The recovery of fructose from inverted sugar beet molasses using continuous chromatography

Abstract

Abstract The continuous chromatographic separation of inverted beet molasses resulting in a fructose rich product and a product containing glucose and other non‐sugars was carried out using a semi‐continuous countercurrent chromatographic refiner (SCCR6), consisting of ten 10.8 cm diameter by 75 cm long stainless steel columns packed with a calcium charged 8% cross‐linked polystyrene resin, zerolit SRC14. It was found that cations present in beet molasses displaced calcium ions from the resin resulting in poor separation of the glucose and fructose. Three methods of maintaining the calcium form of the resin during the continuous operation of the equipment were established. Passing a solution of calcium nitrate through the purge column for half a switch period was found to be most effective as there was no contamination of the main fructose rich product and the product concentrations were increased by 50%.