DuPont leverages ion exchange resins for liquid sugar in beverages

02 Sep 2024 --- The use of raw sugar during beverage production can be “cumbersome,” owing to the heat and physical mixing required to dissolve it, says Mingzhou Wang, global nutrition market segment leader at DuPont. This makes achieving an even distribution and consistent level of sweetness throughout a mixture challenging, which the use of liquid sucrose or liquid sugar can help overcome.

“Over the past five to ten years, liquid sucrose has emerged as a cost-effective sweetener, helping manufacturers lower manufacturing costs and save energy by eliminating the melting process in beverage production, Wang tells Food Ingredients First.

“Its commercialization has been enhanced by advanced ion exchange mixed bed polishing systems, which remove trace impurities such as color bodies and ionic minerals to extend the shelf life of liquid sucrose, enabling long-term storage and international shipping.”

DuPont provides versatile technologies that support liquid sugar production and can be used in many F&B applications.

“In addition to sweetening carbonated beverages and fruit juice blends, liquid sugars can be used to thicken and improve the mouthfeel of various foodstuffs and add moisture to baked goods to extend their freshness and shelf life.”

Simplifying beverage production

The USDA defines liquid sugar as a direct-consumption sugar that is not principally of crystalline structure and which contains 6% or less of the total soluble solids. 

Meanwhile, raw sugar is described as any sugar only suitable for human consumption with further refinement, regardless of polarity. 

“Raw sugar should not be used directly by beverage formulators; it first needs to undergo extensive and energy-intensive processing to remove impurities that could negatively impact the taste, appearance and shelf life of the beverage,” explains Wang.

When stored properly to prevent crystallization or microbial growth, liquid sugar offers the same sweetness and flavor profile as raw sugar, says Wang.The boilers and accompanying carbon filtration polishing systems used to process it are energy-intensive and require onsite personnel to operate and maintain, flags Wang.

“From a beverage manufacturer’s perspective, liquid sugar is incredibly simple and cost-effective. Their supplier’s truck arrives at the factory and pumps its load of liquid sugar into a storage tank with the ingredient ready for immediate use in production.”

“Provided that it is stored properly to prevent crystallization or microbial growth, the liquid sugar is ready for immediate use in production, offering the same sweetness and flavor profile as raw sugar.”

Meanwhile, sugar manufacturer Nordzucker recently advanced its liquid sugar production capacity with a new extraction tower in Sweden, with the aim to increase energy efficiency in sugar extraction and save around 10,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year.

Decolorization for neutral hues

The initial treatment of sugarcane yields raw sugar syrup that is yellow- or tan-colored, and that color must be removed before crystallizing white sugar, underscores DuPont.

“Filtration and precipitation can extract much of the color from the raw syrup, but the remaining color is mostly soluble organic impurities that are difficult to remove.”

DuPont’s application-specific AmberLite ion exchange resins are widely used for final decolorization and help sugar refineries produce “high-quality liquid sugar for use by beverage manufacturers,” says Wang.

“Amberlite ion exchange resins are used for decolorization and deashing during the syrup production process, allowing for the creation of a liquid sugar syrup of neutral color and with minimal impurities.”

He shares a recent example of its application by Coca-Cola in Indonesia, which sought to improve the efficiency of its beverage syrup manufacturing operations and identified the vast potential of liquid sugar.

“It created a JV with a sugar refinery to create a liquid sugar plant to supply its five manufacturing locations in the country, hoping this business model would prove successful and could be replicated in other countries.” 

Amberlite ion exchange resins are used for decolorization and deashing during syrup production to obtain neutral-colored liquid sugar (Image credit: DuPont).“Specially designed DuPont Amberlite ion exchange resins for decolorization and deashing are used in the purification systems at the plant, helping to produce a liquid sugar of neutral color with minimal impurities.”

Addressing cost factors

Wang highlights two main areas of cost savings when comparing the cost-effectiveness of liquid sucrose to its crystallized form.

“For sugar manufacturers, liquid sucrose eliminates the need for capital investment in sugar crystallization processes and facilities, resulting in significant CAPEX savings. Additionally, bypassing the crystallization step prevents yield loss associated with crystallization.”

The second caters to beverage manufacturers. “Since liquid sucrose doesn’t require a melting process to convert from crystal form, it significantly reduces steam energy consumption — a critical cost factor in beverage production.”

Novel sugar solutions

Besides liquid sugar, Wang observes a rising market for healthy and functional sugars, fueled by rising health awareness, cost-reducing technologies and increased demand for processed foods. 

“Novel sugar molecules like erythritol, allulose, trehalose and various oligosaccharides and polysaccharides offer potential health benefits such as low or zero calories, immune system support and improved gut health, thanks to advancements in enzyme technology and sugar chromatography.”

Looking ahead

DuPont is working on developing multi-tech product solutions intended to help sugar manufacturers further reduce their operational costs, decrease waste discharge and simplify manufacturing processes, Wang tells us. 

“These innovations could further reduce the cost of sugar and its associated carbon footprint in the future.”

Last year, the company spoke to us regarding its “multi-technology” for whey concentration line that targets dairy wastewater. Its membrane solutions allow dairy processors to transform potential waste streams into valuable by-products.

By Insha Naureen