Miscellaneous sugars.

Lactose, or milk sugar, is made from waste skim milk sorbitol is

manufactured by hydrogenation of dextrose under pressure, using a nickel catalyst or by
reduction in a electrolytic cell. Mannitol, made by hydrogenating sucrose to yield a 3:1
sorbitol/mannitol mixture difficult to separate , is used in pill manufacture and electrolytic
condensers. Xylitol, a sugar made by reduction of xylose is now produced on a large scale. It can
be assimilated by diabetics without use of insulin, is not fermentable, and does not promote
dental caries, so it us used in high-priced dietetic candies, chewing gum tooth-paste, etc. gluconic
acid, made by oxidizing glucose by fermentation or by electrolytic oxidation, forms useful
calcium and iron salts pharmaceutically.
Corn sweeteners. A major portion of nutritive sweeteners now come from starch (mainly
corn) conversion in to fructose-containing syrups. Conversion of starch into glucose by treatment
with acid or with the enzyme -amylase has been practiced for many years, and the syrups thus
obtained are nourishing but not very sweet tasting. The discovery that enzymes could be
immobilized on organic substrates such as diethyl-aminoethyl cellulose or certain ceramic
material made enzyme use economically possible because a single charge could serve for a
comparatively long period (several hundred hours) and treat a considerable quantity of material
before requiring replacement. Glucose syrup prepared from starch by treatment with a-amylase
can be treated with a different immobilized enzyme, glucose insomerase (see Fig 30.5), which
convert up to 42% of the glucose to fructose, which has 1.3 times the sweetening power of
sucrose. This syrup can be used directly as a sweetening syrup essentially equivalent to sucrose
syrup or, by separating fructose and recirculating the syrup over the enzyme, 55% fructose can
be made. This material can be dried, but because the solid form is hygroscopic, it is not very
desirable for home use. In 1980, 42% syrup sold for 64 cents per kilogram, 55% for 75 cents per
kilogram, and refined sugar for 81 cents per kilogram, in comparable bulk quantities.
Another procedure can be used to make 95 to 100% fructose. This passes the glucose
solution over a bed of immobilized glucose-2-oxidase, which oxidizes glucose to glucosone,
which it can in turn be hydrogenated to fructose. The process is not commercial.
Basta, immobilization rules, theyre not standing still, Chem. Eng.89 (17) 55 (1982)

STARCHES AND RELATED PRODUCTS

Starch consist of chain of D-glucopyranosyl units and has the general formula
(C6H10O5) with n = 250 t o over 1000. Two major components are recognized as usual, a
branched-chain form, amylopectyn (75-80% in common starches), and a linear firm, amylose.

Starch is one of the most common substance existing in nature and is the major basic constituent
of the average diet. Industrially, its applications are numerous, and it is used in more than 300
modern industries, including the manufacture of textiles paper, adhesives, insecticides, paint,
soaps, explosives, and such derivatives as dextrins, nitrostarch, and corn sugar. In recent years
such derivatives as heat-resistant adhesives, esters comparable with cellulose esters, carboxilyc
acids from the oxidation of dextrose, and wetting agents have been produced.
HISTORICAL. It is a well-known fact that the ancients used starch in manufacturing paper (as
an adhesive and stiffener) as a eary as 3500 B.C. the Egyptians of this period cemented papyrus
together in this manner. Between a.d 700 and 1300, most paper was heavily coated with starch,
but the practice was abandoned toward the end of the fourteenth century and was not revived
until the modern era. The use of starch in textiles began during the middle
The corn industries research foundation, inc, 1001 connecticut ave, whasington d.c, published ab
important series of phamplets on the corn wet-grinding industries, which are kept up to date.
Titles are corn in industries, Corn starch, corn gluten, corn act, corn syrups and sugar.
Knight, the starch industry, pergamon, oxford, 1969.
Ages, when it was a common stiffening agent. By 1744the English were using it in sizing and
warp glazing. Textile demands soon brought about the introduction of potato starch supplement
the wheat starch solely available up to this time. In 1811 the discoveries off kirchoff with respect
to glucose and the thinning of starches by enzymic action gave great impetus to starch
manufacture through the increased fields of application created. The use of roasted starch
(dextrins) did not begin until 1821, its usefulness being discovered as the result of a textile fire at
Dublin, Ireland. It had, however, been prepared by LeGrange as early as 1804. The first starch
produced in this country was white potato starch, which became increasingly popular until, by
1885, it had risen to the position of the leading textile starch in the field. It was in this period also
that the manufacture of dextrins (roasted starches) began in the united states.
USES AND ECONOMICS. In 1981 about 6.7 X 109 kg of starch was produced in the united
states for all purposes, including conversion into syrup and sugar. Of this total about 98% was
cornstarch. Imports are principally tapioca, sago, and arrowroot starches, and exports are
principally cornstarch as a filler and a sizing material. Textile, laundry, foundry, air flotation, oilwell drilling, and adhesives use much starch (Chap. 25). Whitw potato starch can be employed
for almost every one of the uses outlined for cornstarch; it has a more desirable phosphoric acid
content but is more expensive.
Wheat, rice, arrowroot, and cassava (tapioca) starches also have many of the same applications
as cornstarch. Rice starch is particularly preferred for laundry purposes. Tapioca starch is very
common as a food. In addition to the starches themselves, many further reaction are made. These
include the following products: dextrin, which is available in more than 100 different blends and
types varying from pure white to light yellow in color is used to make a great number of different

