Betafib® is a 100% natural product based on sugar beet pulp with exceptional rheological properties. In various water-based applications where formulation stability and flow behaviour are of importance Betafib® could be applied, such as paints, detergents, shampoos, food products and many more.
Valorisation
Royal COSUN, one of the leading companies in terms of sugar beet processing in Europe, has been working on this innovative product for many years now. Its primary processing revolves around the extraction of sugar from the beet. During this process, a large side stream volume of the remaining sugar beet pulp is normally further valorised as low value feed and/or biogas.
In 2015, the company received funding from the public-private partnership Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) for the demonstration project PULP2VALUE. Within the framework of this project, Royal COSUN designed and constructed the first sugar beet pulp biorefinery to create more valuable products from this side-stream.
Major residual stream
Sugar beet pulp accounts for approx. 13 million tonnes in Europe and is a major residual stream from the sugar industry. The PULP2VALUE approach intends to demonstrate an integrated and cost-effective cascading biorefinery system to refine sugar beet pulp and isolate high value products for detergents, personal care, oil and gas, paints and coatings as well as composites.
After four years of intensive research, the first commercial successes have been achieved. In 2018, several liquid cleaning products with Betafib® as rheology modifier/structurant have been successfully introduced to the market.
Partners in PULP2VALUE alongside Royal Cosun are: Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, Orineo, Bio Base Europe Plant, Refresco Gerber UK and the nova Institute.
