2023-12-27 16:33:00
The 2023-2024 beet campaign is not made easier by the climatic conditions. At the Raffinerie Tirlemontoise, we deplore a reduction in the quality of the beets arriving at Longchamps before transferring the juice by pipeline to the Wanze sugar refinery. “We have been doing quite well since the campaign was launched at the end of September. But, over the past 8 days, the quality of the beets has deteriorated significantly, notes Philippe De Flines, the director of the Wanze sugar refinery. The cause is the November frosts and incessant rains. The soils are spongy and make extracting beets very difficult. This causes delay and field storage is also complicated by these conditions. Also, the beets are much more covered in soil. All this has caused the formation of substances in the root which lead to a strong breakdown of the beet. However, these molecules prevent us from properly filtering the juice.”
Sticky material on filters
The Wanze sugar refinery has had to face major filtration difficulties since December 17. Despite the usual processes using hot water, lime and carbon dioxide to remove impurities in beet juice, the toughness of the extra molecules leaves sticky material on the filters. “We had to shut down everything in Wanze on Wednesday December 20 to be able to clean the filters, continues Philippe De Flines. Since then, we have only been running at half capacity. We continue to clean our filters because unfortunately the quality of the beets will not improve. Despite the additional measures we are putting in place, I do not think we will return to full strength by the end of the campaign. We are doing everything we can to reach 80% of our usual activity, but we will not exceed them.”
End of campaign postponed
All this will also have an inevitable impact on the initial agenda which saw the beet campaign end on January 20. “We are now talking more regarding January 28, assesses the director of the Wanze sugar factory, certainly upset but nevertheless optimistic regarding the results to be drawn from this 2023-2024 campaign. From the beginning, we have seen that the sugar content of beets is low. But, this should be offset by the large quantities harvested. When it comes time to take stock, I think we can talk regarding an average campaign. Not exceptional, but not bad either.”
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