The main types of by-products and their processing

Processing of by-products

The main types of by-products and their processing

You should know that the feasibility of processing various by-products and the production of additional products directly depends on the production capacity of the plant for the main raw materials. This means that sometimes it is not economically feasible to produce additional products from some by-products in sugar factories at different capacities.

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By-products Practical solutions Specifications

Main by-products

The main waste products of sugar beet production in conventional sugar production are beet pulp, filtration sludge and molasses. These wastes are of great value and are used for livestock feed, for fertilizing fields or as raw materials for the production of other types of products. In the production of sugar using SUSEP technology, part of the so-called waste is absent or has a different composition. Since the process of sugar production using SUSEP technology is advanced, it can even be called waste-free, although some waste is still obtained. The main waste of sugar production is beet pulp (SPB). The yield of fresh pulp is 70-83% of the mass of processed sugar beet and contains 92-95% water. Due to the low concentration of dry matter, which is only 6-15% (usually 7.3-7.8%), this industrial waste is processed to produce a number of by-products. Since the SUSEP technology does not provide for filtration on vacuum filters, but only membrane filtration is used, there is no filtration sediment. There is also no ordinary molasses, since with membrane filtration, all sucrose is completely removed from the sugar-containing juice and because of this, the so-called depleted molasses is obtained. Both beet pulp and depleted molasses are valuable industrial waste from which useful and valuable products can be obtained.

Both by-products have many useful substances. The beet pulp mainly consists of cellulose (22-30%), hemicellulose (24-32%) and pectin (15-32%), with a small amount of protein (10-11%), lignin (3-6%), ash (approximately 3.7%) and fat (approximately 1.4%). The composition of sugar beet pulp may vary depending on the extraction process, the sugar beet variety and growing conditions, but in general it is a lignocellulose material characterized by good energy value and strong antioxidant activity.

Depleted molasses mainly consists of nitrogenous substances (0.4-0.5%), betaine (0.8-1.6%), sucrose (0.04-0.14%), lactic acid (0.8-1.2%), acetic and formic acid (0.04-0.1%), as well as conductometric ash (1.2-2.2%). At first glance, the concentration of components in depleted molasses is not that large, but given the fact that it practically lacks the main astringent - sucrose, their concentration is quite high. A large amount of water (79-93%) reduces the mechanical and molecular bonds between the dissolved components and facilitates their separation in the future. Processing of depleted molasses separately makes sense only with large production capacities of a sugar factory, since the sub-products produced are quite inexpensive, and the energy costs are huge. Due to the low market price of betaine and its low concentration in raw materials, even when processing 10.000 tons of sugar beet per day, its production is impractical. Depleted molasses with small production capacities of sugar factories can be used to enrich beet pulp or as fertilizers.

When is it profitable?

Without a doubt, it is profitable to produce by-products only with a sufficient amount of raw materials and a sufficient market. If there is no sales market or there is no goal to produce additional products, then only semi-finished products can be produced or the by-product can be brought to a transportable state. Most of all, this applies to raw beet pulp, since raw pulp contains only 6-15% of dry substances and it is quite inconvenient to transport it. In addition, a large tanks are required for storing raw beet pulp, and also within 2-3 days it begins to deteriorate and becomes unsuitable for feed.

In order to bring the raw beet pulp to a transportable state, it is only enough to press it on a belt-roll press. At this stage, part of the water is removed and the concentration of dry substances increases to 40-55%. Pressed beet pulp is not only easier to transport, but also to dry in drum dryers. Dried beet pulp containing 81-85% of dry matter is easy to granulate and produce feed pellets in this way.

What is the economic effect?

The processing of industrial waste and the production of by-products has many advantages. The main advantages are increased production, expansion of the product range, increased profitability and environmental protection. An optimally selected production model helps to reduce production costs, as well as increase competitiveness. To find the most profitable solution, you always need to study the market well and weigh your options.

