Editing Sucrose (section)

====Beet====
[[File:SugarBeet.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Sugar beets]]
{{Main|Sugar beet}}
Beet sugar producers slice the washed beets, then extract the sugar with hot water in a "[[Diffuser (heat)|diffuser]]". An alkaline solution ("[[Lime water|milk of lime]]" and [[carbon dioxide]] from the lime kiln) then serves to [[precipitation (chemistry)|precipitate]] impurities (see [[carbonatation]]). After filtration,{{Clarify|date=February 2010}} evaporation concentrates the juice to a content of about 70% solids, and controlled crystallisation extracts the sugar. A centrifuge removes the sugar crystals from the liquid, which gets recycled in the crystalliser stages. When economic constraints prevent the removal of more sugar, the manufacturer discards the remaining liquid, now known as [[molasses]], or sells it on to producers of animal feed.

Sieving the resultant white sugar produces different grades for selling.

=====Cane versus beet=====
It is difficult to distinguish between fully refined sugar produced from beet and cane. One way is by [[isotope analysis]] of carbon. Cane uses [[C4 carbon fixation]], and beet uses [[C3 carbon fixation]], resulting in a different ratio of [[carbon 13|<sup>13</sup>C]] and [[carbon 12|<sup>12</sup>C]] isotopes in the sucrose. Tests are used to detect fraudulent abuse of [[European Union]] subsidies or to aid in the detection of adulterated [[fruit juice]].

Sugar cane tolerates hot climates better, but the production of sugar cane needs approximately four times as much water as the production of sugar beet. As a result, some countries that traditionally produced cane sugar (such as [[Egypt]]) have built new beet sugar factories since about 2008. Some sugar factories process both sugar cane and sugar beets and extend their processing period in that way.

The production of sugar leaves residues that differ substantially depending on the raw materials used and on the place of production. While cane molasses is often used in food preparation, humans find molasses from sugar beets unpalatable, and it consequently ends up mostly as [[industrial fermentation]] feedstock (for example in [[ethanol|alcohol]] distilleries), or as [[compound feed|animal feed]]. Once dried, either type of molasses can serve as fuel for burning.

Pure beet sugar is difficult to find, so labelled, in the marketplace. Although some makers label their product clearly as "pure cane sugar", beet sugar is almost always labeled simply as sugar or pure sugar. Interviews with the five major beet sugar-producing companies revealed that many store brands or "private label" sugar products are pure beet sugar. The lot code can be used to identify the company and the plant from which the sugar came, enabling beet sugar to be identified if the codes are known.<ref>[https://ibstreatmentcenter.com/Newsletters/Jan10.pdf January 2010 Newsletter] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924162218/https://ibstreatmentcenter.com/Newsletters/Jan10.pdf |date=2010-09-24 }}, IBS Treatment Center</ref>