Polyacrylamide (PAM) manufactured by Chinese professional producers is a food-grade high-molecular flocculant essential for the sugar industry. It is widely applied in sugar juice clarification, syrup filtration, filter mud dewatering and wastewater treatment, effectively improving sugar quality, sugar recovery rate and overall production efficiency.
I. Core Application Scenarios & Functions
1. Sugar Juice Clarification
Process: Sugarcane/beet juice extraction → heating (95–104℃) → pH adjustment with hydrated lime → dosing food-grade anionic PAM (1–5 ppm, standard dosage: 1.5 ppm) → flocculation and sedimentation in settling tank.
Principle: Neutralize negative charges of colloidal substances and adsorb fine particles via long-chain bridging effect to form large flocs for rapid sedimentation.
Effects:
Sedimentation time shortened from 30–50 min to 10–20 min
Sedimentation speed increased from 0.7–1.5 cm/min to 5–10 cm/min
Turbidity of clear juice reduced by around 40%, lowering color value and impurities to upgrade white granulated sugar quality
2. Syrup Filtration & Decolorization
Add PAM into concentrated syrup to adsorb pigments and fine suspended solids, reduce syrup viscosity, optimize filterability, shorten production cycle and enhance purity and luster of crystalline sugar.
3. Filter Mud Dewatering
A large amount of filter mud is generated during sugar juice clarification. Cationic PAM (CPAM) is adopted for sludge conditioning to realize flocculation and solid-liquid separation. The moisture content of filter mud cake can be lowered below 60%, facilitating subsequent composting, resource recycling and pollution reduction.
4. Sugar Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Sugar-making wastewater features high COD, BOD, sugar content, nitrogen and phosphorus. Anionic PAM is used for flocculation and sedimentation to remove suspended organic matters and pigments, cut down COD and SS values, and enable effluent to meet discharge or reuse standards.
II. Selection Guidelines (Food Grade Preferred)
Product Type: Anionic PAM (anionic degree: 22%–28%, medium-high molecular weight: 8–12 million) for sugar juice clarification and syrup treatment; Cationic PAM (cationic degree: 10%–30%) for sludge dewatering.
Quality Standard: Comply strictly with GB 31629-2014 National Standard for Food Additive Polyacrylamide; residual acrylamide monomer content ≤ 0.05% for food-grade products to guarantee food safety.
Dissolution & Dosing Requirements:
Solution concentration: 0.1%–0.5%, prepare fresh solution and use up within 24 hours
Dissolution condition: water temperature 25–50℃, stir gently for 30–60 minutes; avoid fierce stirring to prevent molecular chain degradation
Dosing position: front end of sugar juice clarification section and flocculation reaction tank; multi-point dosing delivers better performance
III. Product Advantages & Precautions
Advantages
High efficiency & low consumption: Effective at ppm-level trace dosage to greatly boost clarification and filtration efficiency
Safety & compliance: Non-toxic food-grade formula with controllable residual monomers, fully conforming to food production safety specifications
Cost-effective & eco-friendly: Reduce sugar loss and energy consumption, minimize sludge discharge, support clean production
Precautions
Never mix industrial-grade PAM with food-grade PAM; only food-grade products are allowed in sugar food processing procedures
Reasonable pH control: Optimal working pH range for sugar juice is 6.5–7.5. Acidic environment accelerates PAM degradation, while excessive alkalinity (pH＞11.5) causes sucrose decomposition
Storage method: Seal dry powder and store in cool and dry place with 2-year shelf life; prepared aqueous solution is prone to performance degradation and long-term storage is prohibited
IV. SummaryAs a core auxiliary agent for modern sugar manufacturing, PAM runs through the whole production process including clarification, filtration, sludge treatment and wastewater disposal, realizing quality improvement, efficiency promotion, cost reduction and environmental protection. Rational selection of food-grade anionic/cationic PAM together with accurate dosage and process parameter control can maximize flocculation performance, ensure sugar product safety and stable industrial production.