A Dutch-language version of my Bejo Seminar report is available here.
Category Archives: Copywriting
A World of Carrots in One Room
More than 550 people from around the world applied to attend Bejo’s Carrot Symposium in September 2017. In fact, so many people were interested in the event which had the theme of Taste, Health & Innovation that we had to split the event into two groups, with delegates from Eastern Europe and Asia attending on the first day, and those from the rest of the world (principally Western Europe, the Americas and Australasia) taking part on the second day.
As you would expect, networking was also a key part of the day and the breaks were packed with people catching up with old acquaintances, making new contacts and discussing the presentations in more depth. Activities also spilled over the rest of Bejo’s annual Open Days, with carrot harvesting demonstrations and a carrot taste trial also being carried out on the Demo Fields, alongside demonstrations of the latest carrot varieties from our extensive global portfolio.
IMPORTANT VEGETABLE GLOBALLY
Carrots are one of the most important vegetable crops globally, with China producing the largest area (130,000 ha), followed by the United States (78,000 ha), Russia (25,000 ha) and Brazil (22,250 ha). As you would expect, with so many different types and varieties available, carrots are sold in a variety of different formats around the world. However, despite the diversity, Nantes types are the most popular representing 40% of total global production. Other types such as Imperator, Flakkee, Berlicum, Chantenay and Kuroda are particularly popular in different regions (such as Kuroda in Japan) or for different uses (such as Imperator and Berlicum types for processing.
Another reason for the diversity of carrot types and production methods is that they are almost unique in being a vegetable that can be used for every part of a meal, something that was demonstrated during the lunch break when carrot soup, carrot slaw and salad, and carrot cake were all available. With carrots also forming the basis of many juice drinks and or smoothies, they really are the most versatile food available.
Globally a third of all carrot production is exported, while for countries like the Netherlands, Israel and Denmark, up to half their total crop is sold abroad. Maintaining such markets require attention to detail at all stages of the growing and supply chain, beginning with seed quality and sowing the crop. “We don’t sell carrots, we sell reliability,” stressed Israeli Crop Consultant Amos Yeger, adding that most of the country’s exports are sold to Eastern Europe, and Russia in particular.
BREEDING PROGRAM
There is increasing interest in Imperator types in different regions around the world, but Canada and the United States of America are still the main market for this type of carrot. To cater for this market Bejo is working on a dedicated Imperator breeding program, alongside its other carrot breeding, which is being led by US-based breeder carrot breeder Rob Maxwell. “We have got the shape and the eating quality, but I want to improve disease resistance, especially given the growth in organic production that we are seeing,” he said. The program has led to a number of new varieties, with a number of new varieties, including four ‘cut and peel’ types due to be released commercially over the next two years.
Q&A’s speakers
Audience view during the symposium
Carrots in Japan
Networking during the symposiumCAROTENOIDS STIMULATE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND CAN PROTECT THE BODY FROM THE EFFECTS OF SUNLIGHT AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
While breeders like Rob and Bejo’s Carrot Breeding Manager Wim Zwaan are busy selecting the healthiest and best new varieties, it falls to experts in the Seed Pathology and Seed Technology departments of Bejo to ensure that the seed of these varieties which is supplied to growers around the world is both healthy, and of the highest quality, including any treatments which the grower may specify. Bejo’s Seed Pathology Research Lead, Bert Compaan, explained that a wide range of different tests are performed on every batch of seed from around the world before anything is sold. Bejo’s seed laboratories offer a range of treatments, including disinfection, coating and priming. The latest innovation is B-Mox seed treatment, a type of enhanced priming which improves germination, establishment, and ultimately crop quality, and carrots are one of the first crops in Bejo’s portfolio to benefit from the technology. “B-Mox goes further than basic priming,” explained Bert. “B-Mox is a form of enhanced priming in combination with an innovative seed coating which gives better uniformity and an improved pack out to the grown crop.”
In order for breeders and seed scientists to keep ahead of an ever-developing disease threat, it is important that plant pathologists share their latest findings. It was therefore extremely interesting to hear Dr Adrian Fox of Fera Science Ltd in the United Kingdom discussing the latest work on carrot viruses which his team has undertaken. He explained that until 2012 there had only been a number of limited studies in Europe, with most of the focus on the Carrot Motley Dwarf complex of viruses and Carrot Yellow Leaf virus.
