Determination of Commercial Cane Sugar (CCS) using Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

Determination of Commercial Cane Sugar (CCS) is commonly calculated from three factors viz. total soluble solid (oBrix), polarization (Pol) values and fiber content. This study investigated the use of Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy techniques for the rapid detection of CCS. Calibration models of total soluble solid, polarization (Pol) values and fiber content 1) sugarcane juice and 2) fiber were developed using standards of varying concentrations. Sugarcane of 1,150 samples from different growing areas in the Northeastern part of Thailand were analyzed for 1) total soluble solid and polarization and 2) fiber spectrum before being analyzed for CCS by TQ Analyst software. CCS predicted equation from sugarcane juice spectrum showed correlation coefficient (R), root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.996, 0.610 and 0.573, respectively. Whist sugarcane fiber showed 0.840, 1.510 and 1.050 respectively. The average percentage of precision difference between sugarcane juice and fiber was not statistically different. Therefore, FTNIR was an effective technique to estimate the values of oBrix, Pol and CCS from sugar cane juice for quality assurance, whereas analysis from fiber content was suitable for only primary screening.