What exactly is in those big tanks?
The Cosun Beet Company factories in Dinteloord and Vierverlaten are once again buzzing with activity. The reason? The start of the thick juice campaign. The what? The thick juice campaign. This is the time when we start processing all the thick juice stored during the beet campaign
25% processed into thick juice
Of all beets supplied during the beet campaign, 75% are processed directly into granulated sugar between September and mid-January. The other 25% is stored as thick juice. This is the preliminary stage in the production of granulated sugar and consists of water containing 68% sugar. We store the thick juice in large tanks next to our factories so that we can spread production and have an adequate sugar supply all year round.
Thick juice tanks
The thick juice tanks can be easily seen from the road, especially in Dinteloord. There are three large white round tanks located a short distance from our factory. As mentioned, a quarter of all sugar produced is transported here as thick juice during the beet campaign. This takes place through a 25 cm-wide underground pipeline. Right next to the tank, you can see the pipeline rise from the ground and enter the tank.
From watery to syrupy
On being pumped into the tanks, the thick juice is still warm from the evaporation process that converts the thin juice (water with 17% sugar) into thick juice. At this stage, it is a watery brown liquid. It is then pumped upwards into the tank, where it gradually cools. The liquid becomes more syrupy and in terms of thickness, is comparable to concentrated beverage syrup.
Thick juice is best left alone
As with any syrup or jam, thick juice does not require any preservatives thanks to the high concentration of sugar. In other words, we do not need to add anything for long-term storage. But what we do need to do is closely monitor the pH value and moisture content of the air in the tanks. If the air becomes too moist, for example, water can form on top of the thick juice. This is something we want to prevent, so we keep a close eye on the tanks.
Thick juice campaign
The tanks start to be filled from around the third day of the beet campaign. By the end of the campaign, they are filled to the very top. All of the tanks in Dinteloord and Vierverlaten have a combined volume of around 480 million kilos of thick juice. We then process this thick juice into granulated sugar in May and June. We call this time period the ‘thick juice campaign’, which lasts around seven weeks.
Major cleaning operation
During the thick juice campaign, the thick juice is returned to the factory through the same pipeline, where it is reheated to evaporate all remaining water and within a few hours, is converted into granulated sugar. Once all thick juice has been transported out of the tanks, a major cleaning operation begins. This keeps the cleaning crew busy for the entire summer. Everyone works hard to get everything ready for the next beet campaign – when the tanks are once again filled with new thick juice!