Olga Bulai, CIS Office and Region Manager, G. Larsson Starch Technology
Potatoes as an agricultural crop grown for the purpose of processing into starch are often considered unpromising - which is worth 13-20% of the starch content against 67-70% in corn and wheat. But citing these figures, people do not think about the fact that, in terms of starch, potatoes are able to give much more per hectare of sown area than supposedly "high-starchy" wheat and corn.
Yes, the production of potato starch is seasonal, and with this in mind, grain processing is a more stable business, however
It is impossible to completely abandon the use of potato starch, it has special properties that are important for many industries.
Modern European potato processing enterprises are entire agro-industrial complexes. In the battle for profitability, every percentage of starch is important for them (it is estimated that with an increase in starch content by 1%, profitability increases by about 5%), hence the use of special technical varieties, the centralized provision of farmers with high-quality planting material, and the introduction of the most advanced agricultural practices.
For a long time, the goal of such enterprises was to obtain the maximum amount of starch and bring the product to the highest quality. But the leading manufacturers, having reached the “ceiling” in these areas, thought about what else they can do to increase the profitability of production and their competitiveness in the market. Their eyes turned to products that had long been considered by-products - this is potato juice and potato fiber.
About ten years ago, these products were usually sold as production waste: raw unwashed fiber was used for cattle feed, juice
pumped into storage pools and used to irrigate fields.
Such an application is allowed even now, but much more profitable solutions have appeared. So, washed and dried potato
fiber has proven to be a valuable dietary fiber, free of gluten and other allergens, with applications in the bakery and meat processing industries.
And processors learned how to get food-grade potato protein from juice. Strictly speaking, the technology for precipitating the protein contained in potato juice was developed relatively long ago, but the final product, a very valuable protein in terms of its amino acid composition, was initially suitable only for fodder purposes.
In recent years, specialists have done a lot of work, and now, through the use of membrane filtration technologies and gentle drying on spray dryers, it has become possible to produce a water-soluble protein with the highest functional properties.
At the same time, the fraction of juice remaining after the extraction of the protein is not utilized, but is subjected to evaporation. The result of the operation is
obtaining protamilassa (a liquefied mineral fertilizer, highly valued in the practice of growing organic products) and a distillate that can be used in production, thus reducing water intake from a water canal or underground sources.
The described full cycle is closed, which allows the production to function without causing damage to the environment. Examples of such enterprises are large high-tech factories in Sweden, Denmark and Germany, often located within the city. Thus, the development of technologies and equipment in the leading countries for the production of potato starch in Europe has led to both a reduction in environmental costs and an increase in income, because protein (1600-3000 euros / ton or more, depending on quality), fiber (about 1800 euros/ton) and protamilassa (40 euros/ton) form a significant share of the profit.
Of course, such projects are characterized by high capital intensity. And in the CIS countries, this is far from the only problem with which
processing plants collide. Enterprises are experiencing difficulties due to a lack of high-quality raw materials and an unformed market, not to mention currency and other risks.
But still, we hope that the example of European production will soon be broadcast to the post-Soviet space. In any case, the beginning has already been made - with the launch of the Central Plains Group - CPG Ukraine "Green Planet" project. "Green Planet" is an enterprise for
waste-free production of potato starch and its derivatives - protein and fiber, as well as other products from potatoes with a minimal carbon footprint. The first stage of the plant will be launched in the Lviv region by the end of 2021.
Only technical potatoes will serve as raw materials for production. CPG plans to expand its production of high starch premium technical potatoes.
It is worth noting that for such industries, scale is of great importance. The higher the capacity of the line, the faster it pays off: for example, the cost of a standard Larsson line with twice the capacity differs from the previous one by about 1,3 times.
That is, a line for processing 30 tons of potatoes per hour will be 15-30% more expensive than a 40-ton one.
In any case, economically viable investments in starch production from potatoes amount to tens of millions of euros. Understanding the scale of the task before it, CPG, for example, found support from the USAID Competitive Economy of Ukraine Program.
As a conclusion, we emphasize once again that the implementation of such projects requires significant efforts on the part of the leading players in agribusiness, ideally supported by government support. But it is an investment in a successful future.