Managing the impacts of the Maillard reaction on the C massecuite pan and crystalliser stations

The Maillard reaction is known to occur in each stage of pan stage operations and during the storage of massecuites such as in receivers and crystallisers. The rate of reaction is faster in C massecuite processing than for the higher purity massecuites owing to the higher concentration of impurities, higher brix and generally higher boiling temperatures. The reaction is known to occur predominantly between glucose and amino compounds and produces organic acids, heat and carbon dioxide. Hydrolysis of sucrose is also known to occur. For the most part, sugar factories avoid the serious adverse effects of the Maillard reaction, albeit with some loss of sucrose and reducing sugars, and without great obvious impact on processing. The paper reports on factory studies that determined the change in compositions of A, B and C molasses and, using data in the literature from laboratory trials with pan drop C massecuites, formulates a model for estimating the impact of the Maillard reaction in C massecuite processing on sucrose recovery and factory revenue. Measures that reduce the impact of the Maillard reaction are discussed.