Sugar cane - other uses

Molasses, left over from sugar production, has many uses. These include animal feed and fertilisers and even for adding to tobacco for hookah pipes.

Alcohol

Molasses, along with cane juice and other by-products can be fermented and then distilled, to produce an alcoholic distillate known as rum. The history of rum dates back to the colonisation of the West Indies in the 17th century. Pure alcohol (ethanol) is another alcohol produced from molasses, which in itself has many uses. The main uses are in vinegar, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, cleaning preparations and solvents, and coatings. One of the future uses of ethanol which is currently being studied is as a extender for car fuel. Still other products produced from molasses are butanol (a solvent), lactic acid (a solvent), citric acid (mostly for foods and drinks), glycerol, yeast, and many others.

Bagasse

A photograph of a mixture of sugar and tobacco for smoking in a hookah pipe from Kew's Economic Botany Collection
Image: Sugar was rather surprisingly mixed with tobacco to be smoked in hookah pipes in India

The fibrous residue of cane is called bagasse. It is used as a fuel for the generation of energy needed for sugar manufacture. It also serves as a fibre for paper. The fibre is separated from the pith which itself can be used as an animal feed. Filter cake, consisting of juice, impurities and lime is used as a soil improver.

Filter-cake or press-mud is a byproduct of the production of sugar and it can contain up to 15% cane wax. When extracted, this wax can be used in the production of polishes and wax paper.