The combination of models within a thermodynamic framework in order to describe thermodynamic properties, transport properties and chemical reactions was found to be able to describe all major processes of the sugar beet production process with reasonable accuracy. Sugar extraction, evaporation, crystallization and drying can thus be easily combined within one process model. Within this model, additional units and their effect on overall product quality and resource demand (i.e. water demand or energy demand) can be evaluated and thus help the engineering team to develop process optimization concepts more effectively.