When processing 1 ton of sugar beet, depending on its quality and main characteristics, in addition to the sugar, it is possible to produce 200-220 kg of pressed pulp or 45-55 kg of high-quality feed pellets.

Practical solutions

In order to optimally choose the process of processing by-products, it is necessary to assess the future amount of raw materials, the possibility of selling sub-products and production costs. The process of processing beet pulp is quite energy-intensive, since the equipment is equipped with powerful electric drives, and also requires a large amount of steam, which is necessary for heat exchangers to heat the air when drying dewatered pulp. The expediency of choosing a particular process is influenced by a number of factors. As for low-capacity sugar factories, it is most advantageous to simply dehydrate beet pulp on belt-roller presses and sell it only in dehydrated form, since a large amount of steam will be used during drying, although the volume of raw materials and the yield of dried pulp will be small. On average, the steam consumption for drying tons of beet pulp deep pressing is 3.5-4.2 t/h. Considering that almost all equipment has a lower limit of productivity (t/h), it is easy to understand that with a small daily amount of processed sugar beet, the drying equipment will not be provided with sufficient raw materials (t/ h), and this, of course, will lead to the fact that pressed beet pulp will have to accumulate, which will require additional financial investments for special tanks. In addition, even with the accumulation of sufficient raw materials, the drying equipment will be able to work under rated load for only an hour or several hours a day.

It is equally important to assess the need and ability to sale pellets. The production of feed pellets requires special presses that consume a lot of electricity. In addition to the presses themselves, additional equipment is also required, such as pellet coolers, a dust removal system, etc. The overall complex solution is quite complex and energy-intensive, which is why, when choosing a technical solution, you always must follow an economic assessment. As a rule, in the production of feed pellets, the question of packaging and storage of finished products arises. In practice, feed pellets are sold in bulk form, packed in flexible containers (big bags) for wholesale or packaged in small bags of 1 kg, 2 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg or packaged in large bags of 20 kg and 25 kg for retail sale. Long-term storage of feed pellets in bulk is impossible, since the product is hydrophobic, and it deteriorates under the influence of moisture.

We recommend paying attention to the table below. This table provides examples of the choice of beet pulp processing and the production of sub-products. Please note that these data were obtained after performing a number of economic calculations, in accordance with the economic situation in different countries and regions, as well as depending on energy prices. The presented data are advisory in nature.

Expediency of the production processes:

Factory performance by sugar beet (TBD):	Pressed beet pulp (dry matter 25-30%)	Dried beet pulp (dry matter 87-92%)	Pellet production (moisture 8-10%)	Pectin production	Betaine production
50 TBD	N	I	I	I	I
100 TBD	N	I	I	I	I
200 TBD	N	R	R	I	I
500 TBD	N	VR	R	I	I
1000 TBD	N	VR	VR	I	I
1500 TBD	N	VR	VR	I	I
2000 TBD	N	VR	VR	I	I
3000 TBD	N	VR	VR	I	I
5000 TBD	N	VR	VR	I	I
6000 TBD	N	VR	VR	R	I
10000 TBD	N	VR	VR	R	I
12000 TBD	N	VR	VR	R	I

N- Necessary

R- Recommended

VR- Very recommended

I- Impractical

Main parameters

To choose the right equipment, first of all you need to understand the sequence of the production process. For dehydration of beet pulp, only a deep-pressed belt-roll press and some additional equipment (tanks, augers, conveyors, etc.) are required. If the same beet pulp is dried to the content of ~ 80% of dry substances, then for such a process, in addition to the belt-roll press, a drum dryer with appropriate additional equipment is also needed. Well, for the production of feed pellets, all the above equipment will be required, as well as a pelletizing press, packaging equipment and other additional equipment. The equipment is selected only according to the ability to process a specific amount of raw materials per hour (t/h). Depending on the technical capabilities of separate equipment, belt-roll presses are designed only for pressing fresh beet pulp (moisture 70-98%), drum dryers are designed only for drying dehydrated beet pulp (moisture 35-50%), and granulator presses are designed only for processing dried beet pulp (moisture 15-19%). The tables indicate the technical characteristics of only the main equipment. The number of devices and parameters of additional equipment such as tanks, pumps, conveyors, pellet coolers, dust precipitators, aspiration system, packing equipment, etc. are determined separately, depending on the daily production capacity of the sugar beet sugar plant.

