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Why Molasses is the key to growth?

Author: Yashi Ganguly
by Yashi Ganguly
Posted: Jun 26, 2017

Generally, in any industrial production, the product is important and the byproducts are the bonus which is used to minimize the cost of production or for other benefits such as fuel etc. Perhaps the sugar is the only industrial product where its byproduct is more important than the product itself. Indeed molasses is the byproduct of sugar but it has such a range of wide applications that it becomes equally if not more important than the sugar itself. Molasses is a sweetener that is much healthier than sugar to eat. It is often said that it has unique health benefits. But its most important use is to produce ethyl alcohol. Molasses Fermentation is the key to the industrial production of ethanol or ethyl alcohol and it is also used to mix with the fossil fuel for energy.

Molasses is formed as a byproduct of the sugar-making process. The sugar cane or sugar beets are crushed and the juice is extracted. The juice is then boiled down to form sugar crystals, which are then removed from the liquid. Molasses is the thick, brown syrup left after the sugar has been removed from the juice. This process is repeated several times, and a different type of molasses is produced each time.

Molasses is used as a microbiological energy source in a wide range of fermentation processes to grow yeasts, moulds, and bacteria that transform sugars into alcohol, yeast, citric acid and the food additives monosodium glutamate and lysine. It is the most cost-effective energy sources available for such industries. Molasses Fermentation is easy and represents a stable and predictable substrate to store.

For its wide applications molasses is used in different industries. In Bakeries, Bakers and Brewer’s Yeast is an important raw material. Cane molasses has significant biotin content which bakers’ and brewers’ yeasts need for growth. Large amounts of citric acid are required for use in soft drinks and pharmaceutical industries which are produced from moulds adapted to utilize cane and beet molasses as their energy source. Molasses is ideal for the producing monosodium glutamate and lysine amino acids, which are used in both human and livestock food processing.

However, the biggest contribution of molasses fermentation is in the alcohol industry Cane Molasses contains B vitamins and biotin, which helps the fermentation processes that produce ethanol for use in alcoholic drinks, cosmetics, and solvents etc.

Molasses is used in the production of industrial alcohol (denatured alcohol that is unfit for consumption) and can be fermented and distilled into the liquor rum.

The enzyme manufacturers in India are now producing good quality of alcohol enzymes that has molasses at its root. Indeed, for this reason, the ethanol production in the country is increasing at a rapid pace and India today produces four percent of the total ethyl alcohol in the world. In fact, there are a lot of opportunities for enzyme manufactures in India as India is likely to double its ethanol production in coming years. Many ethanol plants are coming up in different parts of India and in all likelihood India is going to emerge as a number one ethanol producing country in Asia.

About the Author

I’m Yashi from India. Writing is my passion and have been writing for the last 8 years on various niche and industries.

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Author: Yashi Ganguly

Yashi Ganguly

Member since: Jun 25, 2017
Published articles: 8

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