pastes, gums, and adhesive,. Corn syrup are a hydrolysis product of cornstarch, containing
dextrose, maltose, higher saccharides, and water. Approximately 95% is used for food, and
varying types are offered to the trade conventional syrups, primarily dextrose made by acid or
enzyme hydrolysis; syrup solid and crystalline dextrose made by drying conventional syrup; and
three grades of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) made by conversion with a special enzyme and
containing 42%, 55% and 90%fructose. Nonfood and industrial application are important, as in
the textile, leather-tanning, adhesive, pharmaceutical, paper, and tobacco industries. Corn sugar
or dextrose, is the sugar found in the blood and is our primary energy food. Its many food uses
are dependent upon its lower rate of crystallization, lesser sweetness, and different crystal
formation. Dextrose is consumed in baking in has additional uses in preserved foods, soft drinks,
candy, and ice cream. It is widely employed by the medical profession for infant feeding and for
prescriptions in syrup form. Industrially is important as a constituent of the viscose-rayon
spinning bath, in leather tanning, in tobacco conditioning, and in fermentation. Important byproducts of the starch industry are corn gluten, feed and meal, corn-oil meal, and corn oil.
Virtually all gluten and meal are used as feed, but a specially prepared gluten, very high in
protein, is employed as a raw material in manufacturing plastics and lacquers. Concentrated
steep water is consumed in the growing of penicillin and streptomycin (Chap. 40). Inositol, or
hexahydroxycyclohexane, a sugar substance and a member of the vitamin B complex, is made
from corn steep water.
MANUFACTURE OF STARCH, DEXTRIN, AND DEXTROSE FROM CORN. Corn wet
refining is a large industry, processing more than 12.8 X 109 kg of corn per year. Chemically, the
corn lerned consist of from 11 to 20% water, with the following average constituents, expressed
in percent
Moisture
Starch
Protein
Pentosans
On this basis, 100 kg of corn yields 51.3 kgof by products (gluten meal, corn bran, germ oil
meal, and steep water), and 2,8 kg of corn oil.
The refining process utilizes wet milling in a dilute sulfurous acid medium using shelled corn as
the raw material, as shown in fig 30.6. the sequences are as follow:
The first operation consist of cleaning the corn by means of screen, compressed air, and
electromagnets. The cleaned corn is soaked (steeped) for 2 days in circulating warm water (46 to
52oC) containing 0.10 to 0.30% sulfur dioxide to prevent fermentation during the soaking period.
Large hopper-bottomed wood or stainless-steel steeping vats (holding 8200 kg of

Corn Industries research Foundation, op. cit, 1958.

Forbath, Process Maze Yields Maize Products, Chem. Eng. 68(5) 90 (1961) (flowchart); wet
milling of corn, Chem. Eng. 69 (16) (1962).