Combination Effect of Ozone and Heat Treatment for the Color Reduction in Sugarcane Juice

Abstract

We have been studied the mechanism of color reduction of sugarcane juice as a new innovative technology to crystal sugar production as a substitute for sulfur use, which was related to health problems. This work evaluated the effect of ozonation on sugarcane juice in two different conditions, heated and non-heated juice. The samples in both conditions were ozonized for 120 min in a stainless-steel batch reactor, connected to an ozonation system with constant flow (17.3 mg O₃/min). Ozonation did not change the values ​​of reducing sugars (RS) and the apparent sucrose content (POL); however, the color rate ICUMSA showed significant decrease for the heated juice, but there was no response to ozonation in the non-heated juice. These responses represent a key point to the industry, which during the clarification process, heats the juice before the sulfitation. The settling should become more efficient after ozonation (results not shown), showing great potential to use this technology in production systems because of the optimization of reaction parameters for color reduction ICUMSA in sugarcane juice.

Keywords: Ozone, Clarification, Sugarcane, ICUMSA, UFLC/ELSD.