Sugar is produced in the field
Sugar is produced in the field
Through sustainable industrial processes, CAEI transforms the sugarcane from our fields into sugar, molasses and bagasse. These products are not exclusively for sale, as the factory uses the bagasse to produce its own energy. We make the most of our raw materials because we aim to be efficient and profitable sugar producers.
Sugar
Sugar production is a multistage process and its efficiency depends on the amount of sucrose that can be extracted from sugarcane. The stems are shredded with rotating blades and then processed through mills that extract a juice containing 95% of the sugar. It then undergoes several clarification phases, in order to remove impurities. Once it has been clarified, the water is evaporated; this process leads to sugar crystallization.
Molasses
This dark-colored, viscous liquid, also known as sugarcane honey, is the raw material used to make rum. As the sucrose crystals grow, a cooked mass of honey and sugar forms in the boiling containers. Both components are separated by the centrifugal force and the re-boiling of the honeys. Finally, the molasses is stored in special tanks until it is distributed to local liquor companies and livestock farmers, who use it for feeding their cattle.
Bagasse
The fibrous remainder that results from crushing sugarcane is used in our factory as natural fuel. This process makes CAEI an energetically self-sufficient company and, above all, environmentally responsible. After analyzing its caloric values, the bagasse is sent to the electric cogeneration plant, San Pedro Bio Energy, where it is mixed with biomass from our leucaena, acacia, and eucalyptus energy farms. Currently, the use of bagasse as a source of clean energy reduces the emission of some 86,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.