阅读说明：本技术 加工甘蔗的系统和方法 (System and method for processing sugar cane ) 是由 罗德尼·A·布朗 麦克斯韦·A·斯科特 马克·戴蒙德 于 2018-04-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：加工生甘蔗汁的方法,包括：将甘蔗汁的pH降低至基本上消除微生物活性的pH；从甘蔗汁中分离叶绿素；从甘蔗汁中分离直径大于0.5微米的颗粒；通过巴氏灭菌使甘蔗汁中的多酚氧化酶(PPO)变性；从甘蔗汁中分离所变性的多酚氧化酶。(A method of processing raw sugarcane juice comprising: reducing the pH of the sugarcane juice to a pH that substantially eliminates microbial activity; separating chlorophyll from sugarcane juice; separating particles having a diameter greater than 0.5 micron from the sugarcane juice; denaturing polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in the sugarcane juice by pasteurization; separating the denatured polyphenol oxidase from the sugarcane juice.)

1. A method of processing raw sugarcane juice comprising:

reducing the pH of the sugarcane juice to a pH that substantially eliminates microbial activity;

separating chlorophyll from the sugarcane juice;

separating particles having a diameter greater than 0.5 microns from said sugarcane juice;

denaturing polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in the sugarcane juice by pasteurization;

separating the denatured polyphenol oxidase from the sugarcane juice.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

increasing the pH of the sugarcane juice after denaturing the PPO and prior to separating the denatured PPO from the sugarcane juice.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising: heating the reduced pH sugarcane juice to between 50 ℃ and 70 ℃ prior to separating the chlorophyll from the reduced pH sugarcane juice.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one or more of the separation of chlorophyll from the sugarcane juice, the separation of particles having a diameter of greater than 0.5 microns, and the separation of the denatured polyphenol oxidase comprises centrifuging the sugarcane juice.

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein separating the particles having a diameter greater than 0.5 microns from the sugar cane comprises micro-filtering or centrifugal sterilizing the sugar cane juice.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pasteurization comprises one or more of the following:

a) performing heat pasteurization;

b) pulsed Electric Field (PEF) pasteurization;

c) and (5) high-pressure pasteurization.

7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein lowering the pH comprises lowering the pH to between 3.8 and 4.2.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein reducing the pH of the raw sugarcane juice comprises reducing the pH to the isoelectric point of a core component of chlorophyll present in the raw sugarcane juice.

9. The method of any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein increasing the pH comprises increasing the pH to between 4.2 and 7.

10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein lowering the pH comprises lowering the pH using citric acid.

11. The method of any one of claims 2 to 10, wherein increasing the pH comprises increasing the pH using sodium bicarbonate.

12. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the separating of the particles comprises removing particles having a diameter greater than 0.2 microns.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pasteurising comprises heating the sugarcane juice to between 80 ℃ and 100 ℃ for between 10 seconds and 20 seconds.

14. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 13, wherein the pasteurising comprises heating the sugarcane juice; and wherein the sugarcane juice is cooled prior to increasing the pH of the pasteurized sugarcane juice.

15. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sugarcane juice is agitated during one or more of the steps of lowering the pH, raising the pH, and pasteurizing.

16. The method of any of the preceding claims, further comprising:

concentrating the sugarcane juice by evaporation to form a concentrated sugarcane syrup.

17. The method of any of the preceding claims, further comprising:

cleaning the sugarcane;

extracting said raw sugarcane juice from said cleaned sugarcane.

18. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning of the sugar cane comprises pressure washing, tumbling, and/or scrubbing the sugar cane.

19. The method of claim 17 or 18, wherein the cleaning of the sugar cane comprises:

rinsing the sugar cane with a biocide or a peroxide.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the cleaning of the sugar cane comprises:

after rinsing with the biocide or peroxide, the sugar cane is rinsed with water at a predetermined temperature.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein said extracting comprises separating sugar cane fibers from the extracted sugar cane juice; and wherein the method further comprises drying the sugar cane fibers.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising, prior to drying the sugar cane fibers, soaking and washing the sugar cane fibers to remove remaining sugar.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the sugar cane fibers are dried using hot air.

24. The method of claim 22 or 23, further comprising removing excess moisture from the washed sugar cane fibers prior to drying the sugar cane fibers.

25. The method of any one of claims 21 to 24, wherein the sugar cane fibers are transported on a conveyor during the drying.

26. The method of any one of claims 21 to 25, further comprising grinding the dried sugar cane fibers into a powder.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the dried sugar cane fibers are ground to between 1 micron and 2 microns.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, wherein excess thermal energy generated during one or more steps of pasteurisation and isolation of the sugarcane juice is used to dry the sugarcane fibres.

29. A system for processing raw sugarcane juice, comprising:

an acidification unit for reducing the pH of the sugarcane juice to a pH that substantially eliminates microbial activity;

a first separation unit for separating chlorophyll from the sugarcane juice;

a second separation unit for separating particles having a diameter greater than 0.5 micron from the sugarcane juice;

a pasteurization unit for denaturing polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in the sugarcane juice by pasteurization;

a third separation unit for separating the denatured polyphenol oxidase from the sugarcane juice.

