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T he United States ranks among the world 's top sugar producing nations. Roughly 55 percent of that production comes from sugar beets, large underground tubers that weigh between 2 and 5 pounds (0.9 –2.3 kg ) each at har vest, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Globally, nearly three billion dollars worth of A merican beet sugar finds its way into baked goods, ice cream, beverages, drink mi xes, and candies each year. Western Sugar Cooperative (WSC) represents 850 beet producers and operates five processing plants in Montana, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, where they have two. Turning tubers into cr ystalline sugar is no easy job. T he si x-week-long har vest comes late summer, and the processing plants become busy places as automated equipment turns tubers into beet juice, which is subse- quently dried to become granulated sugar. But no matter how hectic things become, plant operators know they need to keep beet juice hot to ward off bacteria and make filtering easier. Hot beet juice — about 185° F to 275° F (85–135° C) — is stored in huge steel tanks, some inside the plant and some outside. At WSC's Scottsbluff, Nebraska facility, steel beet juice tanks histor- ically relied upon fiberglass insulation held in place with aluminum cladding and banding. e system left a lot to be desired. Condensation, humidity, and moisture from other sources inevitably got underneath the aluminum cladding, creating a petri dish for corrosion on tank exteriors. Soggy fiberglass underperformed, leading to higher energy costs. Annual inspections sometimes revealed wet fiberglass sagging between cladding and tank walls, creating gaps in insulation. WSC recently decided to increase capacity at Scottsbluff by adding nine new steel processing tanks. After careful deliberation, the co-op opted to kick the fiberglass habit. is time around, they'd beat the heat with Mascoat Industrial-DTI, a composite ceramic- and silica-based coating designed to insulate and block corrosion. Feature SEPTEMBER 2016 COATINGSPROMAG.COM 54 PHOTOS COURTESY ERIC REICHERT INSULATION & CONSTRUCTION, INC. AND MASCOAT BY JACK INNIS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR The Beet Goes On! Tank Insulation Coating STEEL TANK ACRYLIC