Improvement of Technological Indicators of Semi-Finished Products of Sugar Production from Bacterially Infected Sugar Beet

Introduction. Technological aids play a special role in sugar production technology, but their complex effectiveness requires a comprehensive and in-depth study. The research objective was to establish the patterns of change in the technological indicators of semi-finished products obtained from bacterially infected sugar beets with the combined use of an enzyme preparation, antimicrobial agent, and defoamer. Study objects and methods. The study involved such semi-finished products as juice (diffusion, pre-defecated, first and second saturation) and syrup, the quality of which was determined according to standard methods. The laboratory experiment was carried out on the basis of the second-order D-optimal Box-Behnken plan for three factors at three levels. Results and discussion. The research revealed positive dynamics of the following technological indicators: sucrose content, deposition rate, turbidity, chromaticity, and general purification effect. The sugar beet had the second degree of infection with mucous bacteriosis. Purified juice underwent lime-carbon dioxide purification and thickening under the combination of enzyme preparation Dextrasept 2, antimicrobial agent Betasept, and antifoam agent Voltes FSS 93. The greatest increase in sucrose at the level of 1.1% by DM weight was confirmed by a higher overall effect of purification of diffusion juice (2.2 %). The values of turbidity of the purified juice and syrup were below the threshold values. The low values resulted from the increase in the sedimentation rate of the pre-defective juice and the juice of the first saturation by an average of 4.1 and 3.2 times, respectively, due to the effective removal of high molecular weight compounds. The share of the enzyme preparation was 40–71%, antimicrobial agent – 19–49%, defoamer – 1.6–6.5%. The values of the multicriteria optimization parameter corresponded with technological indicators. The optimal combination (per 1000 tons of beets) included 6–8 kg of Dextrasept 2, 1.5–2.0 kg of Betasept, and 15–20 kg of Voltes FSS 93. As a result, the yield of white sugar increased by 0.25%. Conclusion. The regression dependencies can be recommended for predicting the main technological indicators of semi-finished products. The resulting data makes it possible to determine the effectiveness of the combined use of an enzyme preparation, antimicrobial agent, and defoamer in sugar production. Further research will identify the patterns of multifactorial interaction of these preparations.