Sugar mills consume enormous volumes of water and generate wastewater loaded with suspended solids, organic matter, and color. Polyacrylamide plays two distinct roles in sugar production: clarifying raw juice before crystallization, and treating mill effluent before discharge. We supply PAM to sugar mills in Brazil, India, Thailand, and Egypt.
PAM in Sugar Industry: Two Key Applications
| Application | PAM Type | MW | Dosage | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juice clarification | NPAM or APAM | 8-12M Da | 2-5 ppm | Remove suspended solids before crystallization |
| Mill effluent treatment | CPAM | 10-15M Da | 3-8 ppm | Clarify wastewater for discharge/reuse |
| Sludge dewatering | CPAM | 10-15M Da | 4-8 kg/ton DS | Dewater clarifier sludge |
Juice Clarification
Raw cane juice extracted from crushed sugarcane contains suspended fiber (bagacillo), wax, colloidal impurities, and microorganisms. These must be removed before evaporation and crystallization — impurities reduce sugar yield and quality.
The standard clarification process:
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- Liming — add milk of lime to raise pH to 7.0-7.5. This precipitates phosphates and coagulates colloids.
- Heating — heat juice to 100-105°C to kill microorganisms and improve settling.
- PAM dosing — add 2-5 ppm NPAM or APAM to bridge suspended particles into large flocs.
- Settling — juice settles in a clarifier for 30-60 minutes. Clear juice overflows; sludge (mud) settles to the bottom.
- Mud filtration — clarifier mud is filtered on rotary vacuum filters to recover sugar.
Why NPAM for juice clarification? Sugar juice is a food product. NPAM has zero ionic charge, so it does not introduce any ionic contamination that could affect sugar quality or crystallization. Our NPAM for sugar applications is NSF certified with residual monomer ≤0.05%.
Performance: PAM reduces clarifier turbidity from 200-500 NTU to <20 NTU. Settling time drops from 2-3 hours to 30-60 minutes. Sugar recovery from mud improves 5-10%.
Mill Effluent Treatment
Sugar mill wastewater (from washing, cooling, and process water) has high BOD (500-2000 mg/L), high TSS (200-1000 mg/L), and dark color from molasses and caramel compounds. Discharge standards in most countries require BOD <30 mg/L and TSS <50 mg/L.
PAM is used in the primary clarification step before biological treatment:
- CPAM at 3-8 ppm removes 60-80% of TSS in the primary clarifier
- Reduces BOD load on the biological system by 30-40%
- Reduces color by 40-60% (remaining color requires biological or chemical oxidation)
For mills with tight discharge standards, a two-stage treatment works best: PAM clarification (primary) followed by activated sludge or anaerobic digestion (secondary).
Clarifier Mud Dewatering
The sludge from juice clarifiers (called "mud" in the sugar industry) contains 5-15% solids and must be dewatered before disposal or use as fertilizer. CPAM at 4-8 kg/ton dry solids conditions the mud for rotary vacuum filters or belt presses.
Properly conditioned mud dewaters to 25-35% solids, compared to 15-20% without polymer. This reduces the volume of mud to handle and improves sugar recovery from the filtrate.
Dosage Optimization for Sugar Mills
Sugar mill wastewater composition varies significantly by season, cane variety, and processing conditions. Jar testing is essential at the start of each crushing season:
- Collect fresh juice or effluent samples at normal operating conditions
- Test NPAM at 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 ppm for juice clarification
- Test CPAM at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 ppm for effluent treatment
- Measure settling time, supernatant turbidity, and color at each dose
- Select the minimum dose achieving target clarity
Typical optimal doses: 2-4 ppm for juice clarification, 4-6 ppm for effluent treatment. Over-dosing wastes chemical and can cause foaming in the clarifier.
Need PAM for sugar juice clarification?
Free sample + jar test report. WhatsApp: +86 150-0381-8598
Our Sugar-Grade PAM
At our Zhengzhou factory, we produce PAM specifically for sugar industry applications:
- NPAM for juice clarification: 8-12M MW, 0% ionic charge, NSF certified, residual monomer ≤0.05%
- CPAM for effluent treatment: 10-15M MW, 30-50% charge density
- CPAM for mud dewatering: 10-15M MW, 40-60% charge density
All grades: solid content ≥92%, dissolution time ≤90 minutes. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 certified.
We currently supply sugar-grade PAM to mills in Brazil (São Paulo state), India (Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh), Thailand, and Egypt. Our export team handles all documentation including MSDS, COA, and halal/kosher certificates where required.
Packaging and Delivery
Standard packaging: 25kg PE-lined kraft bags on pallets. 20 MT per 20ft container. For large mills consuming 50+ tons per crushing season, we offer volume pricing and scheduled delivery to match your production calendar.
From our Zhengzhou factory to Qingdao port: <1 day. Standard delivery: 7-10 days. Urgent: 3-5 days from stock.
Ready to Optimize Your Sugar Mill Treatment?
Send us your juice analysis or effluent data and we will recommend the right PAM grade and dosage. Free samples available for jar testing before your crushing season starts.
WhatsApp: +86 150-0381-8598 | Request a quote
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Our factory in Zhengzhou produces 100,000 tons/year of PAM across 18+ grades. MOQ 500kg, delivery 7-10 days standard. Contact us for pricing and free sample:
- WhatsApp: +86 150-0381-8598
- Email: info@chinapolyacrylamide.com