THE OPTIMUM USE OF TAILS FROM BEET PROCESSING

This study has characterized the composition of various particle size fractions of tails from two British Sugar factories to provide data fo r decisions on what is economically optimal to do with this particulat e sugar beet material. All fractions are of a much lower sucrose conce ntration and higher invert sugar concentration than cossettes. Sucrose concentration is directly proportional to particle size and its lower concentration compared to beet is likely to be associated with leachi ng in the transport system. The purified juice derived from these frac tions is of lower purity and higher colour than the equivalent juice f rom cossettes. The purity of the juice is directly proportional to the particle size. In general, the purity of the purified juice from the fractions smaller than 5 mm is lower than that of molasses. Processing of tails by extraction will therefore lead to a lower overall sucrose recovery. On the other hand, the inclusion of tails in animal feed re duces its quality. The decision on how best to process tails is comple x. It is impossible to define a universally acceptable procedure. This study identifies key aspects of the chemistry of tails and how they p erform in processing, as part of the process of making an informed dec ision.