30. The system of claim 29, further comprising:

a neutralization unit for increasing the pH of the sugarcane juice after denaturing the PPO and before separating the denatured PPO from the sugarcane juice.

31. The system according to claim 29, comprising a heater for heating said reduced pH sugarcane juice to between 50 ℃ and 70 ℃ prior to separating said chlorophyll from said reduced pH sugarcane juice.

32. The system of any one of claims 29 to 31, wherein one or more of the first separation unit, the second separation unit, and the third separation unit comprises a centrifuge.

33. The system of any one of claims 29 to 32, wherein the second separation unit comprises a microfiltration unit.

34. The system of any one of claims 29 to 33, wherein the pasteurization unit comprises one or more of:

a) a thermal pasteurizer;

b) a Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) pasteurizer;

c) an autoclave.

35. The system according to any one of claims 29 to 34, wherein said acidification unit is configured to reduce said pH of said sugarcane juice to between 3.8 and 4.2.

36. The system according to any one of claims 29 to 35, wherein said acidification unit is configured to reduce said pH of said sugarcane juice to the isoelectric point of the core components of chlorophyll present in said sugarcane juice.

37. The system according to any one of claims 30 to 36, wherein said neutralization unit is configured to raise said pH of said sugarcane juice to between 4.2 and 7.

38. The system according to any one of claims 29 to 37, wherein said acidification unit is configured to reduce said pH of said sugarcane juice using citric acid.

39. The system according to any one of claims 30 to 38, wherein said neutralization unit is configured to reduce said pH of said sugarcane juice using sodium bicarbonate.

40. The system of any one of claims 29 to 39, wherein the second separation unit is configured to remove particles greater than 0.2 microns in diameter.

41. The system according to any one of claims 29 to 40, wherein said pasteurization unit is configured to heat the filtered sugarcane juice to between 80 ℃ and 100 ℃ for between 10 seconds and 20 seconds.

42. The system according to any one of claims 30 to 41, wherein said pasteurization unit is configured to heat said filtered sugarcane juice; and wherein the sugarcane juice is cooled prior to increasing the pH of the pasteurized sugarcane juice.

43. The system according to any one of claims 29 to 42, further comprising one or more agitators for agitating said sugarcane juice during one or more of the steps of lowering pH, raising pH and pasteurizing.

44. The system of any one of claims 29 to 43, further comprising:

a brix adjustment unit for concentrating the sugarcane juice by evaporation to form a concentrated sugarcane syrup.

45. The system of any one of claims 29 to 44, further comprising

A cleaning unit for cleaning the sugar cane; and

an extraction unit for extracting the raw sugarcane juice from the cleaned sugarcane.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the cleaning unit is configured to pressure wash, tumble, and/or scrub the sugar cane.

47. The system of claim 45 or 46, wherein the cleaning unit is configured to:

rinsing the sugar cane with a biocide or a peroxide.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the cleaning unit is configured to:

after rinsing with the biocide or peroxide, the sugar cane is rinsed with water at a predetermined temperature.

49. The system according to any one of claims 45 to 48, wherein said extraction unit is configured to separate sugar cane fibers from the extracted sugar cane juice; and the system further comprises a drying unit for drying the sugar cane fibers.

50. The system of claim 49, further comprising a preparation unit for soaking and washing the sugar cane fibers to remove remaining sugar prior to drying the sugar cane fibers.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein the sugar cane fibers are dried using hot air.

52. The system of claim 50 or 51, wherein the preparation unit is further configured to remove excess moisture from the washed sugar cane fibers prior to drying the sugar cane fibers.

53. The system according to any one of claims 49 to 52, further comprising a conveyor for transporting the sugar cane.

54. The system according to any one of claims 49 to 53, further comprising a grinding unit for grinding the dried sugar cane fibers into a powder.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the grinding unit is configured to grind the dried sugarcane fibers to between 1 micron and 2 microns.

56. The system of any one of claims 49 to 55, wherein excess thermal energy generated during one or more steps of pasteurization and separation of the sugarcane juice is used to dry the sugarcane fibers.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to biomass processing, and in particular to processing of raw sugar cane.

Background

Sugarcane is a tall growing monocotyledonous crop that is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, primarily because of its ability to store high concentrations of sucrose or sugar between stem nodes. Sorghum is a close relative of sugar cane and, like sugar cane, certain varieties of sorghum, known as "sweet sorghum," also accumulate large amounts of sugar in their stems. Near the time of granule maturation, sweet sorghum has 10% to 25% sugar in straw juice, with sucrose being the predominant disaccharide.

Typically, sugar cane is grown for 10 to 18 months prior to harvest, and mature cane is two to four meters tall and is ideally harvested when the sugar content is at its highest. In australia and other technologically advanced countries, sugar cane is harvested by various mechanical harvesters. The harvester cuts the sugar cane stalks at its bottom near the ground and feeds the sugar cane stalks through various cutting tools to produce sugar cane billets, which can be easily collected and transported to a mill for further processing.

The cane billets are typically collected in bins and transported to cane mills by various methods, such as diesel locomotives and the like. The sugar cane is typically processed such that the earliest harvested sugar cane is processed first to maintain a fresh supply of sugar cane to the mill. The sugar cane is then chopped, typically in a hammer mill, to chop the sugar cane into fibrous material. The chopped sugar cane is then typically fed through a series of pulverizers to extract sugar-rich juice from the fibrous material. The juice is then typically dewatered by boiling, leaving a dry crystalline sugar product.