More recently attention has turned to identifying the causes of internal browning of carrot roots which is caused by viruses and can lead to significant rejections of fresh and processed products. At the same time Carrot Necrotic Dieback Virus (which has been known as Parsnip Yellow Fleck Virus until very recently) has also become more economically important for growers. With some plants having multiple virus infections, “Trying to separate which viruses lead to which symptoms can be difficult,” Dr Fox stressed, pointing out that there is lots more work for pathologists to do in order to fully understand these complex diseases.
HEALTH REASONS
There are sound health reasons for including carrots in the diet, and Dutch Doctor and Nutritionist Dr Richard De Leth explained several of them. For example, carotenoids stimulate the immune system and can protect the body from the effects of sunlight and cardiovascular disease. As part of a high fibre diet carrots can also help to reduce the risk of diseases including type-2 diabetes, colon cancer and stroke.
SUPPLY CHAIN
To help promote consumption Bejo works closely with all parts of the supply chain explained Marketing & Communication Advisor Danielle Bruin. “We work with partners on various projects in the chain and our sales staff and breeders are in close contact with each other. We prefer to develop and introduce new products and concepts with our customers.” Some of these recent introductions, which are becoming more popular around the world in different markets, include coloured and snacking carrots, as well as a number of varieties suitable for Bejo’s Cool Carrot Candy concept. These are varieties such as Mokum, White Satin and Ibiza, which have their own consistent and characteristic sweet and aromatic flavour with a crunchy bite and eye-catching appearance.
Picture Credits: Bejo Zaden BV.
Read the original article here.
Understanding energy storage for UK growers
As the UK’s electricity grid becomes more complicated, with increased amounts of embedded renewable energy generation, managing it to maintain the balance between electricity supply and demand becomes increasingly complex. In order to do this, new technologies such as battery storage are being developed, but can growers utilise them to save money or generate extra income?
That was one of the main questions posed by a recent GrowSave event held at Kenilworth ahead of the 2017 Tomato Growers Association Conference. Tim Pratt of FEC Energy gave a comprehensive overview of the various mechanisms used to supply and balance the grid, together with the potential incomes and challenges associated with each, while Jon Swain looked at the particular issues associated with battery storage for short-term frequency balancing. For growers with access to a grid connection, hosting one of these facilities may be attractive, but the economics are marginal at best and it is important that any growers considering this look carefully at the costs and contract details.
Oli Coe explained that heat storage is more likely to be of immediate benefit to greenhouse growers. Heat storage systems based around water tanks are frequently included as part of greenhouse heating systems, particularly where biomass boilers or CO2 generation is involved, where they allow optimal boiler efficiency. However, FEC Energy has found that many systems operate below optimum efficiency, and that simple steps can be taken to improve this.
With additional presentations from Priva and Certhon, the GrowSave Energy Storage workshop provided growers with plenty of food for thought, as well as some take-home practical messages to ensure the efficiency of their own heating systems.
Image credit: GrowSave.
Read the original article at GrowSave.
Bejo Oped Days are a ‘must attend’ event
Once again the world’s vegetable industry descended on the small Dutch town of Warmenhuizen for Bejo’s annual Open Days, held between the 26th and 30th September. The must sees: our True Potato seed variety Oliver F1, B-Mox, our bee program, carrot experts from all over the world presenting at our Carrot Symposium and a glimpse into the future of Bejo! In 2017 more people than ever visited from around the world, with guests coming from across Asia, the Americas, Africa, Australasia and of course Europe….
My full article, written for Bejo Zaden can be found here.
Picture Credit: Bejo Zaden B.V.The benefits of on-site heat and power generation for food companies
Sustainability has never been higher on the agenda for food and drink companies than it is now. Not only does operating in an ethical and environmentally responsible way make sense for both planet and pocket, but it’s clear that this is what consumers want, too. Research from Globescan revealed that 92 per cent of shoppers think food companies should focus their efforts on securing the future sustainability of food, with two-thirds also believing that farmers should be paid more for their produce. So, what more could the UK’s food producers be doing to increase their sustainability credentials?
Making the most of waste
In recent years, some of the country’s most forward thinking food companies have developed a truly circular approach to resource use. Alongside minimising the volume of waste they generate, they are also turning the unavoidable fraction that does occur into renewable energy, for use in their on-site operations. Anaerobic digestion (or AD) – in which organic matter is naturally broken down to produce energy and biofertiliser – has taken big strides in the UK over the past seven years, with over 540 AD plants now in operation.
