Introduction

• Saccharum sp
• Family: Poaceae Sub-family: Panicoidae
• Sugarcane is a tall perennial plant growing erect up to the 5-6m.
• The modern sugarcane is a complex hybrid of two or more of the 5 species of genus Sacaharum.
• Cultivated sugarcane belong to the two main groups:

– A thick hardy Indian types S.barberi and the Chinese S.sinense

– Thick juicy noble canes S. officinarum

• Sugarcane is the main source of sugar manufacturing raw material in tropical and sub tropical countries in the world.

Sugar importance

White sugar:

• produce from vaccum process of sugar production.

Khandasari:

• an old process of white sugar manufacture
• is an open pan process
• Sugar is yellow to whitish in color, opaque and dull in texture; either powdery or very small grained
• considered easily digestive with improved nutritive qualities
• Sugar recovery from khandasari method is around 5-9%

Jaggery:

• Is an amorphous and crude form of raw sugar processed in an open pan
• Good jaggery is light golden yellow color with hard consistency

Fuel importance

Bagasse:

• Used as fuel for factory furnace.
• Used in manufacture of paper, cardboard, fiberboard, plastic, charcoal, furfural, xylitol etc.
• Bagasse is well suited to the manufacture of plastics because of its chemical composition and potential availability.

Fodder importance

• Green tops: the green tops with tender sugarcane leaves are a good source of green fodder for cattle.

Manure importance

• Pressmud or filter mud is the suspended impurities found in sugarcane juice which settled out during the clarification of juice.
• After proper fermentation and decomposition , it can be used as an excellent manure to enrich soil nutrient .
• The organic matter content of pressmud is about 63-74% on dry basis.

Fermentation importance

• Molasses: it is one of the most important byproduct of sugarcane.
• Used in distilleries for the manufacture of ethyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, citric acid etc.
• Rum is the best portable spirits made from molashes.
• It is valuable additive in the preparation of silage.
• Food yeast( Torulopsis utilis) prepared from molasses as bakers and brewers yeast.