Indian Journal of Chemical Technology

Vol. 8, Janua ry 200 I, pp. 28-32

New technology for invert sugar and high fructose syrups from sugarcane
J K Gehl awat
Raha Gchlawat Sugar Academy, 248, R K Vihar, I P Extension, Delhi 110092, India
Receiled 28 Jun e 1998; accepred 13 No1'e111ber 2000

The in vert sugar is an cquimolar mixture of glucose and fructose. It may be obtained on hydrolysis of sucrose under
milder conditi ons using strong cat ioni c res in s. The fru ctose contelll may be incre::tsed to about 60 per cent level by a partial
removal of glucose from invert sugar using the technique of column chromatography. The resultant product is called hi gh
fructose syrups (HFS) whi ch is traditi onal ly produced from starch. HFS may be produced from sucrose wi th econom ic
adva ntage by thi s novel process. The production of invert sugar and high fructose sy rups from suc rose (cane juice) is cost
effecti ve. It has been co mmercialized in India . Thi s paper discusses the sali ent features of thi s novel technology, which
results in an effective 25 per cent increase in the sweetener output from the same quantity of suga rcane as molasses as a
waste product is avoided.

In vert Sugar
In vert sugar finds applications for biscuits,
confectionery, beverages, bakery , several other food
and pharmaceutical formu lations. Traditionally, invert
sugar is produced from sucrose usin g minerals acids
like H2S0 4 and HCI. This conventional method
suffers from low conversion efficiency (65-70 per
cent), hi gh ash content and undesirable products (7-8
per cent). Moreover, the invert syrup thus obtained is
dark in colour. In view of these drawbacks of the
traditional process, attempts have been made to
develop alternate methods to produce invert suga r
und er relatively milder process conditions. Enzymatic
hydrolysis of sucrose with in ve rtase has been
recommended in the literature 13 Recentl y, the use of
an immobili zed invertase as a cata lyst in a fixed-bed
reactor is claimed to produce invert sugar sy rups of
. ? 4.
I11.g I1 punty-

Inversion of sucrose may be carried out usin g

cationi c res ins. Strong cationic resins behave as
catalysts in liquid media. They possess catalytic
properties comparable to strong acids . Thus, by
choosi ng a cation resin of proper acidity and porosity,
any degree of sucrose inversion could be achieved
without the introd ucti on of any electrolyte into the
syrup 56 . The inversion of sucrose using strong cation
resins is a cheaper process for invert suga rs and hi gh
fru ctose syrups 7 .
High Fructose Syrups
During the past three decades, high fructose syru ps
(HFS ) have emerged as cheaper alternati ve
sweeteners. They are manufactured by isomerization

of high purity (+98 DE) starch hydrolysates usi ng

immobilized glucose isomerase as th e catalyst. The
equ ilibrium mixture thus obtained contains about 42
per cent fructose and 58 per cent glucose.
Commercially acceptable syrups must possess
minimum 55 per cent fructose content. Thi s is
ach ieved by enrichment of fructose co ntent in th e
mixture through column chromatography. Geh lawat
has been a strong supporter of production of HFS on
large scale in Indi a to supplement the supply of cane
sugar8 10 The production of hi gh fructose syrups from
sucrose through its cationic inversion has been
suggested 11
Cane juice is the principal source of sucrose. The
raw cane juice may be clarified by membrane
techniques like ultrafiltration to el iminate organic
impurities and by electrodialysis to remove inorgani c
salts 12 16 The sucrose soluti on (clarifi ed cane juice)
thu s obtained may be inverted in a fixed bed reactor
of strong cation res ins as di sc ussed by Seema and
Geblawat 17 and Sinha and Gehlawat 18 . Nea rly equ al
amou nts of glucose and fructose are formed with
cation resins in H+ form. Interestingly, theCa++ form
of the same res in is found to separate glucose from
fructose in column chromatography' 9 .
Inversion of sucrose present in refined cane juice is
the most economical meth od of obtaining eq uimolar
mixtures of glucose and fru ctose which on enri chment
through the column chromatographic technique
produces the cheapest and superior grades of hi gh
fructose syrups. Thus, in Ind ia, HFS from cane juice
may compete favou:ab ly with the syrups obtained
from corn in countri es like USA 17'20 . Fig. 1 shows two

GEHLAWAT: INVERT SUGAR AND HIGH FRUCTOSE SYRUPS FROM SUGARCANE

c,z Hn o,,
Sucrose

29

H /Invertase

.+

INVERSION

Glucose

Fructose

Invert SugarT
J

Adsorp-tion .

