ONLINE ESTIMATION OF COLOR, TURBIDITY AND PH VALUES IN SUGAR REFININGPROCESS

Measurement of colour and turbidity of sugar juice in the refining pro cess is important towards maintaining the clarity of the juice for fur ther processing. International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA) recommends the absorption of light in 420 and 560 n n wavelengths, accounts for colour and the absorption at 720 nn wavele ngth and accounts for turbidity of the sugar juice. However, the colou r of the juice is also dependent on its pH value. At present, some off -line procedures are followed in the industry to estimate these parame ters. Hence an on-line Personal Computer based colour and turbidity me asuring system has been designed, developed and field tested. A mathem atical relationship has been established between colour, turbidity and pH values of the sugar juice, based on the results of the on-line sys tem.