Activated carbon applications in the sweetener production industry.
Food-grade sweeteners come from a variety of origins and each particular type has its own purification requirements. Cane sugar, for instance, only becomes white granulated sugar after large colour bodies, like melanoidins, and caramels are removed. Similarly, liquid sugars are perfected when “off” tastes and odours are eliminated. Starch-based sweeteners, like glucose, dextrose, maltose and fructose, together with artificial sweeteners, have their own treatment requirements. Due to the variation in treatment objectives and application requirements Puragen, in collaboration with Puragen, offers a wide variety of efficient and cost-effective products to meet your specific purification challenges.
Granular activated carbon (GAC) grades, such as 1204B Extra from Puragen’s sister company Puragen, are amongst the most effective for removing colour, taste and odour issues. Customers using GAC types are looking for grades with not only good in-process performance but also with properties, such as density and low abrasion, that mean they can be easily and efficiently regenerated via a thermal reactivation process. Puragen, via its sister organisation in the UK – Puragen – has access to dedicated food-grade reactivation facilities that have been accredited to the latest ISO9001 and ISO14001 standards. The use of reactivated carbon offers a ‘carbon footprint’ reduction of over 90%, compared with the use of virgin activated carbons.
Powder activated carbon (PAC) grades, such as Puragen’s 325W UltraPlus, are the most economic (low capital cost) and are a good choice for a specific target challenge. Chemically activated wood carbons are excellent for removing dark colour problems whilst steam activated bituminous carbons are the primary choice for removing taste and odours.
Filtration can often be a problem with PAC types. Puragen has worked with leading sweetener companies in addressing and optimising filtration speed issues, by carefully controlling particle size distribution.
In the case of GAC users, one additional service offered by the Puragen group is the potential to use mobile carbon filter vessels. These offer a simple plug and play option, either to increase carbon filtration capacity, to assist during existing plant maintenance, or for trialling alternative activated carbons in customers’ processes. We have versions suitable for food-grade applications, thanks to the use of stainless steel pipework and certified vessel linings.
Our understanding of the sweetener purification process and strong product application know how, backed up by our extensive R&D and engineering capabilities, mean we are uniquely placed to assist customers in the sweetener industry solve their most challenging purification issues, in an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.
