Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C13—SUGAR INDUSTRY
  • C13B—PRODUCTION OF SUCROSE; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
  • C13B20/00—Purification of sugar juices
  • C13B20/12—Purification of sugar juices using adsorption agents, e.g. active carbon
  • C13B20/123—Inorganic agents, e.g. active carbon
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C13—SUGAR INDUSTRY
  • C13B—PRODUCTION OF SUCROSE; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
  • C13B20/00—Purification of sugar juices
  • C13B20/02—Purification of sugar juices using alkaline earth metal compounds

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the use of calcium carbonate particles in a process for treating a solution, such as sugarbeet juice, comprising saccharose.
• the invention further relates to a process for purifying and/or producing sugar enabling such use in the purview of reducing the lime consumption and the concomitant carbon dioxide emissions.
• Industrial sugar production from sugar beets comprises several stages comprising the production of a diffusion juice, an aqueous extract of sliced beets in hot water, purification of raw extracted juice, concentration of purified juice, and crystallization.
• the purification of the diffusion juice is an essential step in sugar manufacturing, since it aims at removing all impurities (non-sugars or non-sucrose) to obtain the highest purity of sucrose. This process is critical in sugar manufacture of both cane and beet sugars. Several physico-chemical methods to remove impurities have been developed, but only few are industrially feasible.
• the essential steps in such purification process comprise the addition of milk of lime and CO 2 gassing into the diffusion juice.
• this purification is divided into four steps, pre-liming, main liming, a first carbonatation step with mechanical separation of the insolubles, and a second carbonatation with a second mechanical separation of the insolubles.
• the milk of lime is an essential feature of the purification of the diffusion juice and thus the production of sugar.
• the milk of lime is produced in a lime kiln by decomposition of a source of calcium carbonate, such as limestone, via calcination under temperatures exceeding 850°C, followed by addition of water.
• a source of calcium carbonate such as limestone
• the calcination reaction itself is a significant carbon dioxide emitter. Indeed, the manufacture of one ton of calcium oxide triggers the formation of up to 785 kg of CO 2 .
• the total CO 2 emission may be more than one ton of CO 2 for every ton of lime produced. Therefore, there is a substantial need to reduce the amount of lime used in the sugar production and the concomitant CO 2 emissions by the sugar industry without deteriorating the quality of the sugar to be obtained.
• the US application US2011214669 describes a process in which the milk of lime consumption is reduced by 10-20% by removing the insolubles' mud after the pre-liming step with addition of polymeric flocculants.
• flocculants are not compliant with food applications and their traces may deteriorate the quality of the final sugar product.
• their addition in the process line and their regeneration complicates the production process and raises the production cost.
• the Applicant has surprisingly found that the use of an inert material, such as calcium carbonate particles, in the diffusion juice purification can address the above shortcomings. Indeed, the use according to the present invention allows the reduction of lime consumption in the diffusion juice purification without needing any processing aids or process alterations.
• the invention relates to the use of a particulate adsorbent material composition comprising particles comprising at least 98% w/w of calcium carbonate relative to the particles' weight, for the treatment of an aqueous composition comprising saccharose, wherein the particulate adsorbent material composition is added into the aqueous composition and wherein the adsorbent material particles present a mean diameter ranging from 30 ⁇ m to 50 ⁇ m.
• Such particulate adsorbent material composition may be a solid particulate composition or a dispersion thereof in an aqueous medium.
• the aqueous composition may have previously been alkalinized with calcium oxide or its hydrated form (milk of lime) to a pH ranging from 8.0 to 13.0 and/or an alkalinity expressed in calcium oxide ranging from 0.1 to 2.5 grams of calcium oxide per liter.
• Such particulate adsorbent material composition may be added to the aqueous composition in an amount ranging from 0.1 to 5 grams of solid particulate adsorbent material composition per liter of the aqueous composition.
