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China is the third largest sugar producer in the world. However, the sugar industry is challenged by high production costs (attributed to the high cane supply price), which lead to continuous financial deficits for sugar companies. Currently, sugarcane products are primarily composed of white sugar and non-centrifugal sugar (NCS); the utilization of sugarcane by-products (i.e. bagasse, filter mud, and molasses) has also been partially industrialized. However, these strategies are far from adequate to address the challenge. China has successfully developed an innovative sugar manufacturing process using nano-ceramic membrane technology to overcome this predicament. In addition, concepts of high-value diversification of sugarcane products and value-added utilization of industrial byproducts have been proposed. A series of sugarcane-based products, e.g. NCS produced by nano-ceramic membrane technology (MNCS), sugarcane-based beverages, plant water, and cultivation substrates, have been developed to improve the overall return of sugar enterprises. Thus, this paper mainly summarizes the diversification of sugarcane products and their development opportunities in China.

Concentrated sugarcane juice (CSJ) is considered as one of the healthy sugar products, and so a potential feedstock in beverage formulations and soft drinks. However, irreversible aggregates, which are unattractive to the customer, are found with CSJ derived from the membrane filtration during storage. This study examined the formation of aggregates during the concentration of sugarcane juice to CSJ, and during CSJ storage. The concentration process for the formation of the aggregates goes by 3 stages, with polysaccharides interacting with phenolics and then proteins to form complexes which bind non-covalently to SiO2. For stored CSJ, inorganic compounds (mainly SiO2) were the main constituents in aggregates accounting for 43.14 % (w/w), followed by proteins, phenolics, polysaccharides, organic acids, and lipids. The results obtained with stored CSJ/NCS indicate that the proteins interact with phenolics and polysaccharides to form the flocs which then co-precipitate with SiO2 and calcium salts. The polishing of sugarcane juice with a multifunctional adsorbent in combination with the membrane filtration process could be a prospective approach solve the haze/aggregation problems associated with the CSJ, and further promotes their application in beverage formulations.