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Evaporation and Crystallisation

All the previous refining processes have been carried out on liquors that are 60-67% concentration. An evaporator is used at this stage to remove some of the water prior to crystallisation. The resulting syrup, which is known as evaporated fine liquor, is about 74% solids.

The fine liquor is fed into large vacuum pans where the sugar crystals are grown. The syrup is heated indirectly by steam to about 80°C where it boils due to the vacuum applied to the vessel. The use of a vacuum and the resulting reduced temperature helps to minimise the creation of colour during the process.

Crystallisation is controlled by computer which checks every stage of the process. The computer also determines the timing of the introduction of the seed, the source of the crystals which grow to achieve the maximum yield of the required grade of sugar. Unlike other sugar manufacturers we are able to produce sugar crystals of the required size without sieving by varying the volume of seed added.

The outputs of the Crystallisation process include a range of white sugars from Extra Fine, Caster and Granulated to Two's Crystals.