• the aqueous composition comprises saccharose and non-sacharose compounds, typically said non-saccharose compounds being selected from the group consisting of colloidal compounds such as pectins, cellulose and hemicellulose; nitrogen-free organic compounds such as monosaccharides, raffinose, organic acids and lipids; nitrogenous compounds such as proteins, betaine, amino acids; and inorganic salts.
• colloidal compounds such as pectins, cellulose and hemicellulose
• nitrogen-free organic compounds such as monosaccharides, raffinose, organic acids and lipids
• nitrogenous compounds such as proteins, betaine, amino acids
• inorganic salts typically said non-saccharose compounds being selected from the group consisting of colloidal compounds such as pectins, cellulose and hemicellulose; nitrogen-free organic compounds such as monosaccharides, raffinose, organic acids and lipids; nitrogenous compounds such as proteins, betaine, amino acids; and inorganic salts.
• the aqueous composition is an aqueous sugarbeet extract and wherein the treatment is for purifying saccharose from non-saccharose compounds.
• the invention relates to a process for treating an aqueous composition comprising saccharose and non-saccharose compounds, comprising
• the liming step further comprises the maturation of the limed juice by setting the limed juice in a recipient for at least 5 minutes, leading to a matured limed juice.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed juice and/or the matured limed juice.
• the at least one carbonatation step iii) further comprises at least one mechanical separation of calcium carbonate, yielding a saccharose clear juice.
• At least one mechanical separation is at least one first and/or the at least one second mechanical separation selected from the group consisting of decantation, filtration and centrifugal separation.
• the process according to the invention does not comprise adding a polymeric flocculant selected from the group consisting of acrylamide polymers.
• the treatment process of the invention may lead to at least 10% reduction of the amount of milk of lime added in steps i) and ii), compared to a treatment that does not comprise adding in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice the particulate adsorbent material composition.
• the aqueous composition comprising saccharose and non- saccharose compounds is an aqueous sugarbeet extract and wherein the treatment is for purifying saccharose from non-saccharose compounds.
• the invention further relates to a process for producing saccharose from sugarbeets, said method comprising the steps of:
• the invention relates to a process for treating a saccharose-comprising composition, typically an aqueous composition comprising saccharose and non-saccharose compounds.
• treating designates purifying saccharose from the non-saccharose materials.
• treating designates raising the amount of saccharose in the composition to up at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or 100% of saccharose in weight relative to the weight of the treated composition.
• treating designates raising the percentage amount of saccharose in the composition to up at least at least 95%, at least 98%, or 100% of saccharose in weight relative to the dry matter (DM) of the treated composition.
• DM dry matter
• the aqueous composition comprising saccharose and non-saccharose compounds is a sugarbeet raw juice or a sugarcane raw juice, preferably a sugarbeet raw juice.
• a sugarbeet raw juice is an aqueous extract of sugarbeet obtainable by any means known in the art.
• a typical, according to the art, process for treating an aqueous composition comprising saccharose and non-saccharose compounds comprises the steps of
• this can be achieved without adding any polymeric flocculants such as for example acrylamide polymers and/or without modifying the industrial equipment.
• the addition of the particulate adsorbent material composition may enhance the purification yield of the process.
• the purification yield of the process is increased at least 1%, at least 2%, at least 3%, at least 5%, at least 6%, at least 8%, at least 10%, at least 12%, at least 15%, compared to the purification yield of a treatment process that does not comprise the method steps or the use according to the present invention.
• the process according to the invention for treating an aqueous composition comprising saccharose and non-saccharose compounds comprises the steps of:
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the carbonated limed juice.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed juice.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed juice and optionally in the pre-limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice and the limed juice. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed juice and optionally in the pre-limed juice. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed juice and optionally in the carbonated limed juice.
• adding in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice a particulate adsorbent material composition according to the invention leads to at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25% reduction of the amount of milk of lime added in steps i) and/or ii), compared to a conventional treatment that does not comprise adding in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice the particulate adsorbent material composition, without impacting the treatment efficacy, such as the purification efficacy.
