Accounting for approximately 20% of the world’s sugar production, sugar beet is a vital crop in ensuring the increasing global demand for sugar can be met. It is essential that the beet factory can recover as much sugar from the beet juice as possible, with even a 1% loss in sugar recovery a catastrophe for both profit and use of resources.
To achieve more efficient and sustainable production, analysis data is essential at all key steps in the process; from intake and diffusion to the pulp press, evaporation and in the sugar house. However, running these tests with current equipment options is time-consuming, it ties-up staff and requires costly chemicals.
A new alternative approach based on infrared analytical technology can drastically decrease the time-to-result, free up laboratory techni¬cians and save on chemical usage, all while getting ICUMSA comparable results. Variations in key parameters such as Pol and Brix can be constantly monitored against targets while others such as colour and purity are delivered simultaneously to provide a more complete assessment of quality. The clean and simple tests take just a few seconds with no or minimal sample preparation.
