Polymers in the Sugar Industry

Levan. Like dextran, microbial levan is often an undesirable by-product in the sugar industry. It was first reported by Lippmann in 1881 as a product which increases the viscosity of the processing sugar liquor.In 1901, Greig-Smith found that a strain of Bacillus grown on sucrose produces a fructose polymer which was named levan by analogy to dextran. ... 

Because PVAc is approved by the FDA it has also several uses in the food industry. PVAc can also be found in just about every chewing gum. It is a major component in the so called gumbase, a mixture of different polymers that in combination with sugar, sweeteners, flavours, and other additives make up a chewing gum. 

A large fraction of the chemical industry worldwide is devoted to polymer manufacture, which is very important in the area of hazardous wastes, as a source of environmental pollutants, in toxicology, and in the manufacture of materials used to alleviate environmental and waste problems. Synthetic polymers are produced when small molecules called monomers bond together to form a much smaller number of very large molecules. Many natural products are polymers for example, cellulose in wood, paper, and many other materials is a polymer of the sugar glucose. Synthetic polymers form the basis of many industries, such as rubber, plastics, and textiles manufacture. 

Similar to fumaric acid, L-malic acid is also a naturally occurring four-carbon dicarboxyhc acid and an intermediate in the TCA cycle. It has been used in many food products, primarily as an acidulant. L-Malic acid is compatible with all sugars with low hygroscopicity and good solubihty. In addition, it has therapeutic value for the treatment of hyperammoemia and liver dysfunction and as a component for amino acid infusion. L-Malic acid has been the subject of interest because of its increased application in the food industry as a citric acid replacement and its potential use as a raw material for the manufacture of biodegradable polymers. 

Adipic acid is an important platform chemical with a turnover of 2.5 million tons per year. It is mainly applied as an intermediate reactant for the production of nylon-6,6, a world-leading polymer in the textile and the automobile industry. Due to a relatively high energy demand and greenhouse gas emission, inherently linked to the traditional petrochemical production, great potential exists for more sustainable bio-based alternatives. In pioneering developments, sugars, fats, and alkanes are used as novel feedstock for the production of bio-adipic acid. Recent approaches that recruit small... 

The use of polymer combinations for the improvement of flocculation efficiency is not new and was described earlier [1-24]. Two or even more components, added in sequence as flocculant systems, produce synergistic effects on the flocculation. Many different systems have been applied in the paper industry, and also in other fields like peat dewatering [1], flocculation of harbor sediments [2], wastewater [3], or sugar beet washings [4]. 

The value and use of different vegetable oils in non-food applications depends on their composition. For polymer production this means long carbon chain lengths are needed. The major use of biopolymers has so far been in the packaging industry, with plastics made from using sugar beet (to produce polygonic acid) or starch to produce polylactic acid (PLA). Starch can also be used... 

Duan X, Chi Z, Wang L, Wang X (2008) Influence of different sugars on pullulan production and activities of a -phosphoglucose mutase, UDPG-pyiophosphorylase and glucosyltransferase involved in pullulan synthesis in Aureobasidium pullulans Y68. Carbohydr Polym 73 587—593 Duboc P, Mollet B (2001) Applications of exopolysaccharides in the dairy industry. Int Dairy J 11 759—768... 

---