While the vast majority of the country’s AD facilities treat sewage sludge, agricultural feedstocks or commercial/municipal food waste, almost 40 facilities are on-site industrial plants. Together, these generate over 50 MWe-e from a variety of process residues, ranging from vegetable peelings and sugar beet pulp to liquid malt waste and whisky draff. The benefits for the companies operating these plants are multiple – reduced waste disposal costs; reduced energy costs; security of energy supply, with reduced reliance on fossil-fuel derived power; carbon mitigation; superior green credentials; and creation of a nutrient-rich biofertiliser. And the fact that these plants have an on-site use for the power they produce means they are exempt from the current crisis in renewable energy incentives which is affecting plants that export power to the grid.
Take the heat
However, any AD facility that wants to maximise its returns also needs to be making use of its full heat output, not just its power output. The AD process generates plenty of surplus heat – most commonly, heat produced by biogas combustion in a combined heat and power (CHP) unit, but also via digestate pre-heating, pasteurisation, biogas upgrading to biomethane and digestate concentration. Ensuring this heat is used either within the AD process itself or within other on-site operations can make a big difference to a plant’s efficiency and therefore profitability.
By using heat exchangers within an AD plant, surplus heat can be taken from one process or place and transferred to another. Common everyday examples include domestic radiators (which transfer heat from a boiler to a room) and car radiators (which take heat away from the engine). Two of the most common types supplied to AD plants by HRS Heat Exchangers are Plate Heat Exchangers and Tubular Heat Exchangers. However, there are many different models and refinements and it is advisable to consult a specialist who can explain the benefits of different types and perhaps offer different solutions.
Potential uses for heat in the AD process
When it comes to making full use of the heat, there are a number of options with the AD process itself, including: preheating feedstock; for pasteurising; to reduce the volume of digestate; or to upgrade biogas to biomethane. For on-site plants within the food industry, it can also be used for space heating, cooking, heating liquids, or pasteurising and sterilising foodstuffs. In addition, large sites may have significant office and staff facilities, where there may be the scope to install district heating systems.
As the demand on resources increases, there will be a greater need for food companies to demonstrate sustainability across all areas of their business. On-site AD, where full use is made of both the heat and power generated by waste materials, offers an obvious solution.
This post first appeared on PandCT.com.
HRS pasteurisation system helps Shanks achieve PAS 110 certification
Pasteurisation technology supplied by HRS Heat Exchangers has helped international waste-to-product business Shanks Group plc, gain PAS 110 certification for its Westcott Park anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in Buckinghamshire.
Publicly Available Specification 110 (‘PAS 110’) is a demanding industry specification which verifies the quality of digestate (the organic biofertiliser output from the AD process) and covers the product quality, standards for input materials and the management system for the AD process.
This important development, which was achieved in April this year,means that the digestate produced by Westcott Park is of a consistent high quality which can be sold and applied as an agricultural fertiliser.The facility also received a Certificate of Compliance by Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd, meaning that the digestate can be used by both conventional and organic farmers to provide nutrients and valuable organic matter to their crops.
The Westcott Park facility has the capacity to process 48,000 tonnes of food waste, from sources including the retail and catering sectors, each year and supplies the National Grid with enough electricity to power 6,000 homes.
As well as setting limits for physical contaminants, such as plastics, the PAS 110 standard requires pasteurisation of the material before or after it is digested at the AD facility. HRS designed and supplied a HRS 3 Tank Batch Sludge Pasteuriser System to pre-pasteurise the food waste feedstock before it is fed into one of the three digester tanks.
The system makes use of heat from the facility’s existing combined heat and power engine which would otherwise be wasted, helping to maximise the overall efficiency of the site. It also recovers heat from the hot feedstock which has been pasteurised and uses it to pre-warm the feedstock as it enters the pasteuriser system. This provides energy savings of up to 70 per cent.
Ray Nattrass, Head of Process Design & Engineering at Shanks Waste Management, said: “We chose the HRS system because they offered a complete pasteurisation solution -we wanted the tanks, pumps, control system, control logic and everything built into that.
HRS demonstrated that they had the ability to design the facility as a standalone solution. It was their ability to do that which was key for us.”
Peter Eglinton, Managing Director of Shanks’ Municipal Division, commented:
“I am delighted that our Westcott Park AD facility has achieved this quality standard for our digestate product.By achieving PAS 110, we can assure our customers that our nutrient-rich digestate is recognised as best-in-class.By deploying the digestate back to land we are making more from waste and enhancing our position in the market as a leading waste-to-product company.”