It has been found that the non-sugar part of the juice has many positive health effects on consumption. This part of the juice is rich in vitamins and minerals including calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. It may also contain iron and vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6 as well as high concentrations of phytonutrients, antioxidants and other health promoting compounds.

After cutting the sugarcane, the nutritional value of the sugarcane juice decreases exponentially. Conventional methods of processing sugar cane into final food grade juice introduce significant delays during and between each step of the processing (from harvest to end product output), thereby reducing the quality and health benefits of the end product all the way. In addition, sugarcane juice produced by conventional processing methods discolors due to enzymatic browning.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method of processing raw sugarcane juice, comprising: reducing the pH of the sugarcane juice to a pH that substantially eliminates microbial activity; separating chlorophyll from sugarcane juice; separating particles having a diameter greater than 0.5 micron from the sugarcane juice; denaturing polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in the sugarcane juice by pasteurization; separating the denatured polyphenol oxidase from the sugarcane juice.

The method may further comprise increasing the pH of the sugarcane juice after denaturing the PPO and before separating the denatured PPO from the sugarcane juice.

The method may further comprise heating the reduced pH sugarcane juice to between 50 ℃ and 70 ℃ prior to separating chlorophyll from the reduced pH sugarcane juice.

The method may further comprise: the separation of the particles of one or more of chlorophyll, having a diameter greater than 0.5 microns, from the sugarcane juice and the separation of the denatured polyphenol oxidase involves centrifuging the sugarcane juice.

Separating particles having a diameter greater than 0.5 micron from sugar cane may include microfiltering the sugar cane juice or centrifuging sterilized (bactofuging) sugar cane juice.

Pasteurization may include one or more of the following:

a) performing heat pasteurization;

b) pulsed Electric Field (PEF) pasteurization; and

c) and (5) high-pressure pasteurization.

Lowering the pH may include lowering the pH to between 3.8 and 4.2.

Reducing the pH of the raw sugarcane juice can include reducing the pH to the isoelectric point of a core component of chlorophyll present in the raw sugarcane juice. Citric acid may be used to lower the pH.

The increase in pH may comprise increasing the pH to between 4.2 and 7. Sodium bicarbonate can be used to raise the pH.

Filtering may include removing particles greater than 0.2 microns in diameter.

Pasteurization may include heating the filtered sugarcane juice to between 80 ℃ and 100 ℃ for between 10 seconds and 20 seconds.

Pasteurization may include heating the filtered sugarcane juice. The sugarcane juice can be cooled prior to increasing the pH of the pasteurized sugarcane juice.

The sugarcane juice may be agitated during one or more of the steps of lowering the pH, raising the pH, and pasteurizing.

The method can further comprise concentrating the sugarcane juice by evaporation to form a concentrated sugarcane syrup.

The method may further comprise cleaning the sugar cane; and extracting raw sugarcane juice from the cleaned sugarcane. Cleaning of the sugar cane may include pressure washing, tumbling and/or scrubbing the sugar cane. Cleaning of the sugar cane may include flushing the sugar cane with a biocide or peroxide.

The extraction may include separating sugar cane fibers from the extracted sugar cane juice. The method may further comprise drying the sugar cane fibers.

The method may further comprise, prior to drying the sugar cane fibers, soaking and washing the sugar cane fibers to remove residual sugar. The sugar cane fibers may be dried using hot air.

The method may further comprise removing excess moisture from the washed sugar cane fibers prior to drying the sugar cane fibers.

The sugar cane fibers may be transported on a conveyor during drying.

The method may further comprise grinding the dried sugar cane fibers into a powder.

The dried sugar cane fiber may be ground to between 1 and 2 microns.

In some embodiments, excess thermal energy generated during one or more steps of pasteurization and separation of the sugarcane juice can be used to dry the sugarcane fibers.

According to yet another aspect, there is provided a system for processing raw sugarcane juice, comprising: an acidification unit for reducing the pH of the sugarcane juice to a pH that substantially eliminates microbial activity; a first separation unit for separating chlorophyll from sugarcane juice; a second separation unit for separating particles having a diameter greater than 0.5 micron from the sugarcane juice; a pasteurization unit for denaturing polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in the sugarcane juice by pasteurization; a third separation unit for separating the denatured polyphenol oxidase from the sugarcane juice.

The system may further comprise a neutralisation unit for increasing the pH of the sugarcane juice after denaturing the PPO and before separating the denatured PPO from the sugarcane juice.

The system may further comprise a heater for heating the reduced pH sugarcane juice to between 50 ℃ and 70 ℃ prior to separating chlorophyll from the reduced pH sugarcane juice.

One or more of the first separation unit, the second separation unit, and the third separation unit may include a centrifuge.

The second separation unit may comprise a microfiltration unit.

The pasteurization unit may include one or more of the following:

a) a thermal pasteurizer;

b) a Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) pasteurizer;

c) an autoclave.

The acidification unit may be configured to reduce the pH of the sugarcane juice to between 3.8 and 4.2.

