Production of Beet Sugar: From Field to Packaging
The production of beet sugar is a highly developed industrial process that spans from the harvest of sugar beets to the packaging of the final product. Here are the key steps in the production process:
🌾 1. Harvesting and Transport
Sugar beets are harvested in autumn, either manually or using modern harvesting machines. After harvesting, they are transported by truck to the sugar factory.
🛁 2. Washing and Cutting
Upon arrival at the factory, the beets are washed to remove soil and stones. They are then cut into fine strips to facilitate sugar extraction.
💧 3. Sugar Extraction
The beet pieces are placed in a diffuser, where hot water extracts the sugar from the cells. The result is the so-called raw juice, which contains about 10-15% sugar.
🚰 4. Juice Purification
To remove unwanted substances, the raw juice is treated with lime milk and carbon dioxide. This process binds impurities, which are then removed. The result is thin juice, containing about 14% sugar.
🔥 5. Evaporation to Thick Juice
The thin juice is heated in evaporation systems to remove water. This creates thick juice, which has a sugar content of about 65%.
❄️ 6. Crystallization
The thick juice is further heated and then cooled, allowing sugar crystals to form. To accelerate crystallization, fine sugar particles are added as crystal nuclei.
🌀 7. Separation of Sugar and Molasses
In centrifuges, the crystallized sugar is separated from the molasses, a thick, brown by-product. The resulting raw sugar is then dried.
🛠️ 8. Refining and Packaging
If white sugar is desired, the raw sugar is further purified and recrystallized. It is then dried, sieved, and packaged for sale.
📚 Conclusion
The beet sugar production process is technologically advanced, ensuring high-quality sugar production. By-products such as molasses and beet residues are used for animal feed or energy production, ensuring nothing goes to waste.
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