The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-21
HOW SUGAR is REFINED.
Description of the Process 1t Is
Followed at n Large Refinery.
Me Manufa cturer.

Inc manufacturer.
The raw sugar as it comes from the YES
sells which bring 1t here from foreign coun-
tries is dissolved in water and pumped to
the top of the refinery. Here it is run into
large tanks heated by coils of steam pipes.
ANY chemicals necessary for cOagulation
are then added. The syrup is heated almost
to the boiling point. and is run down
through long, narrow canvas bags to the
bone black filters. These are enormous
cylinders, filled with animal charcoal
through which the syrup runs, and in the
pores of which are deposited coloring mat
ter and other impurities. This bone black
or animal charcoal is one of the greatest
expenses the refinery has to bear. and is,
therefore used over as often as possible.
For this purpose, when the pores of the
charcoal become filled with impurities
(Which is indicated by the sugar no longer
coming through colorless5, the filters are
thoroughly rinsed with water and the char
coal is removed and heated to bright red
ness, to carboniZe all the remaining organic
matter. After slow cooling this revivified'
bone black is very nearly as good as when
perfectly fresh.
From the filters the now coorless and
well-purified syrup is piped into the crystal
lizing tanks or vacuum pans. Here it is
evaporated in a partial vacuum until the
sugar is almost in a solid state, with only
about enough liquid to give it pasty con-
sistency The exact point at which to stop
the boiling is not easy to determine, and
the boilers are very valuable men.
The pasty mass is now run down into
centrifugal machines which are copper
kettles with movable bottoms and capable
filled about half full and are rotated swift
w. when the water is quickly drained off
and the sugar is deposited on the sides of
the vessel in solid layer reaching to the
top. During this operation a little blue-cOl-
ored water is sprinkled over the sugar to
neutralize the faint yellow tint still present
from the original syrup and to give 1t the
glistening white appearance supposed to
Indicate exceptional purity.
When the sugar is sufficiently dry the bot
tom of the kettle is raised and it is allowed
to drop down upon the ''granulatorS," which
sugar crystals to a uniform size. These
are large, revolving, circular sieVes having
a slight slope toward the front. They are
fed from the rear with a small stream of
sugar 1t is only after passing around the
screen many times that the sugar is al
lowed to drop off in front in a perfectly
dry and uniformly crystalline condition.
From the granulators the sugar is run
directly into barrels or bags for shipment.
The barrels are supported on a frame which
is given a jiglike motion. This serves to
pack the sugar tightly
Lump sugar is made by running the sugar
from the centrifugals into hopper. the
bottom of which consists of a revolving
cylinder. In this cylinder there are cubical
spaces corresponding to the size of the
lump. The sugar is forced into these. and
when the cylinder has made half a revolu-
to belt which continually removes the
Jumps on to trays placed on this belt, from
which the Jumps are taken away and are
dried ready for the market.
Before the revolution in Cuba about 81
per cent. of the cane sugar used in Phila-
the retineries are kept running almost en-
tirely on beet sugar, which Is shipped here
from Germany and other European coun-
tries.