The acidification unit may be configured to reduce the pH of the sugarcane juice to the isoelectric point of the core components of chlorophyll present in the sugarcane juice.

The neutralisation unit may be configured to raise the pH of the sugarcane juice to between 4.2 and 7.

The acidification unit may be configured to lower the pH of the sugarcane juice using citric acid.

The neutralization unit can be configured to reduce the pH of the sugarcane juice using sodium bicarbonate.

The second separation unit may be configured to remove particles having a diameter greater than 0.2 microns.

The pasteurization unit may be configured to heat the filtered sugarcane juice to between 80 ℃ and 100 ℃ for between 10 seconds and 20 seconds.

The pasteurization unit may be configured to heat the filtered sugarcane juice. The sugarcane juice can be cooled prior to increasing the pH of the pasteurized sugarcane juice.

The system may further comprise one or more agitators for agitating the sugarcane juice during one or more of the steps of lowering the pH, raising the pH, and pasteurizing.

The system may further comprise a brix adjustment unit for concentrating the sugarcane juice by evaporation to form a concentrated sugarcane syrup.

The system may further comprise a cleaning unit for cleaning the sugar cane; and an extraction unit for extracting raw sugarcane juice from the cleaned sugarcane.

The cleaning unit may be configured to pressure wash, tumble and/or scrub the sugar cane.

The cleaning unit may be configured to flush the sugar cane with a biocide or peroxide.

The cleaning unit may be configured to flush the sugar cane with water at a predetermined temperature after flushing with the biocide or the peroxide.

The extraction unit may be configured to separate sugar cane fibers from the extracted sugar cane juice.

The system may further comprise a drying unit for drying the sugar cane fibers.

The system may further comprise a preparation unit for soaking and washing the sugar cane fibres to remove residual sugar prior to drying the sugar cane fibres.

The sugar cane fibers may be dried using hot air.

The preparation unit may be further configured to remove excess moisture from the washed sugar cane fibers prior to drying the sugar cane fibers.

The system may further comprise a conveyor for transporting the sugar cane.

The system may further comprise a grinding unit for grinding the dried sugar cane fibers into a powder.

Excess heat energy generated during one or more steps of pasteurization and separation of the sugarcane juice is used to dry the sugarcane fibers.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a sugar cane processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process performed by a module of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed schematic diagram of the fiber processing unit and the juice processing unit shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 4 is a detailed schematic diagram of the brix adjustment module shown in fig. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of processing raw sugarcane juice;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of adjusting the Brix concentration of juice processed using the method shown in FIG. 5; and is

Fig. 7 is a flow chart of a process performed by the fiber treatment unit shown in fig. 1 and 3.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure encompass an overall process for sugarcane juice and fiber production that can achieve efficient conversion of freshly cut sugarcane into food grade stable sugarcane juice, syrup, and flour, thereby maximizing the maintenance of vitamin and mineral levels present in the sugarcane product. Embodiments described herein can help to increase the efficiency of processing sugar cane in a microbiologically controlled environment with little or no loss of health promoting compounds in the final product.

For example, the inventors have developed a two-stage process that includes a separate juice clarification step. In a first clarification step, cellulose and chlorophyll are aggregated and removed from the juice. In a second clarification step, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is removed from the juice. Enzymatic browning is substantially eliminated by inactivating chlorophyll and PPO during the removal process. The resulting sugarcane juice product retains all of the flavonoid and mineral components present in the original raw sugarcane, while greatly improving its clarity and stability as compared to juices made by prior art processes.

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a sugar cane processing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 100 includes a raw sugarcane preparation unit 102, a juice processing unit 104, and a fiber processing unit 106. The sugar cane preparation unit 102 includes a sugar cane receiving bin 108, a sterilization unit 110 and a sugar cane processor 112. The sugar cane preparation unit 102 is operable to receive harvested sugar cane and convert it to raw sugar cane juice and raw sugar cane fibers, which are then passed to the juice processing unit 104 and the fiber processing unit 106, respectively.

In order to maximize the retention of health promoting compounds in sugarcane, it is important to have as little delay as possible between harvesting and processing of the sugarcane. Thus, the system 100 is preferably located in close proximity to the growth site of the processed sugarcane.

The raw sugar cane may be transported through the system 100 in any suitable manner. However, it is preferred that many or all of the elements of system 100 be in close proximity. Suitable means for transporting the sugar cane through each unit and from one unit to another include conveyors, launch devices (shooters), hoppers and feed devices. However, other methods of automatically transporting sugar cane through a system are known in the art and do not depart from the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 2, a process 200 performed by the sugar cane preparation unit 102 will now be described. At step 202, raw sugar cane is received at the sugar cane receiving bin 108. The sugar cane may be received at the receiving bin 108 in the form of harvested billets or as whole cut sugar cane. During harvesting, billets are produced by removing the top of the cane, the leaf tips and a portion of the lower portion of the cane closest to the ground. The remaining cane is then chopped into short segments (20 cm-30cm in length) to form billets. If the receiver bin 108 is provided with whole cut sugar cane, the sugar cane stalks may be broken down by a shredder or a forage header arrangement in or near the receiver bin before or after being disinfected by a subsequent disinfection unit 110. In either case, the sugar cane preferably does not contain any green leaves (which are known as trash).

