VHP sugar (very high polarity sugar) also known as Hi-Pol Sugar is a light brown raw sugar with a pol of more than 99.4 percent. ‘Pol’ is a term used to describe the percentage of sucrose present in a mass of raw sugar. The term VHP is widely understood to mean that 99.4 percent of the total mass of a raw sugar is pure sucrose, and that 0.6 percent or less is waste material.
VHP sugar was first exported from Brazil in 1993 and quickly became very popular with sugar importers around the globe, as it was an entirely new form of raw sugar with far greater sucrose content and far less contamination than competing raw sugars. VHP remains in high demand as it is much cheaper and easier to refine than standard raw sugars.
Growing VHP Sugar
The bulk of the world’s VHP sugar is produced in Brazil from high sucrose sugar cane. In Brazil, most sugar cane is grown in the center south region adjacent to and in the Sao Paulo state. This region is well known for its large expanses of flat fields, fertile soils, and clement climate which are all ideal for growing sugar cane, which thrives in tropical or subtropical climates. Brazil is well known for spending much time and energy in the pursuit of better strains of sugar cane that grow faster and have higher sucrose contents than traditional forms of sugar cane which are still grown in many countries. This investment of time and money has paid off with high yield crops which are eminently suitable for the production of VHP sugar.
Sugar cane is generally planted in the summer months, left to grow between twelve and sixteen months, and then harvested in the cooler months. Typically the harvesting season in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil runs from May through to November.
VHP Sugar Production
There are several steps involved in the production of VHP sugar. First, the harvested cane must be shredded and cut in preparation for milling. The cane is then sent through rollers and subsequently through crushing devices that squeeze the juice out of the cane, separating it into two products, sugar juice, which will be refined into VHP sugar, and dry fibrous material known as bagasse, which will be recycled or used as fuel.
The sugar juice is then piped to a different part of the mill, where it is boiled in vacuum pans to remove excess water and concentrate the sugar content. Sugar dust crystals are then added to the juice to encourage the growth of sucrose crystals, which form around the dust crystals. When they are fully grown, both the liquid and the crystals are fed into a centrifugal chamber which spins the mixture at very high speeds, driving the liquid content away from the sugar crystals. What is left is high grade ‘A’ sugar and ‘A’ molasses (also referred to as first molasses). The high grade ‘A’ sugar is known as VHP.
The first molasses is then boiled again and subjected to a further crystal growth process. When crystals are grown, they are once more sent into the centrifugal chamber and spun to separate crystal from molasses. The results from this reprocessing are known as ‘B’ sugar, and second, or dark molasses. The second molasses does not contain nearly as much sucrose as the first molasses, and ‘B’ sugar is also of lower quality.
The process is then repeated again, this time with the products being final molasses, also known as ‘C’ molasses, or blackstrap molasses, and ‘C’ sugar. In some cases, the B and C sugars will then be remelted into a liquid solution and recrystallized to make high grade VHP sugar.
Production of VHP sugar requires quite a great deal of sugar cane, and it is estimated that for every hundred tons of sugar cane that is processed, only twelve tons of VHP sugar is produced.
VHP Sugar ICUMSA Ratings
Most VHP sugar falls somewhere between ICUMSA 600 and ICUMSA 1200 on the ICUMSA ratings scale. ICUMSA is an acronym, that stands for ‘International Commission For Uniform Methods Of Sugar Analysis’, which is the international body that regulates the way that sugar is analyzed.
The ICUMSA ratings system is based on a colormetric evaluation of sugar, and is carried out with an instrument called a colorimeter. This device is able to give a precise numerical reading which represents the coloration of the sugar sample which has been fed into it.
This is an effective means of testing the purity and quality of sugar because as sugar becomes more refined and pure, it loses the dark brown coloration associated with raw sugar which is relatively highly contaminated with biological agents and colorants, and becomes lighter and lighter. Highly refined sugar is a sparkling white color, whereas non VHP raw sugar can be ICUMSA 3000 or more. Because VHP sugar is so very high in sucrose and contains relatively few contaminants, it is a light brown color.
VHP Sugar Export
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