During the demanding sugar refining process, clarifiers are used to separate out the solids suspended in the juice. These solids originate from the fibrous raw plants that have clinging sand attached. Clear juice flows off the top part of the vessel, while clumped masses of impurities, called muds, settle at the bottom. Switching valves remove the mud and juice from the clarifiers, and often undergo very high cycles during a sugar campaign/season — which puts high stress, wear and tear on the components.