Farmers typically irrigate the sugar cane land prior to harvest. In doing so, the sugarcane absorbs bacteria from decaying plants on the field. It is preferred to remove as much of this bacteria as possible prior to extracting juice from the sugar cane. Thus, from the receiving bin 108, the sugar cane proceeds to the sterilizing unit 110 in any known manner, e.g., via a conveyor. In the sterilization unit 104, steps 204 and 206 are performed. At step 204, the raw sugarcane is washed, tumbled and scrubbed to remove any excess debris and impurities from the field or from the belt during harvesting and transportation. In one embodiment, the sterilization process is performed using a vibratory cleaning screen. The sugar cane is preferably cleaned in a two-step process. In a first step 206 of the process, the sugar cane may be washed with a biocide, such as an organic biocide, an example of which is tsunami (rtm), to kill bacteria and destroy any harmful organisms on the sugar cane surface. In other embodiments, the sugarcane may be washed with peroxide. In a second step 208, the raw sugar cane is sprayed with warm or hot water to remove biocides or other disinfectants and maintain biological control in the disinfection unit 110 while still cleaning the screens. The water used to clean the raw sugar cane is preferably at a temperature between 30 ℃ and 80 ℃. For example, the water used to wash the sugar cane may be at a temperature of less than 50 ℃, 55 ℃, 60 ℃, 65 ℃, 70 ℃, 75 ℃ or 80 ℃. For any of these upper temperature limits, where applicable, the water used to clean the sugarcane may be at a temperature greater than 30 ℃, 35 ℃, 40 ℃, 45 ℃, 50 ℃, 60 ℃, 65 ℃.

The cleaned cane is then transported to the cane processor 112 using, for example, a hopper and feeder device. The cane processor 112 then separates the cane into juice and fiber at step 210. The process may include chopping and crushing the cane in a known manner, for example, using an extraction apparatus such as a belt press, a hammer, a roller, a screw press, a centrifugal separator or any other mechanical juice extractor apparatus operable to extract juice from raw cane juice and separate fibre.

Once the juice and fiber are extracted and separated, the raw juice is output to the juice processing unit 104 at step 212 and the raw fiber is output to the fiber processing unit 106 for further processing at step 214. In an alternative embodiment, the raw fiber is discarded and only the raw juice is further processed.

The raw juice output to the juice processing unit 104 typically has a sugar concentration of 23 ° Br and a pH of about 5.45.

Referring to fig. 3, a detailed schematic of the juice processing unit 104 and the fiber processing unit 106 is shown. The juice processing unit 104 includes a plurality of processing modules connected by lines (as represented by the arrows shown therebetween in fig. 3). The juice may be pumped through the juice processing unit 104 by one or more pumps (not shown). It is recognized that any suitable pump arrangement may be used for this purpose, so long as the juice is not damaged when pumped through the processing unit 104. In some embodiments, one or more vane pumps may be used.

The components of the juice processing unit 104 may include a strainer 302, an acidification unit 304, a first holding tank 306, a first clarifier 308, a microfiltration unit 310, a second holding tank 312, and a second clarifier 314. The juice processing unit 104 may further include a brix adjustment unit 316 for increasing the concentration of the sugar cane product, as will be described in more detail below. A pasteuriser (not shown) may also be provided to pasteurise the sugarcane juice. The pasteurizer may be located at the output of the second clarifier 314, integrated into the brix adjustment unit 308, or located at the output of the brix adjustment unit 308. Likewise, one or more additional pasteurization units may be provided in any of the locations described above in the processing unit 104.

The strainer 302 is provided with a juice input for receiving raw sugarcane juice from the sugarcane processor 112. The strainer 302 is configured to remove large particulate matter from the raw juice, such as cellulose or fibers remaining in the raw sugarcane juice from juice extraction. The filter 302 may be in the form of a mesh bag or a grating. The strainer 302 may be configured to remove particles greater than 10 microns in diameter and preferably 5 microns in diameter.

It is advantageous to acidify the juice as early as possible to prevent the juice from undergoing enzymatic browning. Accordingly, an acidification unit 304 is provided to receive juice output from the sugar cane processor 112 via the strainer 302. The acidification unit 304 is provided with one or more agitators configured to agitate the juice together with the acid injection unit 328, the acid injection unit 328 being configured to inject acid, such as food acid, into the acidification unit 304 to acidify the raw sugarcane in the acidification unit 304. The acid injection unit 328 may include one or more in-line injectors and controllers (not shown) for controlling the rate of injection of acid into the acidification unit 304. The acidification unit 304 may also include a pH meter 330 configured to measure the pH of the juice/acid mixture in the acidification unit 304 and feed this information back to the acid injection unit 328. Based on this received pH information, the acid injection unit 312 is configured to control the amount of acid injected into the acidification unit so as to maintain the pH of the contents of the acidification unit 304 at a predetermined pH level.

The first holding tank 306 includes a heater and one or more agitators for heating the juice output from the acidification unit 304. In other embodiments, instead of the first holding tank 306, the acidification unit 304 itself may be used to heat the juice after acidification.

