PULP2VALUE project – A full biorefinery model for sugar beet pulp
The EU is the world’s leading producer of sugar from beet with around 50% of the total. Most production is processed into crystallised or liquid sugar for food applications. Only 2% of total sugar production is used in non-food applications (for instance, production of bioethanol in conventional sugar biorefineries). The sugar sector needs to develop new markets to grow. One of the opportunities is boosting the use of the sugar as a basis for fermentation. This will lead to simplified processes with lower energy needs and use of all the sugar content for value-added end products. A good example is the industrial project for the plant of PHAs biopolymer that Cristal Union (leading sugar beet producer in France) and Bio-on will build in France (see press release ). But, this is not the only way. During the processing of the beets, a major residual stream called sugar beet pulp is generated after extracting the sugar. In Europe, it accounts for approximate 13 million tons per...