Process and Product development in Jaggery (non-centrifugal sugars) making

ITB is working on a government sponsored umbrella project to uplift the jaggery business in India making it profitable and sustainable thereby creating a promising livelihood option for farmers. There is a team working on it and a new startup is formed to commercialize the research findings in the project. 

Process: The work involves experiments on some of the key aspects of process development such as clarification of sugarcane juice and crystallization of concentrated sugars to make jaggery. The influence of different parameters such as reducing sugars in cane, operating temperature, additives and other design parameters would be studied in detail. The results will be explained theoretically with the help of appropriate model and arrive at an optimal design to be implemented in the pilot plant.

Product: Jaggery is considered to a nutritious sweetener than white sugar. The micronutrients such as different elements (like iron for example) will be quantified and their influence on health will be examined systematically to create scientific evidence.