Manufacturing - Sugar Refining Operations
In 1998, U.S. Sugar commissioned the Clewiston Refinery, the nation’s first fully integrated cane sugar refinery ever built in the nation. Complete vertical integration enables U.S. Sugar to control product quality from the fertile cane fields of the Glades through processing and refining at our state-of the-art facilities. Operating more than 300 days each year the Clewiston Refinery regularly sets refined sugar production records.
Raw sugar goes through a multi-step process to produce the familiar white “pure cane sugar” that is the gold standard of natural sweeteners.
In 1998, U.S. Sugar commissioned the Clewiston Refinery, the nation’s first fully integrated cane sugar refinery ever built in the nation. Complete vertical integration enables U.S. Sugar to control product quality from the fertile cane fields of the Glades through processing and refining at our state-of the-art facilities. Operating more than 300 days each year the Clewiston Refinery regularly sets refined sugar production records.
Raw sugar goes through a multi-step process to produce the familiar white “pure cane sugar” that is the gold standard of natural sweeteners. - FILTERING: Liquefied sugar is forced through granular carbon filters that remove the amber.
- EVAPORATING: Liquid sugar then moves through triple effect evaporators that remove water, creating a mixture that is 76% solid.
- FILTERING: Sugar is then piped to pressure filters where any remaining impurities are removed.
- CRYSTALLIZATION Next sugar is piped to vacuum pans for crystallization. When the crystals reach the desired size, they are dropped into centrifugals. The centrifugals rotate at 1,000 rpms, separating the crystals from any remaining liquid. The slightly damp crystals are moved to the dryer.
- DRYING: The dryer is a moving bed of sugar and air where the sugar is circulated over baffles. A series of portholes allow the waves of sugar to be viewed as they move through the dryer. The sugar is transferred by bucket elevators to conditioning silos, where it is further dried in dehumidified air for 24 hours.
- SORTED: The sugar is then transferred to a screening tower, a series of graduated screens that separate the sugar into various sizes of granules, tailored to each customer’s specifications.