Chromatography~

c::Y
(/)

0
.......

c::Y
(/)

:J

c::Y

.r:.

:J

L..

L..

<-9:;:

c::Y

'-- a

.~

lL

Q_

Starch

lL

High Fructose
Syrups

l.__.

Glucose

L..

L..

Jl

(C6 H1005) n

0
lL .......
1J u

Enzymatic
Isomerization

For- Sates

H .fd[3Amytases rtC6H1206
HYDROLYSIS

Glucose

Fig. !-Chemistry and method of productionof fructose and high fructose syrups

alternate schemes for the production of fr uctose and

high fructose syrups.
This paper describes recent developments for the
production of invert sugar and high fructose syrups .
Table 1 gives data on relati ve sweetness of common
sugars and Table 2 provides typical composition of
commercial grades of high fructose syrups.

New Technology for Invert Sugar

India has taken a lead in developing new processes for
invert sugar. The National Research and Development
Corporation (NRDC) is marketing the enzyme
process developed by Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre (BARC) . A few plants have been set up based
1
on thi s technolog/ lndi an I~stitute of Technology,
Kanpur, has developed a nove l process based on res in
7 20
technolog/' . Fi g. 2 shows the kinetics of
hydrolysi s of sucrose usin g strong ca ti onic resin s. lt is

a reasonably fast reaction and complete inversion

occurs within about 30 min under optimum
conditions. This technology has been commercialized
22
with excellent results . The details of the process
20
have been reported elsewhere . Invert sugar is
obtained on hydrolysis of sucrose. The final syrup
contains about 75-80 per cent dry solids (mixture of
glucose and fructose) . It has a relative sweetness of
120 as compared to sucrose as 100 (Table I) . Fig. 3
shows the process flowsheet. Scheme A is for the
production of syrtip from refined cane juice during the
season. Scheme - B is with crystal sugar as the raw
material that may be used during the off season .

Cheaper Syrups from Cane juice

Traditionall y high fructose syrups are produ ced
from the hydrolysates of starch. The extracti on of
starch from corn (maize) is a complex process.

INDIAN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., JANUARY 2001

30

lOQr-------------------------------,
Glucose

l> Glucoso

0 Fruct ose

60

c
0

Ill

0
Q_

40

Res in : RDL-90-7

::J

"8

Flow ra\e.SOml(min

20

Relative sweetness of sugars; 15 C, 15 % solution

Sugar

Relative sweetness

Cane sugar (sucrose)

Fructose (crystalline: 100%)
D-glucosc (crystalline: I 00 %)
Invert sugar ( 100 %)
Medium invert (50 %)
HFS (90 wt %)
HFS (55 wt %)
HFS (42 wt % )
42 DE Glucose syrup
Maltose
Lactose

100
178
70
123
110
125-130
105- 110
95- 100
45
35
t5

Fru ctose

X Sue rose
(I)

Table I -

Table 2 - Typical composition s of commerci al grades o f HFS

pHS.3 ;Tem p = 60'C

'-

Suc r ose soln. 300fo(w/v

Q_

0~----~~--~~~~==~--~

o.o

30.0

Tim<2 (min)