• adding a particulate adsorbent material composition according to the invention leads to an overall milk of lime consumption in the treatment process by at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25% compared to a conventional treatment process that does not comprise adding a particulate adsorbent material composition according to the invention in any step of the process, without impacting the treatment efficacy, such as the purification efficacy.
• the milk of lime consumption per weight of sugarbeets can be reduced at least by 5% (0.77% or 8 g CaO/L juice) and at least up to 25% (0.6% or 6 g CaO/L juice).
• the invention relates to the use of a particulate adsorbent material composition, as hereinafter described, for the treatment of an aqueous composition comprising saccharose according to any one of the following embodiments.
• a particulate adsorbent material composition is added into the aqueous composition.
• this use implies the exogenous adding of the particulate adsorbent material composition that should not be confused with possible particles that may be formed in situ during the conventional process.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition comprises particles comprising at least 95% w/w of an inert inorganic material relative to the particles' weight, wherein the adsorbent material particles present a mean diameter ranging from 30 ⁇ m to 100 ⁇ m.
• the inert inorganic material is selected from the group consisting of silicate salts such as aluminum silicate, bentonite, diatomaceous earth, zeolite and calcium carbonate.
• the inert inorganic material is calcium carbonate.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition comprises particles comprising at least 98% w/w of calcium carbonate relative to the particles' weight.
• such adsorbent material particles present a mean diameter ranging from 30 ⁇ m to 80 ⁇ m.
• the mean diameter can be calculated by a sieve method (size exclusion) such as for example according to the ISO 565 standard process.
• a sieve method size exclusion
• the adsorbent material particles present a mean diameter ranging from 30 ⁇ m to 50 ⁇ m. Typically, less than 5.0 %, less than 3.0%, less than 1.0 %, less than 0.5%, less than 0.1% of the particles present a diameter exceeding 80 ⁇ m.
• the adsorbent material particles present a mean diameter ranging from 30 ⁇ m to 50 ⁇ m with, less than 3.0 % of the particles presenting a diameter exceeding 80 ⁇ m.
• less than 10.0 % or less than 7.0% of the particles present a diameter exceeding 63 ⁇ m.
• the adsorbent material particles present a mean diameter ranging from 30 ⁇ m to 50 ⁇ m with less than 3.0 % of the particles presenting a diameter exceeding 80 ⁇ m and with less than 7.0 % of the particles presenting a diameter exceeding 63 ⁇ m.
• the adsorbent material particles present a volume median (Dv50) ranging from 5 to 50 ⁇ m. In one embodiment, the adsorbent material particles' volume median (Dv50) ranges from 5 to 30 ⁇ m. In one embodiment, the adsorbent material particles' volume median (Dv50) ranges from 5 to 20 ⁇ m. In one embodiment, the adsorbent material particles' volume median (Dv50) ranges from 5 to 15 ⁇ m. In one embodiment, the adsorbent material particles' volume median (Dv50) ranges from 5 to 10 ⁇ m. Typically, the particles' volume median (Dv50) can be calculated by light scattering preferably by laser scattering such as for example by the Laser Sympatec protocol.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a bulk density ranging from 700 to 1200 kg/m 3 . In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a bulk density ranging from 800 to 1100 kg/m 3 . In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a bulk density ranging from 850 to 1000 kg/m 3 . In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a bulk density ranging from 700 to 900 kg/m 3 .
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a bulk density of about 750 kg/m 3 , about 800 kg/m 3 , about 850 kg/m 3 , about 900 kg/m 3 , about 950 kg/m 3 , or about 1000 kg/m 3 .
