4) Does the processing of sugarcane into sugar is still within the scope of agriculture? why or why not? plsss answer this question
Answers
Answer:
According to me YES!
Explanation:
The process of separating sugar from the sugarcane plant is accomplished through two steps: sugar mill crushing and sugar refinery extraction. Sugarcane is initially processed into raw sugar at mills near the cane fields. Because cane is bulky and relatively expensive to transport, it must be processed as soon as possible to minimize sugar deterioration. The raw sugar is then shipped to refineries to produce refined sugar. The final products of refining include powdered, granulated and brown sugar, which is sugar that contains some molasses.
The number of sugarcane mills has steadily declined. In 2005, 21 cane sugar millers remained in business, with a combined milling capacity of 293,930 tons daily. With 13 mills, Louisiana had a daily milling capacity of 164,630 tons. Florida had five operating mills, Hawaii had two mills and Texas had one.
As of 2005, eight sugarcane refineries operated in the United States, dominated by the Domino Sugar Corporation and the Imperial Sugar Company. Dominos' three plants are located in Louisiana, Maryland and New York. Imperial operates plants in Georgia and in Louisiana. Florida's sugarcane is refined by two companies: U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals Corporation. The other refinery, located in California, is C&H, which has the largest capacity of any U.S. sugarcane refinery. It can process 3,400 tons of raw sugar each day. Four refineries have closed in the last decade. Thirty years ago, there were over twenty in operation.
Value-added Products
Sucrose
The type of sugar produced by sugarcane is called sucrose. It is used as a sweetening agent for foods and in the manufacture of cakes, candies, preservatives, soft drinks, alcohol and numerous other foods.
Blackstrap Molasses
This thick, dark liquid remains when the sugar has been removed from the boiled cane juice. It is used primarily as animal feed but can also be sold as syrup, to flavor rum and other foods or as an additive for ethyl alcohol.
Bagasse (baa gas)
After the juice has been extracted from the sugarcane stalk, this plant material remains. While generally burned as fuel for the mills, it could be used as a feedstock for ethanol production.
Ethanol
The increased demand for ethanol has generated interest in using U.S. sugarcane as a feedstock for producing the fuel. Sugarcane, which produces a large amount of biomass per acre in the form of bagasse and cane stalks and leaves, would be a viable feedstock for the cellulosic conversion of biomass into ethanol. Instead of having to first convert the sugarcane to sugar juice, ethanol could be produced by processing the entire plant.
With unique transportation circumstances and a declining sugarcane industry, Hawaii is aiming to become the first state with a sizable sugar ethanol industry. Hawaii state law now requires that at least 10 percent of all gasoline sold in the state be blended with ethanol.
Electricity
In the United States, the Clewiston Sugar Factory in Clewiston, Florida, is powered by bagasse. In Brazil, sugar and ethanol plants produce electricity by burning bagasse and cane straw in boilers to produce steam that generates power. Currently, the plants generate about 1,800 megawatts in surplus electricity, or about 3 percent of the country’s overall needs. According to UNICA (the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association), the sugarcane industry could generate an average of 15,000 megawatts by 2020, or enough to supply up to 15 percent of Brazil’s total electricity needs.
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