Avaliação da inversão ácida da sacarose em amostras de caldo de cana-de-açúcar conforme as operações unitárias no setor sucroalcooleiro

Abstract

Sucrose, glucose and fructose are the main sugars found in sugarcane, and the only one that crystallizes under the conditions of the production process established in the sugar mills is sucrose. Thus, table sugar is nothing more than crystallized sucrose. However, depending on the nature of the sugarcane juice, sucrose is easily converted by hydrolysis into glucose and fructose in a reaction known as the sucrose acid inversion. For sugar manufacturing this reaction is totally undesirable since it means losses of industrial yields. Several factors contribute significantly to the occurrence of this reaction, being the main time, temperature and pH. In this study the kinetic levels of sucrose loss will be evaluated in a period of 8h, with intervals of 2h after the broth extraction. Sucrose, glucose and fructose determinations will be carried out on samples in natura at room temperature and at 65 ° C, these samples having their pHs being in natura and adjusted in 4,0 and 7,0, conditions that exist in the sugar manufacturing processes. It is expected that the results obtained establish a kinetic decomposition of the sucrose in acid and neutral medium, comparing it with those in the literature, and with this to propose adverse process conditions to this inversion.