Manufacturing - Sugar Factory Operations
U.S. Sugar’s Clewiston Sugar Factory is the largest most technologically advanced and fully integrated cane sugar manufacturing / refining facility in the world. Complete vertical integration enables U.S. Sugar to provide quality control from the fertile cane fields of the Glades through processing and refining at our state-of the-art factory.
Sugar cane is transported directly from the fields to the Clewiston Sugar Factory on the Company’s internal railroad. Once the sugar cane arrives at the factory it goes through a complex process:
U.S. Sugar’s Clewiston Sugar Factory is the largest most technologically advanced and fully integrated cane sugar manufacturing / refining facility in the world. Complete vertical integration enables U.S. Sugar to provide quality control from the fertile cane fields of the Glades through processing and refining at our state-of the-art factory.
Sugar cane is transported directly from the fields to the Clewiston Sugar Factory on the Company’s internal railroad. Once the sugar cane arrives at the factory it goes through a complex process: - CRUSHING: Sugar cane is crushed and the juice is extracted. The residual fibers — bagasse is used as a fuel to generate steam and electricity needed to operate the factory.
- NEUTRALIZATION: The sugar cane juice is treated with lime to neutralize the acidity and to prevent the inversion of sucrose.
- BOILING: The cane juice is then heated to boiling.
- CLARIFICATION: The combined effect of heat and lime is the formation of a heavy precipitate of complex composition, which is then processed by clarifiers.
- EVAPORATION: The clarified juice containing about 85% water is then processed by an evaporator, which produces high-density syrup. No water or waste is allowed to leave the factory property.
- CRYSTALIZATION: From the evaporator the syrup is transferred and processed in vacuum pans to start the crystallization process. This process continues in crystallizers where the mixture of sugar crystals and syrup or molasses (massecuite) is cured by slow cooling and stirring for a period of 36 hours.
- TRANSFER TO REFINERY: Raw sugar is piped directly into the refinery where any molasses and impurities are removed from the sugar, producing the familiar white “pure cane sugar” that is the gold standard of natural sweeteners.