Sugar Sand Particle Size?

Does anyone know what the general size range of sugar sand particles is in microns?

No expert here, but shouldn't this information dictate the most efficient food grade materials to use from prefiltering through to final filtering in order to get the best results?

For example, if sugar sand particles generally range from 10 to 150 microns in size, I would think it best to start by prefiltering using 100 micron material, proceeding to 50 micron material, with final filtering using 10-15 micron material (if this is even possible with syrup). Each step would slow down the clogging rate of the next filter. I assume that all three steps could be done in one pour. It would probably be wise to have redundant setups for quick changeout as well, based on how much syrup a person is filtering.

I am curious why folks use papers and fabrics for filtering versus stainless steel screens of varying mesh sizes which would be durable, reusable, easy to clean, and very sanitary. Is cost the only issue? Or perhaps people just find it convenient to acquire standard off-the-shelf equipment?

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Originally Posted by TooManyIrons...

Does anyone know what the general size range of sugar sand particles is in microns?

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The only thing I could find suggests "filters with a small micron size (e.g. 5)"

www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/food/.../maple/pdf/fs_maple_ch5.pdf‎

While a mesh filter of that size should work it might clog easily. I think the benefits of using prefilters helps overcome that and keeps the filter process going without having to frequently stop and clean. Maybe a combo of the two would work better.

I just learned coffee filters are generally 10-20 microns. Since syrup doesn't run through it, my guess is that commercial filters are much larger than this, and thus sugar sand.

Has anyone tried a series of stainless mesh filters with increasingly finer micron ratings as suggested by the original poster below? Any results or perspective on "best" micron ratings to use?

I wonder if its an issue of surface area? Just guessing, but wouldn’t a stainless filter have far less surface area than a felt filter? The use of DE could mitigate that problem to some extent.

I dont think so, especially when thinking about flat filter setups. Or even putting the mesh in a cone shape. You can size it however you want to, but the root of the question is in regard to the average size particle the filters allow thru and intentionally sequencing them to filter the largest particles first, progressing to the smallest last.

Stainless mesh filters can go down to at least 5 microns.

I used a lot of mesh screens in my career and many were very fine Micron size. The biggest issue with these metal and synthetic products is total open area percentage. You can find many with the desired hole size but not the needed open area. They clog very easily as well, but clean even easier with a quick rinse and brush. I think the problem would be a wide variance in particle size and shape. I also think particle retention would not be good, any friction would fracture the particles and allow them to pass. Now a screen as a prefilter might get the worse of the larger sand, then use normal filters.

As Buckeye Gold states, SS mesh will clog easily due to low surface area. A series of "sieves" such as described by the OP is used most often to determine particle size distribution, but isn't necessarily a good solution to large volume filtering. We have done these sorts of tests, and sugar sand (or niter) varies tremendously in terms of its, composition, and appearance https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m1212chemicalcomposition/ from boil-to-boil and from season-to-season. It can range from large plates to very fine, almost mud-like (or peanut butter) consistency. Therefore selecting one mesh size is problematic and likely quite unsatisfactory.

Some years the particle size can be to one extreme the next it might be in the other extreme, even in one part of a season to another you will get huge variations in the sugar sand particle sizes.

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Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins

As Buckeye Gold states, SS mesh will clog easily due to low surface area. A series of "sieves" such as described by the OP is used most often to determine particle size distribution, but isn't necessarily a good solution to large volume filtering. We have done these sorts of tests, and sugar sand (or niter) varies tremendously in terms of its, composition, and appearance https://mapleresearch.org/pub/m1212chemicalcomposition/ from boil-to-boil and from season-to-season. It can range from large plates to very fine, almost mud-like (or peanut butter) consistency. Therefore selecting one mesh size is problematic and likely quite unsatisfactory.

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Dr Tim,

Do you know what the micron size is of the pre-filters that go inside the cone filter? I'm currently using a 50 micron poly filter for pre-filtering and it works pretty well, but I've been curious how it compares in mesh size to a standard come pre-filter.