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Development of a Continuous Lactulose Process: Separation and Purification
Author(s) -
Kozempel Michael F.,
Kurantz Michael J.,
Craig Jr. James C.,
Hicks Kevin B.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
biotechnology progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.572
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6033
pISSN - 8756-7938
DOI - 10.1021/bp00035a015
Subject(s) - lactulose , separation (statistics) , process (computing) , process development , chromatography , separation process , chemistry , process engineering , computer science , biochemistry , engineering , machine learning , operating system
We developed a continuous pilot plant process to produce lactulose from lactose using boric acid to boost the conversion to about 75%. The process consists of three reactors (two continuous stirred tank reactors followed by a tubular reactor), pH adjustment, a crystallizer—filter—evaporator recycle initial separation section, and a chromatographic purification system to produce lactulose containing less than 1–5 ppm of boric acid. The continuous process operates at 0.53 kg/min (20% solids) through the reactors and about 0.3 kg/min (55% solids) out of the initial separation section. The chromatographic separation is at the prep scale with a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min. The final product is a 55% solids syrup containing no detectable boric acid.