Sugar Beet Storage Protected By Data Logging

CLEVELAND - Nov. 21, 2019 - PRLog -- CAS DataLoggers provided the data logging solution for UK sugar company British Sugar, which was searching for a high-tech way to prevent their sugar beet storage stock from deteriorating while waiting to be processed into white sugar bound for kitchens and tables around the world. Harvested sugar beets remain alive and as they respire, converting sugar into carbon dioxide and water, they generate heat. If the temperature inside a mountain of sugar beets—called a clamp –rose above 10°C (50°F), there was a dramatic increase in sugar loss.

The customer installed 6 modified Grant Squirrel 2010 Universal Input Data Loggers into widespread areas of its test clamps. A powerful yet portable data logger designed for versatility and ease of use, the Squirrel 2010 features 4 to 8 universal analog inputs measuring current, voltage, resistance, and temperature, along with 8 digital inputs. 2 alarm outputs and 2 pulse counter inputs are also standard, with measurements made at a basic accuracy of 0.1% and an operating temperature of -20°C to 65°C (-4°F to 149°F).

Easily programmable via four integral push buttons and large graphical display, the Squirrel data loggers were capable of many routine data logging tasks, including more demanding applications requiring up to 10 readings per second on one channel. The temperature data could be instantly downloaded onto a conventional PC via USB connectivity in an easy-to-analyze graphical form.

British Sugar looked closely at how sugar loss was affected by temperature and tested several new methods of controlling temperatures throughout the beet clamps. The data from the Squirrels enabled researchers to experiment with a variety of plastic and poly felt materials to insulate their clamps from the worst of the weather and with building effective ventilation shafts directly into the clamps to keep them cool.

British Sugar realized several major benefits after installing the SQ2010 data loggers in their sugar beet storage grounds. The portable and compact loggers were essential for recording highly accurate measurements throughout the clamps' interior and exterior, and their proven durability kept them recording despite the harsh weather. Following the successful temperature-control experiments, more efficient storage methods were developed resulting in extending the amount of time the company had to process the annual crop from 110 days to 150 days. Those extra 40 days greatly enhanced the cost-effectiveness of the process and gave the company a big advantage; across Europe, sugar processors were still locked into processing their stores of sugar beets within 110 days to avoid major deterioration of the crop.

For more information on Grant Squirrel Loggers, contact a CAS DataLogger Applications Specialist at (800) 956-4437 or visit us at https://www.dataloggerinc.com/