Only 10-15% of sugar consumption is from direct use, while 85-90% comes from industrial food and drink production, including processed fruits and vegetables.

Types of Sugar

There are several types of sugar, including:

• Brown sugar and sugar in the raw, which share similarities, containing white sugar combined with 5-15% molasses.
• Cube sugar, made by misting refined sugar with steam or hot water, causing crystals to fuse, then formed into cubes.
• Confectioner’s sugar, ground into a fine powder, often used for baked goods.
• Hard candies, created by boiling sugar into a non-crystalline glass structure.

Rum Production

Rum is typically made from fermented molasses, which is separated from sugar in a centrifuge. The molasses used has a high sugar content and low by-products, contributing to rum’s unique flavor.

• The molasses is diluted with water and yeast is added to start the fermentation process, where the yeast consumes the sugar and breaks it down into smaller alcohol molecules, releasing carbon dioxide.
• Yeast turns sugar in molasses into alcohol, which is then distilled to create rum, approximately 80 proof.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

HFCS has become a prevalent alternative to sugar, particularly in the US, where it’s abundant and low in cost, with the average American consuming 65 pounds of it annually, and major soft drink manufacturers switching from sugar to HFCS since the 1980s.

Sugar and Energy Production

Brazil is a leader in renewable energy, particularly in converting sugar into ethanol, a biofuel that is 90% alcohol, with almost half of new cars running on mixtures that include ethanol.

• Brazil produces 35% of the world’s ethanol, five times more than the US, with its output being entirely sugar-based.
• The country has encouraged the development of flex fuel cars that can run on ethanol or gasoline.
• Vehicles with flex fuel engines can run on ethanol, gasoline, or a mixture of both, with an oxygen sensor measuring oxygen content to determine fuel composition.

Environmental Impact and Future Developments

The environmental impact of car engines is significant, with pollutants like carbon monoxide and dioxide from gasoline, and nitrogen oxide from ethanol. However, producing biofuels is a cleaner process than refining oil, and using sugar-derived ethanol is considered carbon neutral.

• The Brazilian energy market has adapted, with major oil companies participating, and the cost of filling up with ethanol has dropped significantly, making it a preferred choice for many due to its lower price.
• Western countries, including the US, are looking to increase ethanol production, with the US aiming to double production by 2012, inspired by Brazil’s success in reducing foreign oil dependency to 10-15% through the use of ethanol.
• The sugar industry is expected to play a significant role in renewable fuels, with Brazil and other countries adopting flex fuel technology.

Other Applications of Sugar

Sugar is used in various applications beyond food and energy production, including:

• Cosmetics, where sugar is used as an exfoliant to remove dead skin cells and maintain a youthful look.
• Pharmaceuticals, with scientists researching the use of sugar to produce human protein, which is a cheaper and safer method than using animal cells that can carry viruses.

Conclusion

Sugar is a highly valued commodity with a rich history, and its production and processing have evolved over time. From sugar cane to sugar beets, the industry has adapted to new technologies and demands, and is now exploring new applications in energy production, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. As the world continues to seek sustainable and renewable energy sources, the sugar industry is poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of energy production.

Key Vocabulary

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Vocabulary Quiz

1. Which word means ‘a sweet, viscous fluid produced from sugar cane or sugar beets’?

A) Sucrose
B) Molasses
C) Ethanol
D) Syrup

2. What is the term for the process of adding small sucrose crystals to initiate crystallization in sugar production?

A) Centrifugation
B) Evaporation
C) Clarification
D) Seed crystallization

3. Which of the following is a byproduct of sugar refining that can be further processed to extract additional sugar?

A) Ethanol
B) Molasses
C) Sucrose
D) Fructose

4. What is the name of the type of sugar made by misting refined sugar with steam or hot water, causing crystals to fuse, then formed into cubes?

A) Brown sugar
B) Confectioner’s sugar
C) Cube sugar
D) Raw sugar

5. Which country is a leader in renewable energy, particularly in converting sugar into ethanol, a biofuel that is 90% alcohol?

A) United States
B) Brazil
C) China
D) India

Answer Key:

1. B
2. D
3. B
4. C
5. B

Grammar Focus

Grammar Focus: The Use of Passive Voice in Technical Descriptions

Grammar Quiz:

Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses to complete each sentence.

1. The sugar cane _______ (plant) in tropical environments with ideal conditions.

• A) is planting
• B) are planted
• C) is planted
• D) plant

2. The molasses _______ (separate) from the sugar in a centrifuge.

• A) is separated
• B) separates
• C) are separating
• D) separate

3. The beets _______ (harvest) and loaded onto a tractor trailer.

• A) are harvesting
• B) harvest
• C) is harvested
• D) have harvested

4. The ethanol _______ (produce) from sugar cane in Brazil.

• A) is producing
• B) produces
• C) is produced
• D) produce

5. The sugar _______ (extract) from the plant through a water bath and boiling process.

• A) is extracting
• B) extracts
• C) is extracted
• D) extract

Answer Key:

1. C) is planted

2. A) is separated

3. C) is harvested

4. C) is produced

5. C) is extracted