Note:the production of sub-products, such as pectin and betaine, is determined depending on the productivity by the amount of processed raw materials per day, the market and the cost of energy resources. WESTTEX is not engaged in the production and supply of equipment for the production of these sub-products.

Equipment	Belt-roll presses for beet pulp extraction
Specifications	BRP-750-P3	BRP-1000-P3	BRP-1500-P3	BRP-2000-P3
Machine type	belt - roll	belt - roll	belt - roll	belt - roll
Band width (mm)	750	1500	1500	2000
Capacity (m³/h)	3 - 4	4 - 5	5 - 8	8 - 12
Final moisture (%)	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60
Belt speed (m/min)	2 - 8	2 - 8	2 - 8	2 - 8
Type of control	automatic	automatic	automatic	automatic
Cleaning pump flow (m³/h)	4	5	9	12
Air pressure (MPa)	0,3 - 0,8	0,3 - 0,8	0,3 - 0,8	0,3 - 0,8
Air consumption (m³/h)	0,1 - 0,15	0,1 - 0,15	0,1 - 0,15	0,1 - 0,15
Power supply:	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz
Main drive power (kW)	3	3	5,5	7,5
Feeder power (kW)	0,75	1,1	1,1	1,5
Cleaning pump power (kW)	2,2	3	4	5,5
Total power (kW)	8	9	13	17

Equipment	High efficiency drum dryers
Specifications	DPD-1D9-18L	DPD-2D2-18L	DPD-2D5-23L	DPD-2D9-25L
Machine type	drum	drum	drum	drum
Capacity (t/24h)	65 - 150	88 - 200	132 - 300	180 - 400
Hourly capacity (t/h)	2,7 - 6,25	3,67 - 8,33	5,5 - 12,5	7,5 - 16,67
Permissible moisture of raw materials (%)	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50
Control of the drying process	automatic	automatic	automatic	automatic
Moisture at the output	adjustable	adjustable	adjustable	adjustable
Humidity after drying (%)	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18
Evaporation capacity (t/h)	1,2 - 1,5	1,6 - 2,0	2,4 - 3,0	3,3 - 4,0
Drying temperature (°C)	120 - 135	120 - 135	120 - 135	120 - 135
Exhaust air (°C)	65 - 70	65 - 70	65 - 70	65 - 70
Power supply:	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz
Power consumption (kW)	40 - 60	50 - 80	70 - 100	90 - 140

Equipment	Beet pulp granulators
Specifications	BPM-320	BPM-350	BPM-400	BPM-420	BPM-508	BPM-688
Machine type	horizontal press	horizontal press	horizontal press	horizontal press	horizontal press	horizontal press
Matrix type	annular	annular	annular	annular	annular	annular
Inner matrix diameter (mm)	320	350	400	420	508	688
Productivity by raw material (t/h)	0,3 - 0,8	0,5 - 1,0	1,0 - 1,5	1,5 - 2,0	2,0 - 3,0	3,0 - 4,5
Moisture of raw material (%)	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1
Diameter of pellets (mm)	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12
Humidity of pellets (%)	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1
Power supply:	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz	380VAC 3P 50Hz
Feeder power (kW)	0,75	1,1	1,5	1,5	2,2	3,0
Main drive power (kW)	37	55	75 / 90	90 / 110	110 / 132	185 / 200
Conditioning process (kW)	2,2	3,0	4,0	5,5	5,5 / 7,5	5,5 / 7,5

Attention:the tables show the characteristics at the rated load of the equipment.

