In sugar technology, approximately what percentage of sucrose is found in the raw juice expressed from sugar cane (before clarification and evaporation)?

Introduction / Context:
Understanding sucrose content in extracted cane juice is fundamental to mass balance and process control in sugar mills. It affects liming, clarification, evaporation load, crystallization yields, and molasses formation.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Raw juice is the immediate product of milling/pressing or diffusion.
• Typical cane composition includes sucrose, water, fiber (bagasse), and non-sugars.
• Field conditions and variety cause variation, but a well-accepted range exists.

Concept / Approach:

Globally, expressed cane juice commonly contains roughly 15–20 % sucrose by weight, with the balance being water and impurities (reducing sugars, ash, organic acids, color bodies). Subsequent unit operations concentrate and purify this sucrose for crystallization.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Material balances in mills show evaporators must remove large water fractions to reach massecuite; starting juice near 15–20 % sucrose is consistent with steam economy calculations.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

1–2 %: Would make milling uneconomic. 50–60 % / 80–85 %: These correspond to syrup or mother liquor during late evaporation/crystallization, not raw juice.

Common Pitfalls:

Confusing cane composition (in cane) with juice composition (after expression); assuming refinery syrups reflect raw juice strength.

Final Answer:

15–20 %