Matt Hale, International Sales Manager for HRS, added:
“We are delighted to have helped Shanks achieve this important milestone in the commissioning and development of their AD facility at Westcott Park. Our 3 Tank Batch Sludge Pasteuriser System ensured that the facility complied with the requirements for treating Animal By-Products when it was fully commissioned last year. Now it has been an integral part of achieving PAS110 certification.”
This article was first posted on the HRS Website in August 2015.
Farmer consortium chooses HRS to pasteurise digestate
A 5MW farmer-owned anaerobic digestion plant in Suffolk has chosenHRS Heat Exchangers to supply a new system to pasteurise its digestate; the valuable organic biofertiliser produced by the process
Agri-Gen, which is based near Woodbridge in Suffolk, is owned by a consortium of six local farmers who locally grow some 22,000 acres of arable and root crops, such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips and sugar beet. The anaerobic digestion plant is fed with a mixture of agricultural materials including rye, sugar beet, beet pulp, vegetable out-grades and maize, although the farms try to minimise the amount of maize grown. The energy produced by the plant is used, amongst other things, to dry and cold store crops such as potatoes and onions.
Since it began producing biogas four years ago the company has focused on expanding and running the plant, but is now in a position to carry out a number of improvements to the process, including the additional of pasteurisation to improve the biosecurity of the digestate fertiliser which is returned to the farms’ fields.
Graham Thorne of Agri-Gen explains: “The majority of material that feeds our plant is taken from our own land and the digestate goes back to our own land. However, we want to be absolutely certain that we protect our land base, so we do not want to transport crop diseases, pests or weeds across our land base. This is about making sure we don’t have problems.
“We have been looking at pasteurisation, and have been talking to HRS about their different technologies, since the beginning. However, like all AD plants there is a limit to how much capital we have available, and our first priority was to grow the AD business and be sustainable. Now we are in a position where we can do some of the things we have always planned, such as adding a pasteurisation unit.”
The unit in question is an HRS 3-Tank Batch Sludge Pasteuriser which will treat the digestate between the main digester and storage. The use of a three-tank system means that while one tank is being heated and pasteurised, another is being emptied and the third is being filled, which results in a continuous operation.
HRS International Sales Manager Matt Hale comments: “One of the reasons AgriGen selected the HRS system is that we were able to configure it to match the amount of heat that they had available from their system in a way which fitted in with their existing layout. Although the AD plant uses around 70,000 tonnes of feedstock a year, some of the digestate is recycled when it passes through the presses, and so the pasteuriser is specified to cope with treating 80-85,000 tonnes of digestate each year.”
Once treated the digestate fertiliser is separated into liquid and solid fractions before being applied to the farms’ fields using a number of techniques, such as injection and spreading of the solid fraction, where it acts as a valuable source of organic nutrients.
It is anticipated that the new pasteuriser will be installed and fully commissioned by the end of March 2016.
This story first appeared on Energy Management on 3 February 2016.
Optimising the anaerobic digestion process
Matt Hale, international sales manager at HRS Heat Exchangers, offers some anaerobic digestion process optimisation tips for the food industry
Anaerobic digestion (AD) has become a popular technology in the food processing industry recently, with over 400 AD plants now generating more than 500 MW of energy. However, the potential for UK AD is much greater – according to the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), up to 80 TWh of methane (equivalent to 30% of the UK’s household gas demand).
AD utilises waste streams and co-products, often removing the need to employ other waste treatment technologies. It can provide heat and electricity for processing operations and also produces a valuable end product in the form of digestate biofertiliser.
With recent changes to support schemes for renewable energy in the UK, it is important to make sure that every available watt of power is utilised. The best time to assess overall plant efficiency is early in the planning process so that equipment can be appropriately specified. However, the overall efficiency of most AD plants can be further improved in some way by taking into account some common considerations.
Assess your entire process from obtaining feedstock to exporting digestate: The first step of any optimisation process is to understand what you are (or will be) doing. Analyse each step to see where wastage may occur and how it could be improved. Would it be useful to pre-warm feedstock before it enters the digester or, if this is already being done, would it be possible to re-use heat already generated elsewhere? Could value be added to the digestate through pasteurisation or concentration?
Maximise the efficiency of all processes, from energy generation to heat exchange: Check the efficiencies of all processes in terms of thermal transfer, electrical output or gas generation. Keeping equipment, particularly heat exchange surfaces, clean and maintained will help it to operate at maximum efficiency. When specifying equipment over the operational life of plant the effects of even a small difference in overall efficiency could be considerable. Likewise, reducing the volume of digestate produced by the plant may create other efficiencies, such as reducing the amount of storage required or transport requirements.
