A comparative investigation of adding milk of lime (MOL) versus lime saccharate(SACCH) in the hot lime clarification of juice at a U.S. sugarcane factory wasundertaken to quantify performance across the 2009 processing season, after apreliminary factory study in 2008. SACCH was prepared by adding hydrated limeto hot clarified juice (CJ) in a greater than 1:7 ratio. The lime treatment was addedto flash heated limed juice (FHLJ) to obtain a target CJ pH of 7.3. Samples ofFHLJ and CJ were collected six times every 30 min, taking into account the reten-tion time of the clarification tank. Results from the preliminary study suggestedthat SACCH caused lower turbidity in CJs with better control, as well as higherand better controlled CJ pHs. Across the 2009 season, SACCH factory mudvolumes tended to be slightly (no significant difference) higher than for MOL, butno greater than 8.5%. In 2009, CJ turbidities with SACCH were, generally, lowerand better controlled than MOL. Lower median particle sizes in CJs with MOLacross the season at least partially explain the higher CJ turbidities with MOL thanSACCH. For the same amount of hydrated lime added, SACCH produced a higherpH than MOL and this, generally, allowed SACCH to achieve the target CJ pHbetter than MOL and reduce sucrose losses from acid inversion. No significantly(P < 0.05) extra lime had to be added in the SACCH than MOL treatment, andthere were no significant differences between the color of either FHLJ or CJ fromSACCH or MOL. Overall, the use of SACCH over MOL improved hot lime clarifi-cation especially with respect to the achievement and control of target pH valuesthat saved a considerable amount in sucrose losses and improved turbidity valuesof clarified juices