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Processing Sugar Beet Seeds

Find innovative production technology for making sugar beet seeds and connect directly with world-leading specialists.

Extracting sugar from beets became popular in continental Europe during the Napoleonic Wars due to the British blockades of cane sugar. This is thanks to the high sugar content derived from this crop. Also known by its scientific name, “beta vulgaris”, The beets’ popularity steadily rose afterwards and today, 20% of all sugar in the world comes from beets. But all of this can’t be possible without its seeds. The production and processing of sugar beet seeds includes different steps such as cleaning, priming, pelleting and coating.

Which sugar beet seeds technology do you need?

Automatic processing line for field crop seeds

Automatic processing line for field crop seeds

The quality of field crops (ROW crops) is determined by their seeds. The bre…

Exergy pressurized superheated steam dryer

Exergy pressurized superheated steam dryer

Traditional dryers and heat transfer systems, like belt-, drum- or bed dryers ar…

Rotary Seed Dryer Coater

Rotary Seed Dryer Coater

Large-volume vegetable and field crop seeds manufacturers may prefer a fully automated coating and dr…

Rotary Seed Pelleting Machine

Rotary Seed Pelleting Machine

When pelleting large batches of seeds like flower, vegetable, or agricultural types, it is impo…

Seed Gravity Separator

Seed Gravity Separator

In large-scale production, separating quality seeds from empty seeds and other debris - such as stones …

Seed Belt Grader

Seed Belt Grader

Large volume seed producers require high-capacity grading equipment to separate the good seeds from the bad on…

Seed Coating Machine With Integrated Dryer

Seed Coating Machine With Integrated Dryer

Seed coating, also known as seed dressing, refers to the covering of seeds with …

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Conditioned Box Dryer

Conditioned Box Dryer

Seeds that are harvested are dried as part of their initial process of cleaning. Having huge quantities …

Form fill seal thermoforming machine

Form fill seal thermoforming machine

As the name suggests, a Form Fill Seal machine is one that forms, fills, and seals a pa…

Vibrating sieve for liquid solid separation

Vibrating sieve for liquid solid separation

Many industrial processes require the efficient separation of solids from a slu…

Automatic bagging machine for open mouth bags

Automatic bagging machine for open mouth bags

Open mouth bags allow for a variety of different products to be packaged, wit…

bagger for open mouth bags

Bagger for open mouth bags

Where a stand-alone bagger is required for filling large, open mouth bags, a delivery method is ne…

a pellet hardness tester

Pellet hardness tester

Control the quality of your pelletizing processes using a pellet hardness tester. Pellet hardness is on…

Vertical scraper centrifuges

Vertical scraper centrifuges

Vertical Bottom discharge Centrifuges work discontinuously, discharging the solids to the bottom…

In-line continuous blender

In-line continuous blender

When you consider shifting pharmaceutical mixing processes from batch to continuous, accurate in-l…

Stories about Sugar beet seeds

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First steps in processing: cleaning and priming


This production occurs in many steps. Raw seeds are contaminated with sticks, dirt and weed so they must be cleaned before priming. The sugar beet seed has an odd shape and they are lined with the pericarp, a hardened membrane that protects it within; however, it also restricts hydration and inhibits germination.

A crop and vegetable seeds polisher and brushing machine carefully remove both the debris and the pericarp.

To make sure the seeds are of a similar size and undamaged, manufacturers use blowing machines for separation. This equipment provides similarly-sized seeds and eliminates the ‘duds’. For instance, a seed coming from your crop that is too large, too small or empty are rejected.

priming is a process that stimulates germination by carefully hydrating the seed. By using priming equipment, the seeds are soaked in water to slowly germinate, which ensures uniform emergence in the field.


From irregular seeds to coated pellets


 


The next steps in processing and producing seeds from sugar beets are pelleting and coating. The seed is pelleted because the irregular and oddly-shaped ones cannot be planted in standardized intervals with industrial sowing equipment. The pelleting machine equally distributes the liquids and powders on the seeds to create perfectly round pellets. It is because of the irregular shape they come with that their production process is more challenging than other crops. High-capacity and high-speed industrial equipment can shorten this process significantly.

The final step is seed coating, which reduces the amount of pesticides used in the fields by applying a smaller amount directly onto the pellets. The coating machine distributes various protective fluids, like insecticides and fungicides, for an added layer of protection. Coating further supports germination and shields the seeds from pests. The color of the pellet’s coating indicates which treatment was used and it can also help track the placement and depth of each individual seed when sowing.

From beets to biofuel


Sugar beets are not only used for sugar production but also to derive bioethanol, a biofuel. Producing bioethanol is a carbon-neutral process, and bioethanol itself is easily biodegradable or diluted in case of spills. First developed by DSD and ACRRES, the Betaprocess shortened the amount of time needed to extract bioethanol from biomass. That’s because it is no longer necessary to extract sugar from the beets first.


Before they can be used to produce bioethanol, sugar beets have to be harvested, washed and crushed. The crushed sugar beets are then transferred into the Betaprocess, where they are placed in vacuum conditions and the temperature is set between 60 and 65°C. Here, the sugar beet cell explodes immediately releasing the sugars, so the pulp, along with yeast, is fermented. After fermentation, the mixture can be distilled. This entire process only lasts two days and costs 35% less than traditional extraction of ethanol from sucrose.

Processing steps involved in sugar-beet-seeds making

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