(Kampala International University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2017-09) Muwanika, Ibrahim
A major aim of this research project has been to quantify industrial sucrose losses due to
inversion in multiple effect evaporators. This paper discusses new insights gained from this
project on sucrose losses in sugarcane juices and syrups at high temperatures during different
evaporation and clarification processes. In general, for the factory most sucrose inversion losses
occurred in the pre-evaporators and were more of a function of temperature, pH and retention
time (R.). Sucrose inversion only occurred in later evaporator bodies when scale had built up.
Increasing the factory target pH of the clarified juice (Ci) or final evaporator syrup (FES)
systematically reduced losses of sucrose and a target FES pH of 6.5 - 6.8 (equivalent to a target
CJ pH of 7.0-7.2) is recommended; however, scaling effects can override pH effects.