Production, world sugar

Production and consumption statistics for sucrose are shown ia Table 1. World production of sucrose dufing 1993—1994 was - 110 million metric tons, of which - 64% was derived from sugarcane. The largest producer is the European Union (EU), followed closely by India and Bra2il. In 1993—1994, the United States ranked fourth in production. World raw sugar prices from 1990—1995 ranged from 20.20—32. l0/kg (10). 

World sugar production, 10 t U.S. sugar prdn, 10 t World sugar consumption, 10 t... 

Table 8. Cane Sugar Production, World and Selected Countries, 1(P t...

Fig. 1. U.S. sweetener consumption, 1980—1992, where represents sucrose ( ), com sweeteners and ( ), noncalotic sweeteners. In each country of the modem world, sugar production and trade play major social, pohtical, and economical roles. In order to regulate and protect export, import, stocks, subsidies, tariffs, etc, an enormous number of laws have been enacted and agreements concluded on sugar, both domestically and internationally. Also, insofar as sugar is a basic staple for a large population, each country keeps a watchhil eye on sugar production, consumption, and price, which vary widely from country to country, as shown in Table 2 (7,8). Table 2. World Sugar Production, Consumption, and Retail Prices, 1993-1995 ...

Fig. 2. World sugar balance, where represents opening stocks H, production consumption and ending stocks (9,10).

UN Food Agriculture Organization, World Sugar Production, 2005j06 fao.org/ docrep/009/j7927e /j7927e07.htm. 

Table 2. World Sugar Production, Consumption, and Retail Prices, 1993—1995...

The rapid adaption of the combined enzyme reactor/product separation technology in the wet milling industry coincided with dramatic, but shortlived, increasesin world sugar (sucrose) prices. The demand for industrial sugars exceeded the supply. This short fall not only raised prices, but also provided a window of opportunity for a competing product. HFCS, to enter the market. The properties of HFCS were the same as dissolved invert (from sucrose) in applications where sucrose would otherwise be used. The... 

Isomerases which convert glucose into the sweeter fructose were commercially introduced in the 1960s. Their introduction, coupled with manufacturing technology to immobilize these enzymes, led to the introduction of high-fructose syrup (HFS) in the United States in 1967. Refinements in production processes produced a liquid sweetener that could replace liquid sucrose on a one-to-one basis. At the same time, major upheavals in the world sugar market caused major sugar users to seek such an alternative. 

Production of HFS in other industrialized countries is far lower than that in the United States, but production elsewhere has also been increasing (Table 2.6). Future significant growth is expected in other countries, but if relatively lower world sugar prices prevail abroad, the pace of HFS growth in other countries will likely be slower than past HFS growth in the United States. 

World centrifugal production for 2003-04 was over 142 million tons. About 60 percent of this came from cane, and about 40 percent from beet. World sugar consumption for 2003-04 is estimated at 140 million tons [1]. 

For the very large sugar exporters, worldwide demand may not keep pace with the ability to expand production so that fermentation to ethanol may provide them with a means to reduce petroleum imports and to keep sugar off the market, thus keeping world sugar prices high. But, even in this case, the use of ethanol for a fuel may not be the best economic use for the alcohol. Use of ethanol as a chemical feedstock may also be economically attractive. This topic, however, is beyond the scope of the current analysis. 

Ethyl alcohol is made in one of two ways naturally, through the process of fermentation, or synthetically, beginning with compounds found in petroleum. Until the beginning of World War II, more than 90 percent of all ethyl alcohol produced in the United States and other developed nations was made by fermentation. Waste syrup left over from the production of sugar from sugar cane was treated with enzymes at temperature of 20°C to 8° (68°F to ioo°F) for 28 to 72 hours. Under these conditions, about 90 percent of the syrup is converted to ethyl alcohol. 

In this period Fischer began to be involved with the substitute foods commission, and other commissions such as the one for fat and oils. One of the most important projects was the production of food by heating straw with caustic soda. In May 1916 about 100,000 tons of straw were used for this process. By-products were methanole and acetone, and Fischer offered them to the Bayer company. He knew, however, that the production of acetone from acetylene was already under way. Fischer also tried to find a substitute for coffee. He offered to use synthetic caffeine and mix it with sliced turnips. He made different trials and offered the result to Bayer. In 1918 he reported to the Bayer company on the production of sugar from wood. Richard Willstatter had tried to develop this process, which the Holzspiritusfabrik in Mannheim scaled up for production. But Fischer was not convinced of the efficiency of this company and, in fact, it did not run well. In the 1920s the Nobel Prize winner Friedrich Bergius improved this process and built up a new factory which remained in operation until after World War II. 

This chapter focuses on production of sugars from cellulosic or fibrous biomass feedstocks using conversion routes based on enzymatic hydrolysis. Section 4.2 describes the nature of cellulase and hemicellulase enzyme systems capable of depolymerizing cellulose and hemicellulose to soluble sugars, and reviews the prominent concepts of enzyme synergy and biomass recalcitrance. Performance of enzymatic hydrolysis under anticipated real-world processing conditions involving... 

Table I World Sugar Production and Consumption (Millions of Metric Tons)...

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