EU sugar beet sector on track to carbon neutrality and lays out industrial strategies

29 Jun 2023 --- The European Association of Sugar Manufacturers (CEFS) is pushing for decarbonized supply chains without overburdening fossil-free electricity. The trade body has released a document – Climate Neutrality Toolbox – examining how to decarbonize Europe’s beet sugar production by 2050 in the face of climate change, droughts and pest infections.

“The Toolbox is an important industry-wide reflection on the tools available and policies needed for the EU beet sugar sector to reach climate neutrality,” Josh Gartland, deputy director general at CEFS, tells Food Ingredients First.

Marie-Christine Ribera, director-general at CEFS, comments: “We cannot define a clear roadmap for our sector as every sugar factory is different. But our sites share common characteristics that impact decarbonization pathways – namely seasonality and the rural location of our factories.”

CEFS members have set an ambitious commitment to slash carbon by 2030 (Image credit: CEFS).“This means that we cannot just rely on electrification to decarbonize. Sugar manufacturers have to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency. Tools such as energy management, heat recovery and electrification technologies such as heat pumps can support progress toward climate neutrality.”

She adds that the speed of implementation of these solutions will depend on the availability of competitive low-carbon electricity in the long-term.

“Because direct electrification [replacing one source of energy, power or heat with fossil-free electricity] cannot be only the decarbonization solution for our sector, we need biogas- and biomass-based strategies,” she stresses. 

An example of these strategies is the upcycling of waste side streams like beet pulp for energy. This offers a viable alternative to drying it in high-intensity dehydrating machines for animal feed.

Process electrification tools such as heat pumps could also play a role in certain circumstances, CEFS outlines.

Strain of seasonality
Carbon emissions and energy costs are a pile on top of the heavy plate of concerns for European producers. Inflation has also caught up with the bloc’s sugar sector, which is linked to high fertilizer prices and increased farm prices.

El Niño storms have also been a pivotal issue this year.

Last month, Eurostat data revealed that sugar prices are now, on average, 61% higher than one year ago across the EU. This came a few months after European sugar producers warned of a devastating blow to the beet sector as the Court of Justice of the EU stopped emergency exemptions for seeds treated with neonic insecticides.

Even with macroeconomic and weather conditions aside, the financial and administrative consequences of sugar beets’ seasonality are substantial. 

Because sugar factories’ energy-consuming stations are sized to operate 90 to 150 days a year, reducing emissions in these energy-consuming stations costs three to four times more than in non-seasonal industries. 

Sugar factories also have a longer lifetime of equipment than in industrial sectors operating all year round. Because equipment only operates for three to four months a year, it has to be kept and maintained for more years to come to the same lifetime, compared to the case of industrial units operating for a full 365 days.

“As a result, beet sugar manufacturers have very high capital intensity, similar to that of heavy industry,” concedes CEFS.

Slashing sugar emissions
CEFS members have set an ambitious commitment to slash carbon by 2030. Actualizing these commitments will lead to a reduction of at least 30% by this date, highlights the association. 

“Given that the industry has already cut emissions by 59% between 1990 and 2021, this sets the industry well on the way to climate neutrality,” states the organization.

Sugar beet factories are significantly more energy-intensive than non-seasonal production facilities (Image credit: CEFS).

The Climate Neutrality Toolbox breaks down methods of slashing emissions at the individual process level. For instance, it outlines that drying beet pulp is highly energy-intensive, as using a high-temperature dryer can consume 100 kWh of gas per metric ton of beet, which translates into 607 GJ (1,600-1,900 kWh) of gas to produce a metric ton of dried beet pulp.

The drying of beet pulp is common practice when there is a limited local market for fresh (pressed) pulp for animal feed. Unlike pressed pulp, dried pulp can be stored and transported long distances thanks to its much higher dry matter content. Dried pulp can be used to produce animal feed within the factory confines – by mixing with molasses and turning it into pellets – or it can be sold on to specialized feed producers.

“Pulp drying can account for up to 50% of factory energy demand and 25% to 30% of emissions when all of the beet pulp generated in the factory is dried in an high-temperature drum dryer,” reveal the authors. “Because of this, it is more energy efficient to use the beet pulp for bioenergy [biogas] or directly as pressed pulp for the local animal feed market.”

Solid beet pulp can also be combusted directly in a biomass boiler after pressing. “The most mature solution available would be the use of a biomass boiler in combination with a steam dryer or low-temperature dryer integrated into the energy scheme of the sugar process,” outline the report authors.

Revamping lime kilns
Another area of the sugar beet processing chain to consider remodeling is the use of on-site lime kilns, which convert limestone to quicklime and carbon dioxide, which are used as precipitants for the first stage of beet juice purification. 

Lime kilns are usually operated with hard coal coke or anthracite. However, individual plants have converted the furnaces so that they can be operated with natural gas, including one in Germany.

“Although the use of natural gas (or biomethane) requires around 20% more fuel (2.2-2.7 GJ of gas per metric ton of limestone), a reduction in emissions of 25% to 30% can still be delivered,” detail the report authors.

They note if renewable biogas were used, the lime kiln would be considered carbon-neutral.

Carbon capturing and efficient transport
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and use (CCU) – recycling the carbon in captured CO2 from manufacturing processes by converting it into new products – has been attracting attention as a solution for highly-emitting industries. 

“The use of CCS/CCU could be combined with the use of renewable self-produced energy from beet residues. In this way the sugar production process could, in theory, be carbon negative,” write the authors.

“The use of CO2 from biodigesters is already under consideration, such as by the Cosun Beet Company. This option becomes more attractive given the ongoing CO2 shortage in the EU, which has pushed up prices.”

Solid beet pulp can also be combusted directly in a biomass boiler after pressing, as a new source of energy.Going beyond the factory, beet transport is another area where emissions can be reduced. CEFS outlines two “relatively simple fixes” that are already readily available.

The first is to use biogenic fuels such as renewable biodiesel, bioethanol or biomethane in the trucks delivering the sugar beets to the factory. The report cites the use of ED95 – an ethanol-based fuel for lorries and buses with modified diesel engines – which delivers emission reductions of more than 50% compared to diesel.

According to the Renewable Energy Directive, bioethanol and biogas for transport must deliver emissions reductions of 65% versus fossil transport fuel. Many sugar manufacturers already provide biogenic fuels to drivers to reduce the emissions of this stage. 

Another way to reduce beet transport emissions is to transport more beets in every consignment. Increasing the maximum weight limits of trucks from 40-48 metric tons reduces fuel use by 5% to 10% on average, and with it, transport emissions by the same percentage. 

“In most member states it is still not permitted to transport more than 40 metric tons of beet per consignment,” CEFS outlines. “It is important to note that vehicle upgrades are required to make it safe and feasible to transport 48 metric tons of beet in a single load.”

By Benjamin Ferrer