Liming and 

 Heating 



Clarification 



The juice as it comes from the mills contains impurities, such 

 as dirt, small pieces of cane fibre and other foreign matter in 

 addition to gum, salts, wax and albumen. It is necessary to 

 remove most of these impurities. There are several methods now in use and 

 the chemist in charge of the factory decides to a certain extent the treatment. 

 So long as the juice is confined in the cane it does not readily ferment, except 

 when the cane is burned before cutting. In such cases it must be worked up 

 into sugar as soon as possible. When the juice is extracted, it rapidly under- 

 goes a change and no time is lost in arresting this action. It is pumped into 

 the liming tanks where it is treated with a solution of milk of lime in order 

 to neutralize the acidity. It is then pumped into closed heaters which are 

 usually of a cylindrical shape about 4 feet in diameter and 20 feet long, resting 

 horizontally on frames about 2 feet above the floor. These heaters are fitted 

 with copper tubes expanded into cast iron heads and are arranged so that 

 the juice passes through the tubes; steam is admitted to the space between 

 the tubes and the outer shell. The heaters are set up to permit operation in 

 series or in parallel. When in series, the low temperature vapors form the 



Juice scales, liming 

 tanks, settling tanks 

 and crystallizers 



Heads of four 



cane juice 



heaters 



40 



