Partnership to scale-up natural betaine production process

Life-sciences equipment manufacturer Novasep Process, and food and feed ingredients maker Danisco are to scale-up a new production process that will produce natural betaine using vinasse, a byproduct of sugar-beet-derived bioethanol.

Betaine, which is globally used as an animal-feed ingredient, is currently in short supply, since market demand outweighs production.

As well as increasing the availability of betaine, the new process will allow the betaine-extracted bioethanol residues to be further recycled and sold as crop fertiliser.

Novasep Process is responsible for the engineering of the new plant and will provide the complete process line, which combines Danisco’s proprietary chromatographic technology − known as NS2P − with membrane and evaporation steps.

Danisco and Novasep will provide technical support for the betaine production plant to De Smet Engineering and Contractors, who are in charge of constructing it.

Tereos, a sugar, starch and bioethanol producer, will operate the plant at its facility in Origny, France. The betaine from the new plant will be sold by Danisco as Betafin.