The Effect of Some Impurities on Molasses Exhaustion

Molasses exhaustion has been investigated in South Africa since 1949, and Bruijn et al. (1972) applied a laboratory exhaustion procedure which has since been used extensively (Rein and Smith, 1981). The same approach and equipment have been used to investigate the effect of selected impurities on molasses exhaustion. These impurities include fructose, glucose, inorganic ash constituents, such as potassium, sodium and calcium, and organic impurities, for example starch and dextran. All the impurities, except the monosaccharides, are shown to increase the equilibrium purity of molasses and thus to reduce the exhaustion. It has also been possible to rank the order of the melassigenic effects of the ash constituents studied. This is of practical importance when alternate technologies are considered, for example juice softening.