The first and second clarifiers 308, 314 are provided to remove agglomerated solids from the juice at various stages of the process, as will be described in more detail below. Preferably, the first and second clarifiers 308, 314 each comprise a centrifuge as is known in the art. Alternatively, the first and second clarifiers 308, 314 may include separators or decanters.

The microfiltration unit 310 is configured to remove fine particulate matter from the juice. Preferably, the microfiltration unit is operable to filter out particles larger than 0.5 micron in diameter. By doing so, bacteria and larger proteins (which cause discoloration of the juice) can be filtered out of the juice while allowing flavonoid and mineral components to pass through.

The second holding tank 312 receives the juice from the micro-filtration unit 310 and includes a pH meter 318, the pH meter 318 configured to measure the pH of the juice and feed this information back to the base injection unit 320. Based on this received pH information, the base injection unit 312 is configured to control the amount of base injected into the acidification unit in order to maintain the pH of the contents of the holding tank 312 at a predetermined pH level.

The brix adjustment unit 316 is shown in more detail in fig. 4 and comprises an evaporator 321 for increasing the sugar concentration of the raw sugarcane juice to produce a syrup, and a dryer 323 configured to remove substantially all water from the juice, thus producing a dry powder.

The evaporator 321 may be a falling film type and may have various effects. In other words, the evaporator 321 may comprise a plurality of falling film evaporators, with the condensate of a first falling film evaporator (referred to as a first effect) providing an input to a second falling film evaporator (referred to as a second effect), and so on. Preferably, the evaporator 321 comprises a multi-effect falling film evaporator, comprising three or more effects.

The dryer 323 is operable to produce a dry powder from the sugar cane syrup output from the evaporator 321. In some embodiments, the dryer 323 is a spray dryer.

The operation of the juice processing unit 104 shown in fig. 3 and 4 according to the embodiment will now be described with reference to the flowchart shown in fig. 5.

In step 402, raw sugarcane juice received from the sugarcane processor 112 is filtered using the strainer 302 to remove remaining cellulose or fibers in the raw sugarcane juice from the juice extraction.

The strained sugarcane juice is then acidified by adding acid via acid injection unit 312 at step 404. The pH of the juice is lowered at least to the point where microbial activity substantially ceases, i.e. below pH 4.2.

Preferably, the pH of the juice is lowered to substantially at the isoelectric point of chlorophyll. By doing so, the net charge of chlorophyll can be reduced to essentially zero, enabling chlorophyll to be more easily removed during clarification. Chlorophyll has an isoelectric point of about 3.86, but can vary depending on the amount of sugar present in the processed sugarcane, which in turn can depend on the maturity of the sugarcane (which is in its developmental cycle when harvested) and the amount of nitrate present in the soil. Accordingly, the target pH may be adjusted to account for seasonal and compositional variations of the sugar cane provided to the sugar cane preparation unit 102. Thus, in some embodiments, the pH of the juice can be lowered and maintained between 3.7 and 4.

In addition to the above, lowering the pH of the juice to below 4.0 inactivates any polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme present in the juice, thereby substantially reducing PPO-related enzymatic browning of the juice during subsequent processing steps; an additional benefit of acidifying the juice at the start of the process.

The inventors have found that adding a relatively weak acid at high concentrations allows for better control of the pH. An example of a suitable weak acid is ascorbic acid, which may be injected into the acidification unit 302 by the acid injection unit 312. In some embodiments, a solution of ascorbic acid at a concentration of about 20% is used. In one embodiment, the solution is prepared by combining 600 grams of ascorbic acid with 2400 grams of water at 50 ℃. In other embodiments, citric acid may be used. Alternatively, relatively acidic fruit juices such as lemon juice or lime juice may be used to lower the pH of the sugarcane juice.

As the pH of the sugarcane juice product is lowered to a point where a) microbial activity substantially ceases, b) PPO is inactivated and c) chlorophyll in the juice is substantially zero net charge, the juice may be heated to a temperature between 50 ℃ and 70 ℃, preferably 60 ℃ to 70 ℃ and more preferably 65 ℃ at step 406. By increasing the temperature of the juice, the density difference between chlorophyll and any remaining cellulose is increased on the one hand, and the density difference between chlorophyll and the aqueous juice solution is increased on the other hand. This results in chlorophyll aggregation and flocculation in the next step of the process 400, where chlorophyll is removed from the juice in the process 400.

In step 408, chlorophyll and remaining cellulose present in the acidified juice is separated from the juice product in the first clarifier 308. This step is preferably performed by a centrifuge, but may alternatively be performed using a filter.

At step 410, the juice passes from the first clarifier 308 to the microfiltration unit 306 where fine particulate matter, such as protein, is separated from the juice. Preferably, at this stage, particulate matter greater than 0.5 microns in diameter is separated from the juice. This may include bacteria and particulate matter that is greater than 0.5 microns in diameter but does not have a sufficiently large density difference relative to the bulk of the aqueous juice to be separated in the first clarifier 308 at step 408. Instead of using a microfiltration device to separate the substance from the juice, a centrifuge, such as a centrifugal sterilizer, may be used.

