OPTIMIZATION OF BEET SUGAR PRODUCTION BY CAMPAIGN DURATION: EVOLUTION OF THE INDUSTRIAL-TECHNOLOGICAL BEET VALUE OVER 200 DAYS IN NORTHERN SPAIN

摘要

As more benchmarking is done in w-rld wide sugar production, the more important becomes the annual exploitation time in order to reduce the fixed costs and the financial capital expenses. The campaign duration is therefore becoming one of the most important competitivity criteria. As sugar beet is a living vegetable raw material, we are obliged to consider the relatively short shelflife of the beets fixing the adequate campaign beginning and duration. Different ways to store the harvested beets at cold temperature, above and below the freezing point, are especially well known in the US. The climatic conditions oblige harvest of the beets before the outside temperature drops. The question is what will happen when the weather allows us to leave the beets in the ground. In this case, the plant growing cycle is not interrupted. This present R&D project is based on about 60,000 beet and juice samples, which were analyzed for industrial economical criteria. The project target was to check the feasibility of a new harvesting logistic, as the northern Spanish sugar beet area (80% of the total national sugar production) presents very special climatic conditions which could potentially allow to leave the beets into the ground for more than 180 days. Conclusions are presented, as well as new project activities suggested.