The Role of Process Refractometers in Enhancing Beet Sugar Production

Beet sugar production plays a crucial role in the global sugar industry, supplying a significant portion of the world's sugar demand. After harvesting sugar beets late in the year, workers transport them by truck to processing facilities, where they undergo a series of steps to extract and refine sugar. Throughout this process, process refractometers are essential for monitoring sugar concentration and ensuring product quality.

Upon arrival at the processing facility, workers initiate the production process by thoroughly cleaning the beets. Since beets are typically dirty from soil and field debris, they wash them to remove dirt, leaves, stones, and other miscellaneous materials. After cleaning, they slice the beets into thin strips, commonly called cossettes, to facilitate efficient juice extraction.

Workers extract juice in a diffuser tank filled with hot water. They continuously agitate the cossettes to leach the sugar content into the water, creating a raw juice rich in sucrose. However, this juice also contains other dissolved substances from the beet flesh and skins, including organic and inorganic impurities that technicians remove in subsequent steps.

The next stage involves purifying the raw juice through a process called carbonatation. In this process, technicians introduce a calcium hydroxide (lime) suspension and carbon dioxide gas under carefully controlled pH and temperature conditions. The reaction forms calcium carbonate precipitates that coagulate impurities and help decolorize the juice. Pressure filtration separates the impurities and calcium carbonate from the clear liquor, which is now ready for concentration.

Technicians feed the clarified juice into a multi-stage evaporator, where heat removes excess water to produce a concentrated syrup. Workers then transfer this syrup to large boiling pans, where further boiling reduces the water content and initiates sugar crystallization. By carefully controlling temperature and concentration, they encourage the formation of sugar crystals. Centrifuges then spin the mixture to separate the sugar crystals from the remaining mother liquor, preparing raw beet sugar for further refining or commercial use.

Maintaining precise control over sugar concentration throughout these stages is vital for product quality and process efficiency. This is where process refractometers, such as the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan, become indispensable tools. These instruments provide accurate, real-time measurements of Brix, the sugar content of an aqueous solution. By monitoring Brix levels, operators can make informed decisions about process adjustments, ensuring optimal extraction and crystallization conditions.

For instance, refractometers help achieve the desired concentration levels necessary for successful sugar crystallization in the evaporation and crystallization stages. By providing continuous in-line measurements, refractometers enable immediate response to deviations from set parameters, reducing waste and improving energy efficiency. The MPR E-Scan refractometer, known for its reliability and precision, monitors Brix measurements from the beginning of the evaporation stages up to the seed point of crystallization, playing a critical role in the overall production process.

The use of process refractometers enhances product quality and contributes to cost savings. By ensuring that the concentration processes are operating at peak efficiency, refractometers help reduce energy consumption and minimize losses due to over- or under-processing. This technological integration represents a significant advancement in beet sugar production, aligning with industry goals of sustainability and economic efficiency.

The beet sugar industry relies heavily on precise process control to produce high-quality products. Implementing process refractometers like the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan is essential in achieving this precision. By providing accurate, real-time data on sugar concentration, these instruments enable producers to optimize their operations, improve product quality, and reduce costs, thereby strengthening their position in the competitive global sugar market.

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Inline Refractometers Used in Beet Sugar Processing

Beets are harvested late in the year and transported by truck to the beet sugar processing facility. The initial process involves washing (beets are dirty), and separation from leaves, stones and other miscellaneous debris. After cleaning, the beets are cut in to thin slices making juice extraction easier.

Juice extraction is done in an agitated hot water diffuser tank that continuously agitates the dilution until the concentration reaches the level that qualifies as juice. Other components and impurities from the beet flesh and skins are also dissolved in the juice which later have to be removed.

The raw juice is then put through a process call "Carbonatation" that introduces a calcium hydroxide suspension and carbon dioxide under controlled conditions of pH and temperature. This process coagulates impurities and decolorizes the raw juice. The impurities are separated from the clear liquor and calcium carbonate by pressure filtration. The clear liquor is then sent to a multi-stage evaporator to remove water and create syrup.

The syrup is then placed in large boiling pans which boils off remaining water and initiates sugar crystallization. The crystals are then spun to separate them from any remaining mother liquor.

Electron Machine MPR E-Scan

To achieve high quality liquid and crystal sugars, improve efficiency and keep production cost in check, refractometers are employed to deliver accurate in-line Brix and other dissolved solids measurements in the beet sugar refining, evaporation and boiling processes.

In beet sugar refineries, the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan can be used to monitor and control Brix measurement from the beginning of the evaporation stages up to the seed point of crystallization.

Visit Electron Machine at https://www.electronmachine.com or call 352-669-3101.