It is noted that the steps 408, 410 of separating chlorophyll from the juice on the one hand and other fine particulate matter from the juice on the other hand are performed in two separate steps. However, in other embodiments, these two steps may be combined into a single step in which chlorophyll and other fine particulate matter having a diameter greater than, for example, 0.5 microns, are simultaneously separated from the juice. In such embodiments, the process may be performed using a centrifugal sterilization machine.

The result of the microfiltration at step 410 is an acidified juice product containing sugars, flavonoids, minerals and inactivated PPO. In this regard, the juice typically has a pH below 4.0 in order to inactivate PPO present in the juice. However, without removing PPO, raising the pH of the juice to a neutral state would activate PPO and other enzymes and begin the process of browning the juice to its damage.

Thus, in step 412, the juice is heated to a temperature at which any PPO enzymes and other enzymes present in the juice are denatured. In some embodiments, the juice is heated to a temperature of 95 ℃ for 10 minutes. However, any heat treatment process may be used as long as it results in the denaturation of PPO and other enzymes contained in the juice, while not affecting the flavonoid and mineral components of the juice. Thus, in some embodiments, the juice can be heated to 80 ℃, 85 ℃, 90 ℃, 95 ℃, 100 ℃, 105 ℃, 110 ℃, 115 ℃ or 120 ℃. The time for the juice to remain at any of those temperatures may be, for example, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 35 seconds, 40 seconds, 45 seconds, or 50 seconds.

This heat treatment step 412 may be performed in the second holding tank 312 or, alternatively, in a separate holding tank located between the microfiltration unit 310 and the second holding tank 312. In either case, the temperature difference Δ T across the tank wall where the juice is heated is preferably kept as low as possible to prevent caramelization of the sugars of the juice from the tank wall. Thus, in some embodiments, the agitator tank and/or the water jacket is provided for the tank. Alternatively, the juice may be passed through a heat exchanger to raise its temperature.

Although the embodiments described herein use high temperature, short time (HTST) heat treatment, in alternative embodiments, other heat treatment methods in place of or in addition to heat pasteurization may be implemented, including but not limited to pulsed electric field pasteurization and high pressure processing. The pasteurization step may include one or more of these pasteurization techniques. For example, pasteurization may employ a combination of heat pasteurization and pulsed electric field pasteurization.

Following the heat treatment step 414 described above, the juice may be cooled (passively or actively) to a temperature prior to its heat treatment at step 414. For example, the juice may be cooled to between 50 ℃ and 70 ℃, preferably 60 ℃ to 70 ℃ and more preferably 65 ℃. This cooling may be performed in the holding tank 312 or in a separate tank (not shown) or may be performed using a heat exchanger such as a tubular heat exchanger.

Now that the PPO enzymes (and other enzymes present in the juice) are no longer viable, the pH of the juice can be raised at step 416 without risk of disrupting the clarity of the juice due to enzymatic browning. Depending on the desired brix concentration of the final product, the pH of the juice may be raised to between 4 and 7. Raising the pH of the juice to 6.5 enables the juice to be mixed with a product having key ingredients with an isoelectric point of about 6.5.

Preferably, a weak base is used to raise the pH of the juice to prevent the sugars in the juice from burning when in contact with the base. In some embodiments, an 8% saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate (having a pH of 7.7) is used. Even with weak bases such as sodium bicarbonate, it is advantageous to agitate the juice base mixture to prevent burning of the molecular sugars in the juice and to ensure even distribution of the base in the solution. In other embodiments, a strong base may be used to neutralize the acidified juice. In this case, alkali may be added again to the juice using a turbo mixer or the like to prevent the sugar in the juice from burning.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, a final product having a pH of about 4 may be desired. The step of raising 416 the pH of the juice is optional and, thus, may not be included in the process 400.

Not only is juice prepared for brix adjustment, but raising the pH of the juice also causes the aggregation of the denatured PPO enzyme contained therein, which in turn increases the efficiency of removal of such PPO enzyme in subsequent process steps. To further improve the efficiency of separating PPO from the juice, the neutralized juice may be allowed to stand (without agitation) to allow the flocculated PPO enzyme to settle at the bottom of the tank. The juice may then be separated from the bulk of the PPO at step 418 prior to clarification, for example in a second clarifier 314.

In step 418, the juice is separated from the remaining PPO, other enzymes and most of the microbial organisms still remaining in the juice during clarification. Clarification at step 418 may be performed by centrifugation, filtration and/or by decanting the supernatant juice after flocculation of the enzymes during settling.

The resulting juice product after clarification at step 418 is a substantially clear aqueous sugarcane product, free of cellulose, chlorophyll and PPO enzymes and enriched in flavonoids and minerals originally present in raw sugarcane juice.

After the juice has been clarified at step 418, the juice may then enter the brix adjustment unit 316 to be processed into a final product, whether juice, syrup, or powder. The brix adjustment unit 316 may be configured to process the raw juice into all three final products or one or two of juice, syrup, and powder.

Referring now to fig. 6, if the desired end product is sugarcane juice, the brix concentration of the juice can be adjusted to between 8 ° Br and 12 ° Br by adding water at step 420. The final product is food grade, sterile sugarcane juice with high mineral and vitamin content. The juice can be discharged into bulk containers or refrigerated tanks via industry standard sterile filling machines, depending on the dispensing requirements. The final juice product can be packaged using any suitable process known in the art.

