Cosun Receives Innovation Subsidy for Bio-Refining Sugar Beet

The subsidized project is a collaboration within Cosun (Suiker Unie, Cosun Biobased Products and Duynie with Cosun Food Technology Centre) and with Grassa , a consortium that focuses on the refining of grass.

Jul 19 2010 --- Minister Verburg of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality has awarded Cosun € 1 million for advanced research into the optimal use of sugar beet. Not only do we extract the sugar from the root (which is subsequently processed into pulp for fodder), but we also use other substances, both from the root and the leaves. The plant is gradually decomposed and transformed into valuable and useful new products: fibres, sugars from cell walls for e.g. the production of chemicals, proteins, minerals, etc. This process is called bio-refining.

The extracted components are applied in the food industry, the fodder sector, the chemical industry (as an alternative to petrochemistry) and, for instance, the paper industry. The remaining biomass is used to generate  'green' energy.

The objective is to optimally use the agricultural commodity, both in economic and ecological terms. Cosun invests in building up knowledge and experience in finding valuable applications and in the on-going development of the bio-refining process.

The ambitions of the innovation project for which the subsidy has been awarded are:

* Searching and creating added value throughout the sugar beet chain (from grower to industrial processor)
* Looking for and finding high-quality components such as proteins for application in the food and chemical industries
* Designing and further refining an integral bio-refining process, initially on a test basis
* Seeking applications for the beet's leaves, in cooperation with Grassa

The subsidy is foremost  meant to upscale the processes - which have  already largely been developed on a laboratory level - to the level of a pilot plant and then to build up relevant experience.

The subsidized project is a collaboration within Cosun (Suiker Unie, Cosun Biobased Products and Duynie with Cosun Food Technology Centre) and with Grassa , a consortium that focuses on the refining of grass. In time, Cosun can use the acquired knowledge and experience  on a broader scale for other agricultural commodities.

The subsidy scheme is part of the Energy Innovation Agenda and concentrates on bio-refining programmes. The intention is to contribute to encouraging the use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.