Tertiary separation of allulose from corn syrup using chromatography

A process for purifying allulose comprising:

• contacting a chromatographic bed material with water and a mixture of allulose, fructose, and glucose wherein the fructose is non-crystalline fructose, and separating a fraction enriched with allulose from a fraction enriched with fructose and glucose by sorbent chromatography through the chromatographic bed material, while simultaneously separating a fraction enriched with fructose from a fraction enriched with glucose by sorbent chromatography through the chromatographic bed material;
• wherein the mixture of allulose, fructose, and glucose is contacted with the chromatographic bed material in a first zone and the allulose is withdrawn from a second zone different than the first zone and upstream of the first zone with respect to the direction of flow of water;
• contacting the chromatographic bed material with the water in the second zone;
• removing the fraction enriched with fructose from a third zone downstream of the first zone with respect to the direction of the flow water;
• and
• recycling the fraction enriched with fructose, after removal from the first zone, to contact an allulose epimerase to convert the fructose to allulose, wherein the allulose epimerase is located upstream of the chromatographic bed material.

A process for purifying allulose that includes, in a simulated moving bed apparatus comprising a plurality of column segments sequentially connected in series, and containing chromatographic bed material, simultaneously:

• a. feeding a mixture of fructose, dextrose, and allulose at a feed port position to contact the chromatographic bed material at a column segment in a first zone;
• b. feeding water into the apparatus at an eluent port position to contact the chromatographic bed material at a column segment in a second zone;
• c. flowing the water in a first direction toward the first zone to contact the mixture of fructose, dextrose, and allulose and moving the plurality of column segments in a second direction opposite the first direction;
• d. removing a first effluent enriched in the allulose from a product port positioned in the second zone upstream of the feed port position with respect to the first direction;
• e. removing a second effluent enriched in fructose from a first raffinate port position in the first zone downstream of the feed port with respect to the first direction;
• and
• f. removing a third effluent enriched in dextrose from a second raffinate port position in a third zone downstream of the first raffinate port with respect to the first direction.