If the desired end product is sugar cane syrup, the juice is pumped into the evaporation unit 321 to increase the sugar concentration (brix) in the juice by evaporating water from the juice at step 422. The evaporation temperature is selected to limit damage to the juice while still achieving the desired evaporation. In an example, the evaporator can be operated between 40 ℃ and 45 ℃, between 45 ℃ and 50 ℃, between 55 ℃ and 60 ℃, between 60 ℃ and 65 ℃, or between 65 ℃ and 70 ℃. In order to reduce the evaporation temperature of the water in the evaporation unit 321, the pressure in the evaporation unit 321 may be increased. In the case of falling film evaporators, the steam from each result can be used in the production of sugar cane essence.

It will be appreciated that the concentrated sugar cane syrup produced in the evaporation unit 321 will have a reduced pH relative to the sugar cane juice provided to the evaporation unit 321 due to its increased concentration. Therefore and as described above, at step 416, the pH of the juice is adjusted to account for evaporation during step 422.

The concentrated syrup may optionally be pasteurized by heating to between 60 ℃ and 120 ℃ for between 10 seconds and 50 seconds. In various embodiments, the syrup can be heated to 60 ℃, 65 ℃, 70 ℃, 75 ℃, 80 ℃, 85 ℃, 90 ℃, 95 ℃, 100 ℃, 105 ℃, 110 ℃, 115 ℃ or 120 ℃. The time that the syrup is held at any of those temperatures may be 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 35 seconds, 40 seconds, 45 seconds, or 50 seconds.

Whether or not the pasteurization step described above is performed, the syrup can then be discharged into a sterile filling machine for distribution (bottling, placement into bulk containers, refrigerated tanks, etc.) as desired.

If the desired end product is sugar cane powder in dry form, then at step 416, the syrup produced in the evaporation unit 321 is input into a dryer 323 and atomized using an atomizer, such as a rotating disk or a high pressure single or two fluid nozzle, which atomizes the syrup as it is fed into a stream of hot steam and the atomizer is vaporized. Due to the high surface tension of the water, solids are formed as the moisture quickly leaves the atomized droplets, forming dry solids that fall to the bottom of the dryer 323.

In some embodiments, the atomizer is a two fluid nozzle atomizer. In this case, a pressurized gas, such as carbon dioxide, is provided as the second fluid, in combination with the syrup (first fluid).

It should be appreciated that the juice processing unit 104 can produce juice and syrup/powder end products in parallel.

In addition to producing refined sugarcane juice and/or syrup, the fibers separated at the sugarcane processor 112 can also be processed by the fiber processing unit 106. The fiber processing unit 106 includes a preparation unit 321, a conveyor 322, one or more cane dryers 324, and a grinding unit 326. Fig. 5 shows a flow chart of a process 500 performed by the fiber treatment unit 106. At step 501, raw sugar cane fibers are received from the sugar cane processor 112 by the fiber processing unit 106 and enter the preparation unit 321, the preparation unit 321 being configured to remove any excess sugar from the fibers that would otherwise cause browning of the fibers. The processing unit 321 includes an impregnator that soaks the fibers to reduce the particle size of the fibers. This improves water transport through the fiber, which in turn increases efficiency and removes sugars from the fiber. The processing unit 321 further includes a washer, such as a counter-current washer. At step 502, the fiber is washed by a washer to remove excess sugar. Additionally, the preparation unit 321 may further include a decanter or other device for removing excess moisture from the fibers prior to drying. The juice extracted from the sugar fibers may optionally be added to the sugarcane juice during processing in the juice processing unit 104. For example, the juice extracted from the preparation unit 321 may be fed into the acidification unit 304 as indicated by arrow 323, or fed into the acidification unit 304 via the strainer 302. The decision as to whether to add juice extracted in the preparation unit to the juice being processed in the juice processing unit 104 may be based on the quality of the sugar removed and the use of the juice being processed.

From the preparation unit 321, raw sugarcane can be transported through the fiber treatment unit 106 on a conveyor 322. At step 503, the soaked and cleaned raw sugar cane is dried by hot air output from the one or more cane dryers 324 as the cane moves along the conveyor 322. The conveyor 322 then transports the dried sugar cane to a grinding unit 326 where the sugar cane is ground in any known manner at step 504. Preferably, the fibers are ground to between 1 micron and 2 microns, between 2 microns and 3 microns, between 3 microns and 4 microns or between 4 microns and 5 microns. The dried ground sugar cane fibers are then exported and packaged in any known manner at step 506.

It will be appreciated that the efficiency of the holding tanks 306, 312, the evaporation unit 321 and the dryer 323 is not 100%, and thus in use they each generate at least some excess heat. The inventors have determined that this lost thermal energy can be utilized to provide heat to the fiber treatment unit 106, thus reducing overall power consumption. In some embodiments, thermal radiation from devices in the juice processing unit can be directed into the fiber processing unit and used to heat or preheat the air entering the cane dryer 324 in order to reduce the load on the heaters provided therein. Additionally or alternatively, this warm air may be fed through a heat exchanger located in the fiber treatment unit 106 to increase the ambient temperature therein, again reducing the load on the cane dryer 324 (and therefore reducing energy consumption).

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the broad general scope of the disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.