Pro-Pec – Customized pectins from sugar beet for pharmaceutical applications

The Pro-Pec project is researching the suitable extraction of pectins from sugar beet to directly gain pectins for pharmaceutical applications.

Sugar beet is a domestic crop that is cultivated for the production of sugar. After sugar extraction, however, the remaining sugar beet residues are merely used as low‑grade animal feed.

Aim of the Pro‑Pec project is the development of an extraction process of pectins from processed sugar beet in order to obtain pectins with specific properties that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry. To this end, tests were initially carried out on a laboratory scale, followed by a test with the most promising conditions on a pilot scale.

After pectin extraction, further research on sugar beet for its use in biogas production will be conducted. The aim is to increase the material value of sugar beet after industrial sugar extraction and to obtain new, specific products.

We would like to thank the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for funding the“ProPec” project, promotional reference 03WIR5312A, as part of the  “BioZ – Biobasierte Innovationen aus Zeitz und Mitteldeutschland” alliance, supported by the “WIR!2-Bündnis”.