Experiment No.

# 1

Production of Sugar from Saccharum officinarum Extract

ABSTRACT (around 200-250 words)

[introduction]. [Method]. [Results]. [Quality]. Include bits and pieces of each portion of your
report to develop your abstract.

Keywords (4-7 words): virgin coconut oil, cocos nucifera, solvent extraction, methanol

INTRODUCTION (around 400 words)

Background
This experiment presents the laboratory scale production of sugar from Saccharum officinarum, simply
referred as sugar cane, extract through heating method. Sugar was first extracted in North America, dating
around 1969, using cane from the West Indies, according to Shreve’s Chemical Process Industries (1984).
According to WorldAtlas.com, Philippines ranked 9th as the world’s largest sugar producing country with
31,900 TMT sugar production annually, and the Negros Island Region as the sugar capital of the Philippines
gives advantage to obtaining the raw material.

As stated in StyleCraze.com, Saccharum officinarum extract offers a lot of health benefits as it boosts your
immunity, it aids weight loss, strengthens body organs, and many more. As with all these benefits that the
Saccharum officinarum extract give, sugar offers a lot of health benefits as well. It cures depression, helps
your brain function efficiently, a companion to people with low blood pressure, and gives you instant
energy.

Problem Statement
One of the most common error being faced in the production of sugar is the overcooking of the product
sugar. This destroys the quality of the sugar and disqualifies it in the demands of the industry and of the
market. Constant stirring and checking of the amount of heat applied must be observed. Also, the amount
of the refined sugar to be added must be appropriate until a slurry consistency is achieved. The people that
will mostly benefit if this problem to be solved is us students performing under this experiment as we will
be able to under the chemistry under the production of sugar cane from Saccharum officinarum extract. The
people that are interested in doing business with sugar will also be helped.

Objectives
The goal of this experiment is to achieve an industrially qualified product and, also, acceptable in the
market. Also, to learn and understand the chemistry of sugar and the process of sugar production. To explore
laboratory equipments when one is not available.

METHODOLOGY

1
University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, College of Engineering, Chemical Engineering Department,
Industrial Chemistry (CHICHM33G) Experiment No. #
Experiment No. # 2

Process and Equipment

The raw material used in the production of sugar was 1.28kg skinned sugarcane, the reagent
limewater for the carbonatation process, and 30g of refined sugar as seeding in the crystallization
process. The laboratory equipment that were used in the sugar production includes 2 milk
containers with the capacity of 750g, iron stand with iron clamp and iron ring, rubber tubing,
500mL beaker, triple beam balance, knife, 12˝x12˝ white cloth, hammer, stirring rod, Bunsen
burner, litmus paper, tripod, 25mL graduated cylinder, rectangular water bath, refractometer, an
ignition tube, polarimeter, and a bottle.

The very first thing done in the production of sugar was gathering the Saccharum officinarum which
was the main raw material in order for the process to proceed. The gathered sugarcane was cleaned
with the use of knife for the skin of the skin of the Saccharum officinarum. The cleaned sugarcane
was measured using cans of milk with a capacity of 750g each in a triple beam balance. The cleaned
sugarcane weighed 1.28kg. The cleaned Saccharum officinarum, with an amount of about a palm-
size was placed in a 12˝x12˝ white cloth one at a time and was hammered. The hammered meat of
sugarcane was squeezed and twisted in 12˝x12˝ white cloth using both hands to extract the
sugarcane juice and was putted in 500mL beaker. This was done until all of the cleaned sugarcane
was hammered and squeezed to extract the juice of sugarcane, this process was known as
extraction. According to Deiner (2017), extraction is a crucial step in most chemical analyses. It
entails removing the analyte from its sample matrix and passing it into the phase required for
spectroscopic or chromatographic identification and quantification. When the sample is a solid and
the required phase for analysis is a liquid, the process is called solid-liquid extraction. A simple
and broadly applicable form of solid-liquid extraction entails combining the solid with a solvent
in which the analyte is soluble. Through agitation, the analyte partitions into the liquid phase,
which may, be separated from the solid through filtration. The choice of solvent must be made
based on the solubility of the target analyte, and on the balance of cost, safety, and environmental
concerns.

The degree Brix of the sugarcane juice was then determined by placing 2 drops of the sample on
top of the prism assembly of the refractometer and by looking through its eyepiece to know the
reading. The reading was defined where the white and blue color meet. The degree Brix of the
sugarcane juice was 22°Brix. According to Grapestompers (2017), refractometer is used to
measure the amount of sugar (actually the percentage Brix) in the juice of grapes or other fresh
fruit.

