Sorbitol Technology
PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS
For hydrogenation of liquid dextrose a noble metal catalyst is used. The process has the following advantages:
- high yields of Sorbitol product
- superior product quality
- moderate hydrogenation pressure
- high efficiency
- easy plant operability
High Yields of Sorbitol Product
The special noble metal catalyst used has a high selectivity for the quantitative conversion of all dextrose available in the raw material to sorbitol. Side reactions lowering the yield are completely excluded.
Superior Product Quality
Due to the high activity and selectivity of the catalyst, the reaction can be carried out under milder conditions than conventional processes, with a lower system pressure of 30 bar and lower temperatures. Caramelisation and discolouring of the product can be avoided. As the catalyst is completely insoluble in the reaction medium, the product can be kept free of nickel and other heavy metals, a problem which has to be solved in the conventional process by costly purification. High purity and exclusion of any heavy metals in the product is especially important when Sorbitol is used in the food industry and for chemical application such as for Vitamin C synthesis.
High Efficiency
Lower reaction system pressure and lower temperatures result in a reduction of energy consumption.The special catalyst reactivation method used allows recycling of the catalyst, resulting in a very low overall catalyst consumption.
PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS
Sorbitol Syrup
A typical product quality is given in the following table. The product quality will partly depend on the raw material quality
| Grade | USP |
| Total solids | 68.5-71.5% |
| Assay min. | 64 % |
| Water | 28.5 - 31.5 % |
| Heavy metals, max. ppm | 10 |
| Refraction index, 20 degr. | 1.455 - 1.465 |
| Specific gravity, min. | 1.285 |
| Bacterial test | less than 30 colonies of Micro-organisms in 10 gr. |
For more information send us an e-mail !
ENCO Engineering GmbH Switzerland enco@enco.ch |
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