New Process for Production of High Fructose Corn Syrup Using Combined Adsorption and an Enzyme Reactor

Abstract

The most common high fructose syrup contains 42% fructose, 52% glucose, and 6% oligosaccharides on the basis of solid materials. Since fructose is sweeter and more soluble in water at low temperature than glucose, it is desirable to raise the content of fructose in the syrup to 55–90%. Isomerization of glucose to fructose by glucose isomerase is a reversible reaction with an equilibrium constant of 1.0. In order to get the fructose level above 50%, a separation process, such as adsorption with an ion exchanger or zeolite, is necessary. Chromatographic and simulated moving-bed adsorption processes have been in operation on a commercial scale. In this study, we present a new process for producing higher fructose syrup by combining immobilized-glucose isomerase reactors with a simulated moving-bed adsorber, which can reduce the amount of water used as the desorbent.