From the hoppers (1) the sugar beets are carried to the washers (2), then weighed and transported to the cutters (3) which reduces them to shreds or slices of triangular cross section, two to three millimeters thick. The slices then pass to the diffusion unit (4) for the sugar juices to be extracted and passed to the defecators (5) where they are cleaned of impurities and neutralized  to prevent inversion of  the  sucrose.  After saturation (6) to eliminate  the excess of lime by bubbling in carbon dioxide gas,  the resulting  ‘light juice’ is passed through the filter presses (7) to separate the precipitates and is then concentrated, first by evaporation (8), which produces a concentrated liquor, and then by boiling (9), which produces massecuite. The next stage is centrifugal treatment (10). The product obtained constitutes the raw first-grade sugar, while the dregs, reconcentrated in a second  boiling provide second  grade sugar and molasses (11).  The  first grade sugar  passes  on to the refining  stage,  where it  is dissolved in water (12),  then bleached, filtered (13),  and crystallized  by evaporation (14),  or it may be washed in centrifuges (15).  Finally it is bagged and made ready for market.

See also Types of Sugar, Sugar Cane, Unrefined Sugar and Panela