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Explore our core evaporation systems purpose-built for sugar cane juice concentration, beet syrup thickening, and high-efficiency liquid processing across the global sugar industry.
The sugar processing industry is one of the world's largest food manufacturing sectors, with evaporation technology playing a mission-critical role in transforming raw juice into high-purity syrup and crystalline sugar.
The global industrial evaporator market is projected to exceed USD 9.2 billion by 2030, with sugar processing accounting for a significant share. Demand is driven by expanding sugar cane cultivation in Brazil, India, Thailand, and growing beet sugar production in Europe and China.
Sugar mills are among the most energy-intensive food processing facilities. Modern evaporation systems using Multi-Effect and MVR technologies can reduce steam consumption by up to 80% compared to single-effect systems, delivering transformative cost savings and carbon footprint reduction.
Aging sugar factories across Asia, Africa, and Latin America are undergoing large-scale modernization. Industrial evaporators with automated PLC control, continuous operation capability, and CIP (Clean-In-Place) systems are rapidly replacing outdated equipment in these regions.
In both sugar cane and sugar beet processing, evaporation is the pivotal step that concentrates clarified juice — typically containing only 12–18% dissolved solids — into thick syrup with 60–70% Brix, ready for crystallization. The efficiency, reliability, and design precision of the evaporation system directly determine the yield, energy cost, and product quality of an entire sugar factory. A well-engineered multi-effect evaporator system can process hundreds of tons of juice per hour while recovering and reusing steam energy across multiple stages, making it the most strategically important piece of equipment on the production floor.
The industrial evaporator sector for sugar processing is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by sustainability mandates, digitalization, and the global push toward zero-waste manufacturing.
Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) evaporators are rapidly becoming the gold standard for new sugar plant installations. By mechanically recompressing secondary steam and feeding it back as heating steam, MVR systems achieve steam economy ratios of 20:1 or higher — dramatically reducing operating costs. Their compact footprint and minimal utility requirements make them ideal for both greenfield projects and capacity expansions.
Next-generation evaporators are equipped with real-time Brix monitoring, automated temperature and pressure control, predictive maintenance algorithms, and remote diagnostic capabilities. Integration with plant-wide SCADA and MES systems allows sugar factories to optimize evaporation performance dynamically, reducing human error and maximizing uptime during critical crushing seasons.
Modern sugar mills are increasingly adopting waste heat evaporators that capture low-grade thermal energy from condensers, flue gases, and other process streams. This circular energy approach reduces primary steam demand, lowers CO₂ emissions, and improves the overall energy balance of the factory — aligning with global ESG and carbon neutrality targets for 2030–2050.
The trend toward modular evaporator design allows sugar producers to scale capacity incrementally without major capital expenditure. Pre-engineered modules can be factory-tested before shipment, reducing on-site installation time and risk. This approach is particularly valuable for emerging market sugar projects where construction infrastructure may be limited.
Environmental regulations are pushing sugar factories toward zero liquid discharge. Advanced evaporation systems now integrate with crystallization and wastewater treatment units to achieve near-total water recovery. This is especially critical in water-scarce regions of India, Africa, and the Middle East where sugar cultivation is expanding rapidly.
Falling film evaporators, with their gentle processing conditions and short residence time, are increasingly preferred for heat-sensitive sugar syrups and specialty sweeteners. Their superior heat transfer efficiency and ability to handle high-viscosity fluids make them particularly well-suited for the final concentration stages before crystallization in both cane and beet sugar factories.
From raw juice extraction to refined syrup, industrial evaporators are deployed across multiple critical stages in both sugar cane and sugar beet processing chains.
After extraction and clarification, cane juice enters multi-effect evaporator trains (typically 4–6 effects) where water is progressively removed. Each effect operates at a lower pressure and temperature, allowing steam generated in one effect to heat the next — achieving exceptional steam economy while preserving juice quality and color.
Beet diffusion juice, after purification with lime and CO₂, is concentrated from approximately 14–16% Brix to 60–65% Brix in the evaporation station. Beet juice presents unique challenges including higher viscosity, color compounds, and scaling tendencies — requiring specialized evaporator designs with enhanced anti-scaling features and optimized flow distribution.
Industrial evaporators are also used for concentrating molasses — the by-product of sugar crystallization — to standard commercial grades (approximately 80° Brix). High-concentration molasses evaporation demands robust systems capable of handling extremely viscous, non-Newtonian fluids with high fouling potential, where forced circulation evaporators excel.