After determining the °Brix of the sugarcane, the sample was added with lime water until it has
reached its basic state with the use of a filter paper accompanied by continuous stirring using a
stirring rod. The volume of lime water added that made the sample basic was 223.3mL.
Meanwhile, 5g 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 was weighed on a triple beam balance and was transferred into the ignition
tube. The ignition tube was clamped to an iron stand and a Bunsen burner below as a source of
heat. The ignition tube was then covered with a rubber stopper having one hole from which rubber
tubing was attached and connected to the Saccharum officinarum juice with lime. This process was
called carbonatation and clarification which involves impurity removal. Carbonation has been used
for the refining of raw sugar. It is a cheap and robust process. The process consists of adding
calcium hydroxide in water to the raw melt solution. Then carbon dioxide gas is bubbled into the
Experiment No. # 3

sugar solution in saturators, under controlled conditions of pH and temperature. Separation of the
clear liquor and the calcium carbonate is done by pressure filtration. A significant portion of the
calcium carbonate cake is required to act as a filter aid and growth of a suitable filtering carbonate
cake is as important as color removal. One of the main objectives of carbonatation is the removal
of the impurities present in the raw sugar entering the refinery. These impurities will have negative
effects on some of the unit operations in the refinery (Moodley et. al, 2002).

After the carbonatation process, the sample was found to have clear light brownish-yellow color
and a precipitate. These were then separated through decantation. The precipitate was disposed
while the clarified liquid juice was transferred into an empty can having a capacity of 750g. It was
then placed on a tripod with a Bunsen burner to be heated until it has reached a slurry consistency,
where most of the water content was evaporated, then heating was stopped.

After the evaporation process, 30g of white sugar was added into the thick syrup sample as a seed.
It was mixed continuously with the use of a stirring rod to solidify the sample fairly. This process
was called crystallization. After the seeding process, the can was covered with another can to free
it primarily from ants and placed on a cabinet where it was allowed to solidify more for than a
week. After a week of storing, it was transferred into a container for packaging.

Quality Control

State what method of quality control was utilized. Include the process, equipment, and the calculations
involved (general formula, label each equation as (1), (2), etc ). This section should be uniform for all
groups. Sample:

Molarity was calculated using equation (2)

The variables of the equation are as follows: M is the molarity (mol/L), nsolute is the moles of solute (mol),
and vsolution is the volume of solution (L). Notice that you earlier presented a chemical equation then a
mathematical equation, but the mathematical equation is labeled as (2) instead of (1). Please take note.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Producing sugar in the laboratory scale has a different standard than on the industry, but trying to
reach the industrial standard is quite possible. Having a 947 variety of sugarcane weighing 1280g
produced 568mL of Saccharum officinarum juice with a 22.1-degree Brix, fabricated a brown sugar that
is quite similar to a muscovado sugar. The sugar produced was damp due to undercooking. Overcooked
sugar can affect its quality therefore we decided to turn off the Bunsen burner as long as the sugarcane
juice became slurry. Only 368mL of sugarcane juice has been used for cooking because the rest of the
juice was difficult to separate from the precipitate due to poor carbonation. The rubber stopper had an
unnoticeable leak, so, the carbonation was not complete. The sugar produced had a successfully sweet
taste, its polarity is 71.2 and had a 23-degree brix. It has reached the standard polarity; thus, we had
reached the desired results. The mass of the final product was not determined, so, the percent yield and
the ratio could not be determined.
Experiment No. # 4

CONCLUSIONS

The experiment in producing sugar from Saccharum officinarum extract was considerably successful as
almost all terms were met. The process had a percentage loss of approximately 39.47%. The large amount
of losses was due to the difficult decantation of the liquid from the precipitate was a con to the experiment
as all kinds of production must be maximized. This was proof that production of sugar from university
laboratory scale had a huge difference from production in industrial scale as it has the most efficient and
proper process units. The product sugar had a color that is close to muscovado due to the thin tin can
used, the heat was easily transferred, though undercooked it looked overcooked. The polarity obtained
was a successful 71.2 and had a 23-degree brix. The mass of the final product was not determined, so, the
percent yield and the ratio could not be determined.
Experiment No. # 5

REFERENCES

Place all references here. Use APA format.

APPENDIX 1
Relevant Calculations

Appendix 1 is for your calculations. This always starts on a new page. Include all calculations relevant to
your process. How did you prepare your solvent for instance? How did you/others prepare the standard
solution for any quality control measures?

You will not be doing any handwritten calculation. All calculations will be done typewritten. Describe your
process of solving.

For instance:

The molarity of a certain solution was calculated using equation (2) with moles of solute equivalent to 4
moles and the volume of the solution equivalent to 4 L:

4𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝑁= =4 = 4𝑀
4𝐿 𝐿

The molarity was calculated to be 4 mol/L or 4 M.

APPENDIX 2
Laboratory Setup and Process Flow Visuals

This contains all the photos taken for each step of the process. This is the support material for your
methodology, so be sure to document each step appropriately. This should be done as a narrative
(chronological order) and follow APA formatting for figures. Be sure to maintain UNIFORM size of all
photos (landscape orientation)

The last photo of this appendix should be that of your product in the appropriate packaging. No need for
labels yet but please work on your presentation of the product.