Extended data

Beet pulp processing is an additional production process and consists of several separate production stages. Each stage of production requires separate technological equipment in accordance with the amount of processed raw materials, needs and goals. For the processing of beet pulp, the required equipment is selected strictly depending on the established nominal capacity of the sugar factory and the amount of processed sugar beet per day.

Existing models Economic justification Photo gallery

Available models by performance

Equipment for dewatering and drying beet pulp, as well as the production of feed pellets can work separately, but in this case, when processing sugar beet, a large amount of depleted molasses will be obtained, which will have to be stored somewhere and sold separately. Combining the processing of beet pulp and the main technological process of SUSEP, all depleted molasses is mixed with beet pulp, thereby enriching it with useful minerals and acids. In this way, the entire filtrate of the membrane filtration of sugar-containing juice is used. The drying of beet pulp, i.e. the increase in the concentration of dry substances in it, as well as the production of feed pellets, is determined by the amount of raw materials, which plays a key role here. The energy consumption of each production stage individually and entirely plays an equally important role in choosing a solution for processing by-product - SBP (sugar beet pulp). We advise you to evaluate your technical and commercial capabilities in order to choose a less energy-intensive production process.

Attention: in order to avoid the wrong choice of production process and equipment, we recommend reading the examples in the chapter "PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS".

Process	Squeezing beet pulp depends on the capacity of the factory
Specifications	50 TBD	100 TBD	200 TBD	500 TBD	1000 TBD	1500 TBD	2000 TBD	3000 TBD	5000 TBD	6000 TBD	10000 TBD	12000 TBD
Quantity of fresh pulp (t/24h)	35 - 41.5	70 - 83	140 - 166	350 - 415	700 - 830	1.050 - 1.245	1.400 - 1.660	2.100 - 2.490	3.500 - 4.150	4.200 - 4.980	7.000 - 8.300	8.400 - 9.960
Moisture (%)	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95	92 - 95
Dry matters (%)	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15	6 - 15
Model of device	BRP-750-P3	BRP-1500-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3	BRP-2000-P3
The required number of installations	1	1	1	3	5	7	9	14	23	28	46	55
Performance of the device (m³/h)	3 - 4	5 - 8	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12	8 - 12
Final moisture (%)	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60

Process	Drying of beet pulp depending on the capacity of the factory
Specifications	50 TBD	100 TBD	200 TBD	500 TBD	1000 TBD	1500 TBD	2000 TBD	3000 TBD	5000 TBD	6000 TBD	10000 TBD	12000 TBD
Pressed pulp for drying (t/24h)	5,25 - 11,32	10,5 - 22,64	21,0 - 45,27	52,5 - 113,18	105,0 - 226,36	157,5 - 339,55	210,0 - 452,73	315,0 - 679,09	525,0 - 1131,82	630,0 - 1358,18	1050,0 - 2263,64	1260,0 - 2716,36
Moisture of raw material (%)	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60	45 - 60
Device model	DPD-1D9-18L	DPD-1D9-18L	DPD-1D9-18L	DPD-1D9-18L	DPD-1D9-18L	DPD-2D2-18L	DPD-2D5-23L	DPD-2D5-23L	DPD-2D9-25L	DPD-2D9-25L	DPD-2D9-25L	DPD-2D9-25L
The required number of installations	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	4	6	7
Capacity by raw material (t/24h)	65 - 150	65 - 150	65 - 150	65 - 150	65 - 150	88 - 200	132 - 300	132 - 300	180 - 400	180 - 400	180 - 400	180 - 400
Capacity by raw material (t/h)	2,7 - 6,25	2,7 - 6,25	2,7 - 6,25	2,7 - 6,25	2,7 - 6,25	3,67 - 8,33	5,5 - 12,5	5,5 - 12,5	7,5 - 16,67	7,5 - 16,67	7,5 - 16,67	7,5 - 16,67
Permissible humidity of raw materials (%)	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50	35 - 50
Moisture after drying (%)	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18	12 - 18

