Juice extraction in Brazil is mainly carried out using mills, which consist of sets of three to five rolls
where sugarcane is pressed, separating juice from bagasse (fibrous fraction of the sugarcane stalks).
Usually groups of four to six mills in tandem (sets of rolls) are employed, with bagasse from the first
mill being fed to the subsequent mill and so forth; warm water for imbibition is added in the last
tandem, increasing sugar recovery in the juice. Juice produced in the last tandem is used as imbibition
to increase the extraction of sugars in the previous tandem, and so forth up to the third mill tandem.
Sugarcane juice is sent to a screen, where a fraction of the fibers dragged with the juice are removed
and recycled to the second mill for recovery of sugars. Usually, juice from the first mill is sent to sugar
production because it contains higher sugar purity, while juice obtained in the second mill (called
mixed juice) is diverted for ethanol production.