Brazilian Sugar Cane
Brazilian sugar cane is the most plentiful sugar cane in the world. A world leader in sugar
and sugar ethanol production, Brazil grows over 300 million tons of sugar cane yearly, a figure which is only set to rise in the coming years. Sugar cane is very big business in Brazil, and over the past few decades, much time and a great deal of resources have been poured into both developing new strains of sugar cane, and understanding just how sugar cane works much better than any other nation on the globe. Brazil’s government even went so far as to fund a project to sequence the sugar cane genome. As a direct result of this investment in research and development, Brazil not only grows a great deal of sugar cane, it grows a great deal of high quality, high sucrose sugar cane.
Growing high sucrose cane is important as it increases the sugar yield which can be gained per stalk of cane, and increases productivity at the mill. High sucrose content is as important in sugar ethanol production as it is in sugar production, however some mills have different types of sugar cane crops set aside for each purpose.
Brazil has always been an innovator in the sugar field. In the early 90’s it developed VHP (very high pol) sugar, a type of raw sugar that contains 99.4% sucrose and so needs much less refining than other types of raw sugars. Now Brazil is focused on creating even better strains of sugar cane that can grow more successfully in a wider range of climatic regions and terrains.
Cultivation of Sugar Cane
Sugar cane needs relatively fertile soil in order to really flourish and grow well. Because of this, fields are usually left bare for a few weeks after harvesting to regenerate. They are then ploughed, and into the furrows are planted sugar cane ’setts’, which are slices of mature young sugar cane between ten to fifteen centimeters long. The setts are fertilized, covered with soil, watered, and left to grow. It can take several weeks for them to begin to sprout, and then another several months for the new cane to grow to harvesting height. The normal sugar cane growing phase is around twelve to sixteen months long.
Regions Of Sugar Cane Growth
At one time, sugar cane was grown almost exclusively in the rocky northeast of the country. However as prices for traditionally grown commodities such as coffee and soy dropped, farmers in the center south started looking towards the new big earner – sugar. The Sao Paulo region, in the center south of Brazil is now the biggest sugar producing region in the world. It is well known for its fertile soils, its forgiving climate, and flat terrain that makes planting and harvesting sugar cane much easier than in the hilly north.
As global demand for sugar and sugar ethanol increases, more and more land is being turned over to sugar cane production. There are now well over 330 mills operating in the country, and by the year 2010, there are likely to be almost 500 mills. Some existing mills have more than doubled their size in the past year. Brazil has the land to spare however, at the present moment it is estimated that less than 5 percent of cultivatable land is being used for sugar cane production.
The research which has been done into new strains of sugar cane is helping sugar cane production grow without encroaching onto land which is needed for food or other enterprises. Sugar cane strains now exist that can grow in conditions which traditional sugar cane could never survive. It is also estimated that some high sucrose strains of sugar cane can be grown for up to twelve generations before they lose their sucrose content. It is estimated that there are now more than 60 distinct strains of sugar cane in Brazil.
Brazilian Sugar Cane Products
Sugar cane is a very versatile crop, and from sugar cane is made sugar, sugar ethanol, molasses, tableware, alternative fuel sources, and even paper. This section looks at the various uses of sugar cane, and how it is processed into the various forms which are exported and consumed the world over.
Sugar
The most well known product of sugar cane is of course, sugar. Sugar is extracted from sugar cane by shredding it and sending it through a series of rollers and grinders that crush the cane, extracting the sucrose rich juice. Brazil’s most plentiful sugar product is VHP sugar, which is a raw sugar product that undergoes some processing before being sold to concentrate the sugar content to over 99.4%.
This is done by boiling the sugar juice, allowing it to cool, and sprinkling fine sugar dust into the juice to encourage crystallization. When the sucrose crystals have formed, they are put into a centrifugal chamber along with the liquid they were formed in, and spun at very high speed. This separates the crystal from the juice, which is also called first molasses. The sugar crystals from the first centrifuging are high quality VHP.
The process is then repeated twice more, creating second molasses and final molasses, along with lower grade sugars known as ‘B’ grade and ‘C’ grade respectively. ‘B’ and ‘C’ crystals are then once more dissolved, centrifuged, and regrown in order to create more high quality VHP.
Molasses
The molasses left over from the centrifuging process is often sold as a food supplement because it contains concentrated minerals, and it is also quite often used as a feedstock for animals. Some people make use of molasses in baking, though it is usually the sweet first molasses that finds its way into cakes and treats, and last but not least, final molasses, also known as blackstrap molasses is said to be an excellent cure all for constipation, as well as a good source of iron for pregnant women and vegetarians.
Bagasse
Bagasse is a major byproduct of sugar cane processing. Bagasse is the solid dry material that is left over when sugar cane is crushed. At one time this was thought of as being nothing but a waste product, and burned in fields, but nowadays it is used as a source of energy to power the sugar mill. Many sugar mills generate so much power from bagasse that they are able to sell the remainder of it on the national grid.
Bagasse that is not used to power sugar mills finds many other uses. Some bagasse is turned into charcoal briquettes which provide a clean burning, tree free source of heat. Other bagasse is sterilized and molded into tableware, replacing plastic and Styrofoam which destroy the environment. Unlike its synthetic counterparts, bagasse biodegrades within three months at the longest. It can also safely be microwaved and frozen, giving it a functional edge over traditional disposable tableware.
Brazilian Ethanol
Ethanol is produced by fermenting sugar from sugar cane until it turns to alcohol. Ethanol is a leading bio-fuel, and is now the second largest fuel source in Brazil.
As is evident, Brazilian sugar cane continues to go from strength to strength. It is highly likely that the sugar cane growing industry in Brazil will continue to boom throughout much of the next decade, as increasing global populations require more sugar to feed themselves, and as demand for bio-fuels increases rapidly.
Brazilian Sugar Prices
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