• Bulk density can be determined by filling a container with the adsorbent material composition until it overflows from the container, leveling the top surface of container by rolling a rod on it weighting the materials weight that is inside the container and dividing it by the volume of the container.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a specific surface ranging from 300 to 1600 m 2 /kg.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface ranging from 300 to 800 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface ranging from 350 to 700 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface ranging from 350 to 600 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface ranging from 350 to 550 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface ranging from 350 to 500 m 2 /kg.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface ranging from 400 to 500 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface of about 300 m 2 /kg, about 350 m 2 /kg, about 400 m 2 /kg, about 450 m 2 /kg, about 500 m 2 /kg, about 550 m 2 /kg, about 600 m 2 /kg, about 650 m 2 /kg, about 700 m 2 /kg, about 750 m 2 /kg, or about 800 m 2 /kg.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents an air-permeability specific surface of about 400 m 2 /kg, about 450 m 2 /kg, about 500 m 2 /kg, about 550 m 2 /kg, or about 600 m 2 /kg.
• air-permeability specific surface can be calculated by any method known in the art.
• the air-permeability specific surface is calculated with the Blaine method consisting in packing the material into a cylindrical "bed" having a known porosity (i.e. volume of air-space between particles divided by total bed volume), applying a pressure drop along the length of the bed cylinder using a small glass kerosene manometer to apply suction to the powder bed. The resulting flow-rate of air through the bed yields the specific surface by the Kozeny-Carman equation.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a specific surface ranging from 700 to 1600 m 2 /kg according to the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) approach. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface ranging from 750 to 1550 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface ranging from 800 to 1500 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface ranging from 900 to 1550 m 2 /kg.
• BET Brunauer-Emmett-Teller
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface ranging from 1000 to 1500 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface ranging from 1100 to 1400 m 2 /kg.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface ranging from 1150 to 1400 m 2 /kg. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface ranging from 1200 to 1400 m 2 /kg.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface of about 1100 m 2 /kg, about 1200 m 2 /kg, about 1250 m 2 /kg, about 1300 m 2 /kg, about 1350 m 2 /kg, about 1400 m 2 /kg, about 1450 m 2 /kg, about 1500 m 2 /kg, about 1550 m 2 /kg, about 1600 m 2 /kg, or about 1700 m 2 /kg.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition presents a BET specific surface of about about 1300 m 2 /kg, about 1350 m 2 /kg, about 1400 m 2 /kg, about 1450 m 2 /kg, about 1500 m 2 /kg, or about 1550 m 2 /kg.
• BET specific surface can be calculated by any methods in the art such as for example the ISO 9277 standard method.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice in the form of a solid particulate composition.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice in the form of a dispersion of the solid particulate adsorbent material composition in an aqueous medium.
• Such dispersion is typically an aqueous dispersion such as a slurry with water, a slurry with sugarbeet clear juice and/or a slurry with pressed sugarbeet pulp filtrate water.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice in an amount ranging from 0.1 to 5 grams of solid particulate adsorbent material composition per liter of aqueous composition comprising saccharose and non-saccharose compounds such as the pre-limed juice, the limed juice or the carbonated limed juice.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice in an amount ranging from 0.5 to 4 grams of solid particulate adsorbent material composition per liter of the pre-limed juice, the limed juice or the carbonated limed juice. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice and/or the limed juice and/or the carbonated limed juice in an amount ranging from 0.6 to 3.7 grams of solid particulate adsorbent material composition per liter of the pre-limed juice, the limed juice or the carbonated limed juice. It is of note that it is in the purview of one skilled in the art to calculate the corresponding amounts of particulate adsorbent material composition in case it is used as an aqueous dispersion based on the above amounts.
• the aqueous composition is alkalized by adding milk of lime.
• the milk of lime is added in an incremented manner in order to ensure gentle conditions that do not impact the quality of the sugar product.
• the milk of lime is added in progressively increasing amounts until the final amount to be added in the pre-liming step.
• the pre-liming is carried out with the addition of the herein after defined amounts of milk of lime.
• the pre-liming step leads to the alkalization of the aqueous composition to a pH ranging from 8.5 to 11.0.
