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Title: Approaches to raw sugar quality improvement as a route to sustaining a reliable supply of purified industrial sugar feedstocks

Author
item VERCELLOTTI, JOHN - V-Labs, Inc
item VERCELLOTTI, SHARON - V-Labs, Inc
item KAHN, GAVIN - Carbochem, Inc
item Eggleston, Gillian

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Symposium Series
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2010
Publication Date: 12/18/2010
Citation: Vercellotti, J.R., Vercellotti, S.V., Kahn, G., Eggleston, G. 2010. Approaches to raw sugar quality improvement as a route to sustaining a reliable supply of purified industrial sugar feedstocks. In: Eggleston, G, editor. Sustainability of the Sugar and Sugar-Ethanol Industries, ACS Symposium Series 1058. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society. p. 191-206.

Interpretive Summary: Energy costs in the sugar industry are outstripping costs of manufacture, particularly in refineries. This, as well as increasing transportation costs and the need to meet manufacturers’ tight specifications, has increased the demand for a sustainable supply of purified, raw sugar. This book chapter discusses the use of powdered activated carbons (PACs) or resins to remove unwanted Micro- and nano particles in raw sugars that can interfere with their purification. Other processing improvements to permit more efficient decolorizing with the PACs is shown.

Technical Abstract: Energy costs in the sugar industry are outstripping costs of manufacture, particularly in refineries. This, as well as increasing transportation costs and the need to meet manufacturers’ tight specifications, has increased the demand for a sustainable supply of purified, raw sugar. Agricultural commodity delivery of purified, raw sugar as an adequate raw material for manufacturing value-added products demands consistently high quality to to be competitive. To achieve very low color and high pol values in purified, raw sugars, components in raw juice inhibiting the crystallization of sugar must be identified. Micro- and nanoparticulate materials can foul sensitive surface properties of adsorbents such as powdered activated carbons (PACs) or resins. Improved approaches to clarification, such as combined centrifugation, microfiltration or nanofiltration of sugar juices or syrups permit more efficient decolorizing with solid adsorbents. Lower quality sugars can thus be upgraded to permit isolation of product while sustaining energy utilization.