Sugar Beet, Energy Beet, and Industrial Beet - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 93

priming and pelleting seed for commercial distribution. Stand establishment can be
dramatically improved by such extensive processing.
Market Challenges/Barriers to Commercialization/
Opportunities
The market for energy and industrial beets is in its infancy. A number of studies
have been conducted regarding feasibility, and in some situations, there is benefit to
using beets as an energy feedstock [ 20 , 16 , 109 ]. The “right” mix of technologies,
inputs, as well as the path to development depends on the local growing region,
availability of complementary bioenergy feedstocks, familiarity with growing and
processing beets, and availability of seed. Whether used as a sole feedstock or in
mixed biofuel systems, a steady supply of fresh or processed beets needs to be
available throughout the year. This is unlikely in growing areas exposed to
prolonged freezing conditions, although growers in milder climates may benefit
from improvements to frost tolerance of sugar beet that could allow autumn sowing
and spring harvesting. Post-harvest loss of sucrose due to increased respiration is
significant in warmer climates, and direct delivery and processing of roots at the
factory are common in areas such as Imperial Valley of California and Egypt
[ 110 ]. Post-harvest decay is also a significant risk to beets during storage.
Dehydrating beets on a commercial scale is possible and may solve long-term
storage issues and reduce transportation costs, but at additional energy inputs and
expense to factories. Pressed, cooked, and filtered juice could be stored during the
off-season as well. However, the potential for energy beets may be greater as a
biomass input when other crops are unavailable, such as where cool and warm
season crops can be grown in the same growing region at different times of the year.
In factories where white sugar is already processed from beets, the non-sucrose
materials may be used for alcohol or biogas production. Of the molasses (liquid)
and pulp (solid) coproducts, molasses has the greatest energy conversion content,
but supplies are generally insufficient for biofuel production year-round [ 111 ,
112 ]. Plus, these uses would compete with high-value sugar beet coproducts like
glycine betaine and perhaps other nitrogenous compounds which are currently
extracted from molasses, although perhaps their isolation from vinasse would
complement existing uses while providing ethanol as well. A comprehensive
assessment of the economic value and environmental impacts of inputs and prod-
ucts of sugar beet production will be required in each situation to determine the
most favorable scenario. The potential of sugar beet as an energy and industrial crop
has improved greatly in recent years. Breeding for specific energy and industrial
components beyond that of sucrose production will likely succeed and perhaps lead
to new beet crops with new and specific germplasm improvement goals. We can
expect steady yield gains of energy and industrial feedstocks from beets.