Industrial technology for the sugar industry
How Vogelsang can support you processing sugar

Market requirements

Pumping of highly viscous media
Resistance to abrasive properties and high temperatures

Vogelsang solution

Pump technology: Rotary lobe pumps of the VX series and IQ series
Grinding technology: Solids reduction machine RedUnit

Our customers in the sugar industry are facing a challenge finding the right pump technology for processing sugar.

Highly viscous liquids containing abrasive solids such as sugar crystals in magma or massecuite are a major burden for rotary lobe pumps and other machinery involved in the pumping process. In addition to resistance to the abrasive properties of the medium, the technology must function correctly even at high temperatures. Sugar crystals should survive the process undamaged, so the pumping process needs to be gentle and even as well as tough.

Vogelsang industry pumps optimize processes for sugar production

Vogelsang pumps are able to meet these requirements. An extensive selection of materials, components and design options as well as the knowledge to apply them in the most cost-effective way allows us to find the best solution for the sugar industry.

Vogelsang rotary lobe pumps are designed to provide trouble-free, maintenance-friendly and economical pumping. As non contacting, rotating positive displacement pumps, Vogelsang pumps can reliably handle a wide range of liquids, especially highly viscous and abrasive media. They are ideally suited to various processes in beet sugar production, cane sugar production and in the sugar refining industry.

Further advantages of Vogelsang rotary lobe pumps for the sugar industry:

Pulsation-free HiFlo lobes provide gentle pumping that minimizes the unwanted damage of sugar crystals
The housing geometry designed with InjectionSystem optimizes the flow of foreign matter through the pump, increasing the service life by as much as 150%
The compact design allows an installation even in narrow spaces
The robust and low-maintenance design of the rotary lobe pump helps to minimize downtimes

Lime milk is added to thin juice in sugar processing to help remove suspended impurities that can interfere with sugar crystallization. It is produced by burning limestone in lime kilns, which creates a solution used to clarify the juice, making it cleaner for the next stages of sugar production.

Magma, a combination of thick juice and granulated sugar, serves as an intermediate stage in sugar production. Due to its highly viscous nature, magma tends to harden during storage and must be processed promptly to prevent solidification.

Massecuite is a sugar-rich syrup formed during the evaporation stage of sugar processing. As water is removed, sugar crystals begin to form and grow within the syrup, leading to a thick mixture of sugar crystals and liquid that will later undergo centrifugation to separate the sugar.

Molasses is a by-product formed during sugar production from sugar cane, sugar beets, or sugar millet. It is a highly viscous, dark brown syrup that remains after the sugar crystals are extracted. Molasses often contains small, abrasive sugar crystals and is typically used in animal feed or fermentation.

Refined sugar is obtained through a secondary crystallization process to enhance the purity of sugar. After initial clarification, the sugar is further processed by re-crystallizing the solution to remove any remaining impurities. This process yields high-quality, purified sugar, known as refined sugar.

Sugar solution is the liquid that results from processing magma, an intermediate product in sugar production. Magma, a mixture of sugar crystals and thick juice, is treated in centrifuges where steam and centrifugal force separate the sugar crystals from the remaining syrup. The separated liquid, now purified of crystals, is referred to as the sugar solution and can undergo further processing to extract more sugar or be used in other applications.

Thick juice is formed by concentrating thin juice through the removal of water via heating. This evaporation process increases the sugar concentration, producing a viscous liquid with a thickness of around 500-1500 mPas. Thick juice can also serve as a raw material for bioethanol production.

Thin juice is produced when the sugar is extracted from crushed sugar beets or sugar cane using a process that involves hot water, carbonic acid, and lime milk. This mixture is filtered to remove impurities, resulting in a liquid rich in sugar that serves as the initial solution for further processing in sugar production.