Fine tuning the production of colorless sucrose syrups

Abstract

Sucrose syrup is used worldwide in the food and beverages industry, being produced from high quality sugar and treated water. Even though these high quality raw materials are used, the resulting syrup is very often tinted with an amber color inherited from its constituents and produced during its formulation. This coloration makes it unsuitable for most of its uses, especially for the formulation of colorless products. In order to render a colorless syrup, adsorption with powdered activated carbons is very often used, to effectively remove the color causing agents. The very finely ground carbon is later separated by mechanical means, mainly filtration, sometimes using filtration aids. The problem that arises is that commercial sugar contains variable amounts of color causing agents and, in principle, the ratio activated carbon/sugar needed to obtain an acceptable syrup varies considerably, and should be adjusted to fit the characteristics of the sugar and its processing. This is seldom done, resorting instead to manufacturing "recipes" that could imply the use of excessive amounts of adsorbent. In the present work a quite simple technique is developed that allows the monitoring of the color removal and also the determination of the prevailing technical equilibrium needed for process calculations.

Sucrose syrup is used worldwide in the food and beverages industry, being produced from high quality sugar and treated water. Even though these high quality raw materials are used, the resulting syrup is very often tinted with an amber color inherited from its constituents and produced during its formulation. This coloration makes it unsuitable for most of its uses, especially for the formulation of colorless products. In order to render a colorless syrup, adsorption with powdered activated carbons is very often used, to effectively remove the color causing agents. The very finely ground carbon is later separated by mechanical means, mainly filtration, sometimes using filtration aids. The problem that arises is that commercial sugar contains variable amounts of color causing agents and, in principle, the ratio activated carbon/sugar needed to obtain an acceptable syrup varies considerably, and should be adjusted to fit the characteristics of the sugar and its processing. This is seldom done, resorting instead to manufacturing "recipes" that could imply the use of excessive amounts of adsorbent. In the present work a quite simple technique is developed that allows the monitoring of the color removal and also the determination of the prevailing technical equilibrium needed for process calculations.