Optimization of Beet Thick Juice Storage: Impact of Storage Conditions on the Rheological Behavior

Abstract Establishing a manufacturing period for concentrated beet juice is a promising strategy to increase the productivity of white sugar and address climatic variability. Key parameters including temperature and stabilization treatments are crucial to optimizing the storage process at a reasonable cost. To this end, a pilot-scale plant was built with 12 tanks, three levels of storage temperatures (15, 25, and 35 °C), and three disinfection treatments. A rheological evaluation, during six months of storage, was investigated in relation to physiochemical and microbiological changes. The rheological behavior fits well with the power law model at different test temperatures of 25, 55 and 85 °C. The data demonstrated that thick juice is non-Newtonian fluid, displaying dilatant trend (1.0 &lt; flow index ( n ) &lt; 1.15) at low temperature of 25 $$^\circ$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mo>∘</mml:mo> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> C and pseudoplastic (0.7 &lt; n &lt; 0.99) at higher temperatures of 55 and 85 $$^\circ$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mo>∘</mml:mo> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> C. The consistency coefficient showed a temperature-dependent decline, with activation energy (E a ) values ranging from 17.18 to 29.57 kJ/mol. At a constant shear rate of 50 s −1 , apparent viscosity remained stable before and after storage across most treatments, except for a significant decrease observed in the untreated sample at 35 °C due to microbial deterioration. The findings highlight the off-season potential for sugar production and demonstrate that under optimal storage conditions, thick juice can be preserved in hot climates for a prolonged duration without degradation or significant impact on rheological behavior.