Sugar Cane Extracts via Ultrafiltration for Low Glycemic Products
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Solution Overview
Problem
The sugar refining process generates a large number of complex and difficult-to-refine products, such as molasses and syrups, which are rich in polyphenols, carbohydrates, minerals, and organic acids, but are often unpalatable and hygroscopic, limiting their commercial use, and valuable waste streams like bagasse and mill mud are typically discarded due to their intractable nature.
Innovation Solution
A process to extract a mixture of polyphenols, carbohydrates, and minerals from sugar cane products, including molasses, bagasse, and mill mud, using methods like fractionation by molecular weight, ultrafiltration, and ion exchange chromatography, resulting in a syrup or powder with improved taste, reduced hygroscopicity, and enhanced bioactive content, suitable for various applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If molasses and syrups are used as health food products, then they provide therapeutic benefits, but their strong taste and high viscosity make them unpalatable and difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex molasses and syrup mixture into separate functional components through ultrafiltration and ion exchange chromatography. This separates the therapeutic polyphenols from the problematic carbohydrates and minerals, allowing the polyphenol fraction to be used in applications where palatability and handleability are critical while maintaining therapeutic benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the polyphenol fraction from molasses and syrups using ultrafiltration membranes and ion exchange resins. This extraction isolates the beneficial polyphenols from the unpalatable strong tastes and high viscosities associated with the original molasses matrix, creating a concentrated polyphenol product with improved handling properties.
2Reliability
If molasses and syrups are used as health food products, then they provide therapeutic benefits, but their high hygroscopicity limits commercial and industrial use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the molasses composition to separate hygroscopic carbohydrates from non-hygroscopic polyphenols. The polyphenol fraction obtained through ultrafiltration and ion exchange has reduced hygroscopicity compared to whole molasses, expanding its adaptability for commercial food products and industrial applications while preserving therapeutic benefits.
3Ease of manufacture
If waste streams like bagasse and mill mud are discarded, then production costs are reduced, but valuable phytochemical resources are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the previously discarded waste streams (bagasse and mill mud) into valuable phytochemical sources. By applying ultrafiltration and ion exchange chromatography to these waste materials, the process recovers polyphenols, carbohydrates, and minerals that would otherwise be lost, transforming a cost center into a value-generating resource while reducing disposal costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a recovery system for waste streams that were previously discarded. Through ultrafiltration and ion exchange chromatography, valuable polyphenols and other phytochemicals are recovered from bagasse and mill mud, converting waste into recoverable resources and eliminating the need to discard these materials.
4Manufacturing precision
If white sugar is refined to 99.5% sucrose, then purity is maximized, but nutritional value and flavour are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by selectively concentrating specific components (polyphenols, minerals, organic acids) from molasses and incorporating them into sugar products. This creates sugar products with localized enhanced nutritional properties and flavour characteristics while maintaining the high purity sucrose base, rather than uniformly compromising purity for nutrition.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process produces extracts with balanced phytochemical profiles that can be used to create low glycemic index food products, improve the nutritional value of sugar, and utilize previously discarded waste streams, offering improved taste, stability, and increased commercial utility.
Implementation Method 1
using methods like fractionation by molecular weight, ultrafiltration, and ion exchange chromatography
Implementation Method 2
using methods like fractionation by molecular weight, ultrafiltration, and ion exchange chromatography
Implementation Method 3
using methods like fractionation by molecular weight, ultrafiltration, and ion exchange chromatography
Data Source
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AI summary
An extract derived from sugar cane having GI or burn rate reducing characteristics wherein the extract comprises a mixture of one or more polyphenols, one or more carbohydrates, one or more minerals and one or more organic acids.