Impact of thermochemical processing on sugar beet tissue microstructure
The process of extraction of sucrose from sugar beet tissue is the determining factor in the technological flow of sugar beet production. The intensity of diffusion extraction of sucrose is determined by the degree of plasmolysis of the beet tissue. The influence of various methods of thermochemical influence on the microstructure of cells of beet tissue was studied. Sugar beet shavings were obtained with predetermined physical parameters. The total amount of chips was divided into 3 samples: the first was used to obtain control samples of beet tissue without thermochemical treatment; The second sample was subjected to a thermochemical treatment, in which the solutions of the reagents were not electrochemically exposed, after which the chips were processed; The third sample was also thermochemically treated, followed by the extraction of sucrose, but the reagent solutions were subjected to electrochemical activation (ECA) for 60 seconds at a field strength of 1.2 V / cm and a current density of 3 mA / cm<sup>2</sup> at the electrodes. In the case when the beet tissue was thermochemically treated with a solution of aluminum sulfate without electrochemical activation, significant morphological changes in the cells were clearly visible, the integrity of the cell walls was violated, due to the high degree of plasmolysis of the protein components as a result of thermochemical exposure. When considering the image of the microstructure of a tissue subjected to treatment with a solution of ammonium sulfate without electrochemical activation, the thickness of the cell walls decreases and irreversible destruction of the plasmalemma occurs - the peripheral part of the cell walls, resulting in a significant amount of pores and vesicles into which the reagent solution actively penetrates. When processing the fabric with steam and an electroactivated solution of ammonium sulfate, the degree of destructive destruction is maximal. Under such conditions, rapid denaturation of the protein components of the cell walls and their destruction occurs, an intensive aggregation of the internal contents of cells occurs, caused by the polarization of the protein and lipid components of the cell membranes. Thus, the result of thermochemical treatment of chips with electroactivated reagent solutions blocks the transition of high-molecular compounds from the pores of beetroot tissue to the extractant, due to which the quality of the diffusion juice is significantly increased