Council of Canada (NSERC)
Lethbridge College partnered with Lantic Inc. to use an automated aeration system to provide uniform airflow to the piles through perforated ducts to keep the piles uniformly cool, using the cooling potential of ambient air.
Alberta sugar beet growers produce and supply the best quality raw material to the sugar plant; however, due to extreme weather conditions in south Alberta, growers face major environmental challenges leading to significant postharvest quality losses. Respiration is a major cause of in-storage spoilage as it converts sucrose into respiratory carbon dioxide, moisture and heat generation.
Minimizing storage losses will result in direct economic benefit to the growers as increased storage life will increase the processing capacity of the plant, which means growers can increase their crop acreage. This will result in increased profitability and suitability of Canadian farmers to remain competitive with their counterparts in other major sugar producing countries.