• the amount of added milk of lime in the pre-liming step ranges from 0.1 to 7.0, preferably from 0.1 to 4.0, grams of calcium oxide per liter of the alkalized composition and/or leads to a pH ranging from 8.5 to 11.0.
• the alkalization of the saccharose comprising composition such as sugar beet raw juice
• the organic and inorganic acids present in the extract are neutralized, forming insoluble or sparingly soluble salts with calcium, and precipitate.
• phosphate, oxalate, citrate and sulfate anions are separated from the composition's aqueous medium.
• colloidally dissolved non-sucrose substances coagulate and are precipitated.
• the precipitation of individual ingredients takes place within certain pH ranges.
• anions such as oxalate, phosphate, citrate, sulfate or of colloids such as pectin and proteins
• the addition of milk of lime during the pre-liming step also results in coagulation of proteins and the hydrolysis of fats into fatty acids and triglycerides.
• the pre-liming step leads to the precipitation and/or coagulation of a first fraction of the non-saccharose compounds.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the pre-limed juice obtained in the pre-liming step.
• the pre-liming step is carried out at a temperature ranging from 30°C to 75°C. In one first embodiment, the pre-liming step is carried out at a temperature ranging from 35°C to 72°C. In one second embodiment, the pre-liming step is carried out at a temperature ranging from 35°C to 50°C.
• the pre-limed aqueous composition is further alkalized by adding additional milk of lime.
• the liming step leads to the alkalization of the aqueous composition to a pH ranging from 11.0 to 13.0.
• the milk of lime in the liming step is added all at once
• the amount of added milk of lime in the liming step ranges from 4.0 to 25.0, preferably from 4.0 to 20.0, grams of calcium oxide per liter of the alkalized composition and/or leads to a pH ranging from 11.0 to 13.0.
• the liming step by further adding milk of lime leads, in particular, to the chemical degradation of invert sugar and acid amides.
• a reaction between the milk of lime and impurities results in soluble products (non-precipitated reaction).
• the reactions are destructive reactions of invert sugars and saponification of amides, such as glutamine and asparagine into ammonium salts.
• the liming step leads to the denaturation, precipitation and/or coagulation of the second fraction of the non-saccharose compounds.
• the denaturated non-saccharose compounds may remain dissolved in the limed juice.
• the milk of lime added during the liming step also plays an important role in the subsequent carbonatation step(s) in order to purify saccharose from the soluble fraction of non-saccharose compounds.
• the liming step can be carried-out at a temperature ranging from 35°C to 85°C. In one specific embodiment, the liming step is carried-out at a temperature ranging from 75°C to 85°C.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed juice obtained in the liming step.
• adding in the limed juice a particulate adsorbent material composition according to the invention leads to at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25% reduction of the amount of milk of lime added in the liming step, compared to a conventional liming step that does not comprise adding such particulate adsorbent material composition.
• a particulate adsorbent material composition according to the invention, at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25% reduction of the amount of milk of lime added in the pre-liming step, compared to a conventional pre-liming step that does not comprise adding such particulate adsorbent material composition.
• the liming step is followed by a maturation step consisting in setting the limed juice in a recipient such as a tank for at least 5 minutes, preferably at least 10 minutes, thus obtaining a matured limed juice.
• the maturation recipient may optionally be stirred during the maturation step.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the matured limed juice.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed and optionally matured juice in an amount ranging from 0.1 to 5 grams of solid particulate adsorbent material composition per liter of said juice. In one embodiment, the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed and optionally matured juice in an amount ranging from 0.5 to 4 grams of solid particulate adsorbent material composition per liter of said juice.
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the limed and optionally matured juice in an amount ranging from 0.6 to 3.7 grams of solid particulate adsorbent material composition per liter of said juice.
• the amount of added milk of lime in the liming step may range from 5.0 to 7.9, preferably from 6.0 to 7.9, ever more preferably from 6.0 to 7.7 grams of calcium oxide per liter of the alkalized composition.
• the optionally matured limed juice is then subjected to at least one carbonatation step, leading to a carbonated limed juice.
