NDSU working out how to store beet juice long-term for ethanol production

April 16, 2013 |

In North Dakota, a research group in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at NDSU has studied the effectiveness of long-term storage techniques on the preservation of energy beet fermentable sugars since 2010. Results indicate that concentrating beet juice through evaporation to produce a raw, thick beet juice and subsequently adjusting the pH of the juice are effective. The technique helped retain more than 99 percent of the fermentable sugars in the juice stored for at least six months at 23 degrees Celsius (approximately 73 degrees Fahrenheit). During the study, the pH of the raw, thick juice was adjusted and controlled at alkaline and acidic levels to find the most effective ranges for sugar preservation. Although the juice was stored successfully, future research will be directed toward determining conditions for high-efficiency fermentation of the juice with the highest sugar retention during storage.

Category: Fuels

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