Separation process
AssigneeDanisco Sweeteners Oy
InventorsHeikki Heikkila, Mika Manttari, Marianne Nystrom, Mirja Lindroos, Hannu Paananen, Outi Puuppo, Hannu Koivikko
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Abstract
The invention relates to a process of separating compounds with a small molar mass from compounds having a molar mass less than 1.9 times that of the compounds with a small molar mass using nanofiltration. The compounds with a small molar mass have a typical molar mass less than 250 g/mol. In one embodiment of the invention, pentose sugars are separated from hexose sugars. The invention can be applied to the recovery of xylose from spent liquors and to the recovery of betaine from sugar beet pulp extracts, for example.
Claims66
A process of separating compounds with a small molar mass from compounds having a molar mass higher than but less than 1.9 times that of the compounds with a small molar mass, comprising
- providing a starting solution comprising compounds with a small molar mass and compounds with a molar mass higher than but less than 1.9 times that of the compounds with a small molar mass,
- subjecting said solution to nanofiltration to obtain a fraction enriched in compounds with a small molar mass and a fraction enriched in compounds with a molar mass higher than but less than 1.9 times that of the compounds with a small molar mass,
- recovering the fraction enriched in compounds with a small molar mass, and optionally recovering the fraction enriched in compounds with a molar mass higher than but less than 1.9 times that of the compounds with a small molar mass.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.