• carbonatation refers to adding CO 2 to the limed composition.
• Carbonatation may take place by introducing CO 2 in the composition, typically the limed juice or the matured limed juice, such as for example by bubbling CO 2 into said composition.
• the milk of lime that was not consumed during the main liming process is converted in situ into calcium carbonate once in contact with the CO 2 carbonatation gas.
• the is situ generated calcium carbonate is in the form of the calcite polymorph
• the particulate adsorbent material composition is added in the carbonated limed juice.
• the process comprises one carbonatation step.
• the process comprises a first carbonatation step leading to a first carbonated raw juice and a second carbonatation step applied to the first carbonated raw juice, leading to a second carbonated raw juice.
• adding the particulate adsorbent material composition in the carbonated limed juice means adding the particulate adsorbent material composition to the first carbonated raw juice and/or the second raw carbonated juice, preferably the first carbonatation raw juice.
• the in situ generated calcium carbonate may act as an absorbent for the denatured, precipitated and/or coagulated non-saccharose compounds and facilitate their subsequent removal by mechanical means.
• the precipitated and coagulated first fraction of non-saccharose substances and the second fraction of the (denaturated) non-saccharose compounds are adsorptively and/or absorptively bound to the in situ generated calcium carbonate.
• This initial phenomenon can take place during the first moments of the unique carbonatation step (first variant) or during the first carbonation, if at least a second carbonatation is to follow (second variant).
• the above non-saccharose substances are also adsorptively and/or absorptively bound to the particulate adsorbent material according to the invention.
• this second and last phase of carbonatation is performed at a temperature of at least 90°C in order to prevent the formation of calcium bicarbonate in the carbonated juice.
• the second and last phase of carbonatation can take place during the first moments of the unique carbonatation step (first variant) or during the second carbonation, if at least a second carbonatation is to follow (second variant).
• the process comprises the following steps:
• the process comprises the following steps:
• the first carbonatation juice may be filtered or passed over decanting devices and optionally condensed to give a first carbonation clear juice.
• a second carbonation raw juice is formed, which is likewise filtered and optionally condensed in order to yield a second carbonated clear juice.
• the at least one carbonatation step iii) of the process further comprises at least one mechanical separation of calcium carbonate, yielding at least one saccharose clear juice.
• the mechanically separated calcium carbonate comprises the in situ generated calcium carbonate and the particulate adsorbent material composition according to the invention.
• particulate adsorbent material composition according to the invention is calcium carbonate particles
• the mechanically separated calcium carbonate comprises the in situ generated calcium carbonate as well as the particulate calcium carbonate composition that was added in at least one of steps i), ii) and/or ii) of the process.
• the mechanically separated calcium carbonate comprises the in situ generated calcium carbonate, the calcium carbonate particulate composition that was added in at least one of steps i), ii) and/or iii) of the process, the non-saccharose compounds that are coagulated and/or precipitated, denaturated and adsorbed and/or absorbed on the in situ generated calcium carbonate and/or the added particulate calcium carbonate composition.
• the at least one mechanical separation after the at least one carbonatation step is performed according to any mechanical separation methods known in the art.
• the at least one mechanical separation is selected from the group consisting of decantation, filtration and centrifugal separation.
• the at least one mechanical separation is operated in continuous or discontinuous manner.
• the second and last phase of the unique carbonatation according to the first variant and the at least one second carbonatation according to the second variant lead to the carbonated clear juice that may also be referred to as clear juice.
• the process comprises the following steps:
• the process according to the invention does not comprise adding a synthetic flocculant in any one of the process steps.
• the process does not comprise adding in any one of the process steps a polymeric flocculant selected from the group consisting of acrylamide polymers and acrylate copolymers thereof such as anionic acrylamide polymers and/or cationic acrylamide polymers or acrylate copolymers thereof or non-ionic polyacrylamides and derivatives.
• the clear juice may be concentrated, and optionally crystallized to form saccharose crystals.
