The role of coconut shell activated carbon in the sugar industry

One of the traditional applications of coconut shell activated carbon is in the sugar industry, where it is an indispensable decolorizing material for sugar solutions. The domestic sugar industry uses chemical decolorization methods, employing sulfur dioxide bleaching to reduce pigments. While effective, this method causes the color to turn yellow upon contact with air, and it is neither environmentally friendly nor healthy. Therefore, activated carbon for sugar solution decolorization has become the primary raw material for the refined decolorization of sucrose. So, what is the principle behind the refined decolorization of sucrose?

Coconut shell activated carbon possesses an exceptionally large specific surface area and a well-developed pore structure, enabling it to adsorb various colored substances. Studies have shown that the ratio of different substances adsorbed by activated carbon from a solution is not consistent with the ratio of these substances' concentrations in the solution; it always strives to make the concentrations of various solutes on the adsorption surface as equal as possible. Thus, even under the same adsorption force, lower concentrations of non-sugar substances in sugar solutions are more easily adsorbed than higher concentrations of sucrose. Furthermore, the colored substances in syrups generally have larger molecules with correspondingly larger molecular weights, allowing for a greater reduction in the surface energy of the activated carbon through adsorption. Therefore, syrups treated with activated carbon are largely decolorized.

Coconut shell activated carbon plays a vital role in the sugar industry, serving to decolorize and purify the sugar. It removes pigments from caramel syrup while also eliminating certain off-flavors. The effectiveness of this clarification process not only determines the quality of the sugar but also affects its sugar content. Therefore, activated carbon is used for clarification, precipitating and removing non-sugar components from the sucrose.

· Fujian Guangyuan Carbon Products Co.,Ltd.