Re-use heat which would otherwise be wasted: Any large quantity of heat can be used for something, including the heat from the cooling loop of the CHP engine and from heat exchangers. Pre-heating feedstock may increase the efficiency of the digester, while if you are already doing so, using heat from elsewhere in the process will be cheaper (and greener) than creating heat just for this purpose. Pasteurising the digestate using recycled heat circumvents the need to install an additional heat source such as a biomass boiler, which could add hundreds of thousands of pounds to a project.
Aim for continuous processing: Having to stop and start a plant can be inefficient, even if the process is automated. Using multi-tank pasteurisation or digestate concentration systems means that while one tank is being heat treated the other/s can be filling or emptying, ensuring that the rest of the AD process is not interrupted.
Maximise the quality and value of your digestate: Digestate should be a key product of AD and not something which needs to be dealt with. Maximising its value in terms of nutrients, ease of use and quality will also help to increase its financial value to your business. Pasteurising the digestate not only complies with PAS110, but can act to reassure buyers. Producing digestate of a suitable consistency for agricultural use can also increase its value and usefulness to farmers and growers.
Minimise downtime and maintenance: If the plant is not running, then it isn’t generating energy or a return on investment. While routine maintenance and servicing is essential to keep any equipment running well, you shouldn’t have to keep stopping to clean pipes or replace filters. You should also expect equipment to have a reasonable service life and not be prematurely damaged, for example by corrosion.
This story first appeared on Industrial Compliance on 26 January 2016.
Farmer consortium selects HRS kit to pasteurise digestate
A 5MW farmer-owned anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Suffolk, UK, has selected HRS Heat Exchangers to supply a new system to pasteurise its digestate — the organic biofertiliser produced by the process.
Agri-Gen, which is based near Woodbridge in Suffolk, is owned by a consortium of six local farmers who locally grow some 22,000 acres of arable and root crops, such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips and sugar beet.
The AD plant is fed with a mixture of agricultural materials including rye, sugar beet, beet pulp, vegetable out-grades and maize, although the farms try to minimise the amount of maize grown.
The energy produced by the plant is used, amongst other things, to dry and cold store crops such as potatoes and onions.
Since it began producing biogas four years ago the company has focused on expanding and running the plant, but is now in a position to carry out a number of improvements to the process, including the additional of pasteurisation to improve the biosecurity of the digestate fertiliser which is returned to the farms’ fields.
This article first appeared on Bioenergy Insight on 22 January 2016.
HRS showcase ultra-efficient heat transfer techniques
HRS Heat Exchangers, Stand CR7, The Thermal Engineering Show
HRS Heat Exchangers will showcase the latest heat transfer techniques, such as high efficiency corrugated tube technology and heat recovery, on stand CR7 at the Thermal Engineering Show in Derby, 2 June.
Using corrugated tubes provides higher rates of heat transfer and greater efficiency in a smaller package compared to smooth tube heat exchangers, which is why HRS use them as standard across its comprehensive range of tubular heat exchangers. Depending on the application, up to 75% of the heat used can be recaptured after the heat transfer process, result in energy savings of 40% or more.
HRS produces a comprehensive range of corrugated tube heat exchangers for a variety of industries including agriculture, food and drink production, waste management, water and gas treatment, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy to name some of them.
“The exact requirements of a heat exchanger vary considerably according to its situation, but using corrugated tubes in our double tube and multi-tube heat exchangers provides users with a number of common benefits over other systems,” explains Matt Hale, HRS International Sales Manager.
“Increasing the efficiency of the heat transfer means that less area is required to achieve the same result, so heat exchangers can be shorter and therefore cheaper. Less energy is required for pumping which adds to the overall savings and reusing captured heat enables businesses to save energy elsewhere in their process.”
For more challenging applications, for example heat exchange of viscous fluids which require larger heat transfer or in industries and materials with high rates of fouling, HRS have developed a range of scraped surface heat exchangers. These remove the fouling layer from the surface of the tubes during operation in order to maintain performance efficiency and maintain product quality.
For 35 years HRS heat exchangers have been specified by plant developers and end users around the world in applications including diaries, food manufacturing, anaerobic digestion plants, waste water treatment, chemicals and many others. Units can also be retrofitted by operators looking to improve plant efficiency or as part of ongoing expansion due to their low maintenance requirements, long service life and overall value for money.
This article first appeared on Process & Control Today on 7 March 2016.