Process	The production of pellets depending on the capacity of the factory
Title	50 TBD	100 TBD	200 TBD	500 TBD	1000 TBD	1500 TBD	2000 TBD	3000 TBD	5000 TBD	6000 TBD	10000 TBD	12000 TBD
Quantity of raw material (t/24h)	2,59 - 7,50	5,19 - 15,0	10,37 - 30,0	25,93 - 75,0	51,85 - 150,0	77,78 - 225,0	103,7 - 300,0	155,56 - 450,0	259,26 - 750,0	311,11 - 900,0	518,52 - 1500,0	622,22 - 1800,0
Raw material moisture (%)	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1	18 ±1
Device model	BPM-320	BPM-350	BPM-400	BPM-688	BPM-688	BPM-688	BPM-688	BPM-688	BPM-688	BPM-688	BPM-688	BPM-688
The required number of installations	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	5	7	9	14	17
Capacity by raw material (t/h)	0,3 - 0,8	0,5 - 1,0	1,0 - 1,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5	3,0 - 4,5
Moisture of pellets (%)	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1	17 ±1
Diameter of pellets (mm)	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12	10 / 12

Investments and benefits

The volume of investments in the processing of by-products, such as beet pulp, and the production of sub-products mainly depends on the amount of raw materials that are planned to be processed per day, the daily load on technological equipment, the duration of planned production during the year, as well as available energy resources. Since the processing of beet pulp is possible only when processing sugar beet, first of all it is necessary to determine the amount of this raw material and only on the basis of this model to choose the production of by-products.

In the complex processing of sugar beet, in addition to granulated sugar, an average of 50-52 kg of granules can be obtained from one ton of raw materials. Although it doesn't look like much, but in fact, when hundreds or thousands of tons are processed per day, it's easy to understand what amount of additional product it really is. For example, a sugar factory with a capacity of 3000 TBD per day, i.e. with a capacity of 3000 tons of sugar beet per day, can produce 18.72-19.8 thousand tons of granular feed for 120 days of continuous operation. This means that 156-165 tons of this valuable product will be produced per day. Even when processing 100 tons of sugar beet per day, the amount of additional product obtained is quite large, especially since with small production capacities, individual processes can be distributed in such a way that the "semi-finished product", i.e. dehydrated beet pulp, will accumulate in buffer tanks for several days and is dried in drum dryers for only 1-2 days per day per week. The dry beet pulp will also be pressed into pellets 1-2 days a week. Thus, direct production costs are reduced and the profitability of the entire sugar factory increases.

An equally important point is that when processing sugar beet, almost all sugar production becomes environmentally friendly and waste-free. This is achieved due to the fact that the depleted molasses, that is, the filtrate of beet juice, which is really a liquid saturated with many useful minerals and salts, is mixed with beet pulp, thereby enriching it. This process requires compliance with veterinary regulations, as it is easy to exceed the permissible concentrations of individual components.

Technological equipment and lines

Construction of a workshop for the production of 100-110 tons of feed pellets per day. The source of raw materials is a sugar factory processing 2000 tons of sugar beet per day. The processing line is equipped with its own gas boiler - air heater running on natural gas. The technological line is also equipped with a modern recovery system, which allows you to distribute heat not only in production, but also optimally use it for heating industrial and household premises. This equipment also allows you to reduce the total fuel consumption by 15-20%.

Production premises

There is also a so-called "wet shop" next to the drying, granulating and packaging shop. In this workshop are installed required quantity of belt-roller presses for deep pressing of beet pulp. The decision to place these presses in a separate production room was made in accordance with such technical features of beet pulp dewatering as increased humidity, occupational safety and prolongation of the service life of other equipment.