Evaporation condensates from sugar processing are high-purity water streams that can be recovered for boiler feed, washing operations, or agricultural irrigation. Dedicated condensate polishing evaporators ensure these streams meet quality standards, contributing to water conservation and reducing overall utility costs across the sugar facility.
Beyond standard sucrose, evaporators serve the production of liquid sugar, invert sugar, high-fructose syrup, and specialty sweeteners derived from cane or beet sources. These applications demand precise temperature control and residence time management to prevent thermal degradation and maintain the desired sweetness profile and color specifications.
Sugar factory effluents — including press water, screen water, and process condensates — contain valuable organic compounds and must be treated before discharge. Waste heat evaporators concentrate these streams for further processing or disposal, enabling compliance with increasingly stringent environmental standards while recovering recoverable materials.
Jiangsu Zongheng Concentration & Drying Equipment Co., Ltd. (formerly Yixing Yangxi Light Industry Machinery Factory), founded in 1992, is located in Zhoutie Town, Yixing City, on the shores of the beautiful Taihu Lake. The company covers an area of over 54,000 square meters, with a production workshop area of over 22,000 square meters.
Jiangsu Zongheng is a modern high-tech enterprise specializing in the manufacturing of concentration, drying, starch industry, alcohol DDGS, and Category III medium & low-pressure vessel equipment. It is currently a member enterprise of the China Starch and Alcohol Association. Its products are widely used in industries such as food fermentation, alcohol, chemical, pharmaceutical, environmental protection, and petrochemical.
Jiangsu Zongheng is always committed to exploration and innovation. Through years of sincere effort and user support, it has achieved sustained development. Main products include evaporation plants, comprising Multi-Effect Evaporators, Thermal Vapor Recompressors (TVR), Waste Heat Evaporators, and Mechanical Vapor Recompressors (MVR, achieving minimal unit energy consumption). These are widely used for liquid concentration, including distillates, alcohol stillage, ammonium sulfate, corn steep liquor, itaconic acid, threonine, starch sugar, sorbitol, glucose, fructose, trehalose, erythritol, organic wastewater, high-salinity wastewater, etc., making the company one of the domestic manufacturers with the most extensive product variety.
The company's other main products include Tube Bundle Dryers, with design and manufacturing capabilities reaching 1600m² (making it a primary manufacturer of large tube bundle dryers). Other main products such as Single Screw Fiber & Germ Dehydrators and Wash Cyclones are recognized as high-quality products by starch manufacturers and the industry. High-quality products and a sincere service attitude have won consistent praise and trust from numerous users at home and abroad, fully demonstrating the company's first-class technical advantages and manufacturing capabilities for large-scale equipment.
In March 2002, the company took the lead in obtaining ISO9001:2015 international quality system certification (Certificate No.: 45021), establishing a complete quality assurance system aligned with international standards. In July 2007, it became a Jiangsu Provincial High-Tech Enterprise. In April 2009, the company obtained the Special Equipment Manufacturing License of the People's Republic of China (License No.: TS2232C42). In August 2012, it acquired the ASME "U" Stamp authorization, marking the company's entry into a new phase of development. The company possesses strong R&D capabilities and advanced manufacturing processes, currently employing over 3 senior engineers and more than 20 engineers and assistant engineers. Multiple innovative technologies have been patented, and many products hold leading positions domestically.
The company currently holds an absolutely leading position in evaporation technology and has extensive cooperation with many renowned large domestic group companies, including Zhuofeng Biology, Meihua Group, Yufeng Group, Yihai Kerry, North China Pharmaceutical Group, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, Shouguang Juneng, Qilu Pharmaceutical, Qiyuan Pharmaceutical, Xiwang Group, Shengtai Biology, Zhejiang Huakang, Kelun Pharmaceutical (Yili), and Shandong Tianli.
While meeting domestic market demand, the company's DDGS alcohol equipment and tube bundle dryer series products have been exported to Russia and Southeast Asian markets.
We are capable of providing professional technical support and after-sales service nationwide for our vast user base. High-quality products and their unique solutions not only enhance our corporate economic benefits but also bring us satisfaction by solving processing challenges for our clients.
We warmly welcome friends from various industries, both domestic and international, to visit us for cooperation and mutual development!
Browse our complete range of evaporation, drying, and waste heat recovery systems tailored for the global sugar and food processing industry.
