Molasses is a thick gelatin residue in sugar processing which can not be further economically crystallized. It consists of solids, sucrose and reducing sugars. As per the amount of reducing sugars present molasses is graded as I, II, III and below Grade. Molasses having reducing sugar above 50% are taken as I grade, and below 40% are below grade. The commercial value of molasses is tested for the Brix (Total Dissolved solid) and TRS (Total reducing sugars) which represent its quality and grades for sale.

Composition of Molasses
Sucrose	30 - 35 %
Reducing Sugar	10 - 15 %
Ash	10 - 12 %
Total Sugar % dry solids	55 - 60 %
Nitrogen	0.15 to 0.25 %
Gums	0.05 to 3.5 %
CaO	1.0 to 1.5
SO4	1.2 to 3.5
P2O5	0.25 to 0.30
pH	5.4 to 5.7
Total organic non-sugar	15 - 20
Un-fermentable reducing matter	1.5 to 2.5

Molasses are fermented in distilleries to produce alcohol commercially. India has been producing about 1.7 billion litres of liquor utilizing 75-80% molasses produced in the country. Though the free production of liquor using molasses is restricted for social reasons, its application in the preparation of alcohol based chemicals is also economically viable.

India has the largest chemical industry in the world using sugar cane molasses to produce Acetaldehyde, Acetic Acid Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) and Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) are being produced by molasses only. Elsewhere these are produced using Petro Chemicals. Ethanol is planned to be a substitute for fossil fuels.