• the invention further relates to a process for producing saccharose, from sugarbeets, said method comprising the steps of:
• Step a) may be carried out by any conventional means known in the art concerning sugarbeet aqueous extraction.
• Conventional sugar extraction from sugarbeets comprises thinly slicing beets into beet cossettes (beet slices) and subjecting them to a solid-water extraction at a temperature ranging from 71°C to 75°C in order to produce the sugarbeet raw juice.
• the saccharose diffuses from the cossettes to the subarbeet raw juice.
• non-saccharose compounds also diffuse to the sugarbeet raw juice.
• the saccharose is then purified from the non-saccharose compounds by applying the treatment process according to the invention (step b)), as detailed in any one of the above embodiments, leading to a clear juice that is a purified saccharose composition.
• the purified saccharose composition is then concentrated, resulting in a thick clear juice (step c)).
• Evaporation according to step c) may be carried out by any conventional means known in the art such as for example by boiling the clear juice under vacuum.
• the thick clear juice is optionally crystallized (step c)), saccharose crystals.
• Crystallizing according to step c) may be carried out by any conventional means known in the art in order to yield crystallized saccharose crystals such as for example table sugar.
• Comparative example 1 Conventional beet raw juice treatment process
• Juice from primary extraction in a beet sugar factory was heated to 72°C.
• milk of lime was added in 10 aliquots with 2 minutes of stirring between additions to obtain a final alkalinity of 2.2 g CaO per juice liter.
• the pre-limed juice was heated to 83°C and milk of lime added to a final alkalinity of 8 g CaO per juice liter.
• the limed juice was matured while stirring for 10 minutes.
• the matured limed juice was maintained at 83°C and carbon dioxide was bubbled through at 60 L/h until a target pH of 11.2 was obtained (as measured at 20°C)
• the solids that formed were filtered through ashless filterpaper.
• the clear juice obtained was heated to 90°C and carbon dioxide was bubbled through at 20 L/h until a target pH of 9.2 was obtained (as measured at 20°C).
• the solids that formed were filtered through ashless filterpaper to obtain clear juice.
• the color of the obtained clear juice was analyzed using the ICUMSA (International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis) method GS2/3-10 (2011) at the Brix concentration of the clear juice in the range 15-18%.
• the clear juice obtained with the conventional process presented an ICUMSA unit color of 1000 IU.
• Example 2 Process with 5 % reduced milk of lime
• the standard process was performed until after the pre-liming step.
• the target was reduced to 7.7 g CaO/L. Also, at the end of the limed juice maturation stage, 0.7 g/L of a particulate CaCO 3 composition according to the invention was added representing 5% replacement of milk of lime with CaCO 3 particles.
• the first and second carbonatation steps were completed as per in the conventional process.
• Example 2 Process with 15 % reduced milk of lime
• the target was reduced to 6.8 g CaO/L. Also, at the end of the limed juice maturation stage, 2.1 g/L of a particulate CaCO 3 composition according to the invention was added representing 15% replacement of milk of lime with CaCO 3 particles.
• the first and second carbonatation steps were completed as per in the conventional process.
• Example 3 Process with 25 % reduced milk of lime
• the target was reduced to 6.0 g CaO/L. Also, at the end of the limed juice maturation stage, 3.6 g/L particulate CaCO 3 composition according to the invention was added representing 5% replacement of milk of lime with CaCO 3 particles.
• the first and second carbonatation steps were completed as per in the conventional process.
• the color of the obtained clear juice was analyzed using the ICUMSA (International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis) method GS2/3-10 (2011) at the Brix concentration of the clear juice in the range 15-18%.
• the clear juice obtained with the process according to the invention (25% reduced milk of lime) presented an ICUMSA unit color of 800 IU.

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• 2021
  • 2021-09-30 EP EP21306366.2A patent/EP4159876A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
• 2022
  • 2022-09-30 EP EP22199168.0A patent/EP4159877B1/fr active Active

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