Preparation of DEAE-bagasse: evaluation of its decolourising action on sugarcane juice.

The paper describes a chemical modification of bagasse with diethylaminoethyl chloride in an alkaline medium. The method described here constitutes a substantial improvement over the previously reported procedure for a similar modificationlpreparation. The resulting products viz. chemically modified bagasse (CMB) when finished in acidic medium possessed cationic charge. These were found to be an effective processing aid for the removal of colour, turbidity and non-sugars from clarified sugarcane juice. In their colour removing action, CMB seemed to act by chemical adsorption as well as by ion-exchange mechanisms.