Fig. 2 -

ln vc rsion of sucrose in a resin bed

Moreover, the subsequent processes such as

enzymati c hydrolysis of starch to glucose and its
partial isomerization to fructose are far more complex
reactions. On the other hand the extraction of sucrose
either from sugarcane or sugarbeet and its inversion to
obtain equ imolar mixtures of glucose and fructose are
rel atively simple operations. Fig. 4 shows a schematic
flow diagram for a commercial process.
It may be note.d that realizable starch content in
mai ze is about 60 per cent. At its current price of
Rs.S,SOO per metric tonne, the material cost of starch
works out to about Rs.9,000 per metric tonne.
Similarly, the practical range of sucrose content in
mature cane is 13- 15 per cent. About 2 per cent sucrose
is lost with bagasse during juice extraction . Hence, the
realizable sucrose content in refined juice may be 12
per cent on an average. At the current sugarcane price
of Rs.800 per metric tonne, the raw material cost in
terms of sucrose amounts to Rs. 6,500 per metric
tonne. Jn the southern zone, where the sugar content in
cane is much hi gher, the effective raw material cost
will be lower at Rs.6,000 per metric tonne.
This analys is shows that as compared to starch,
sugarcane is cheaper by about Rs .2,500 per metric
tonne for the production of high fructose syrups.
Further in view of the complexity of the process from
starch the investment in plant and equipment as well
as the manufacturing cost for the traditional process
for HFS is much higher th an from sugarcane as an
alternative route for the given capacity . Hence, under
Indian conditions, sugarcane is a cost-effective raw
material for the production HFS 20 .

%sol ids
% ash (sulphated), DS
% Fructose, DS
% D-glucose, DS
% other saccharides. DS

55 to60 % HFS

90 % HFS

77.00
0.03
55-60
4 1-36
4.00

80.00
0.03
90.00
7.00
3.00

As regards the economics of invert sugar from

refined cane juice, it may be mentioned that there is
no loss of sucrose, like it takes place to the extent of
about 2 per cent in molasses in th e case of crystal
sugar. Consequently the yield is hi gher by about 2 per
cent. Moreover, invert syrup contains about 20 per
cent water and possesses higher sweetness. Hence,
invert sugar from cane juice is much cheaper than
crystal sugar.
Huge Market Potential for In vert Sugar and HFS
As sweeteners, invert sugar and hi gh fructose
syrups can replace sucrose 1n almost all its
appl ications. Functionally, they possess more
desirable properties than sucrose and are much
sweeter. In fact, chemically, invert sugar is same as
honey and replaces honey in herbal cosmetics and
simi lar other applications. Its humectant property
increases shelf life of processed fruits, bread , cake
and pastry. It is used by bakers and biscuit
manufacturers as carameliser and it lends texture to
the product. In bread, it hastens yeas t activation. It
does not crystall ize even at high concentrations and
low temperatures. Hence, it is ideal for cough syrups,
condensed milk, sq uashes and icecreams. Being much
sweeter than sugar, it helps in masking the bitterness
of tonics and pharmaceutical preparations. It is good
for soft drinks and fruit juices. It releases instant
energy as it is readily assimilated by the human body.
Hence, it is good for th e kids and the sports persons.

It emerges from the above th at invert sugar and

HFS are ideally suited for the non-domestic market

GEHLA WAT: INVERT SUGA R AND HIGH FRUCTOS E SYR UPS FROM SUGA RCANE

31

Crystal

~
SCHEME - B

Ac tiv a t ed
car bo n

Cation resin
reactor

E va po rat or s
To vac/
conden ser

Fi l te r press

ClarifiedJ
can e j uice
(15-20'/, [). ~

SCHE ME-A

Holding
tank

Fig. 3 -

(j)

Ho lding
t an k

Holdi ng
ta nk

Demineralis ing Holding

unit
t a nk

A Schemati c now sheet for th e prod ucti on of in ve rt sy rup from ca ne juice/suga r crystals

H olding ta n k

(I)Inve r sion /I somer i salion

colu mns

55% High Fructose syrup

G)

Fil t er press
(!;)F r uctose enr i chm e nt
uni t

,---__.....JL-~-, 300fo Glucose 70 oro

Ble nding un it

F r uctose

Water ( Oesorbent )

(0 Solid
Cation resins 1-(
lmmo b illsed
Isom e rase
Enz yme

70fo Fructose (A)

L-------~--~

Hi~h DE sy r up

Feed

.....

Refin e d Can e j u ic e

98 fo Glu co se

(A D)

1 I

~
0

D
Desorpti o n
o f Fructo s e (A)
~---------

Des o r p t ion
of Gl u co s e (B)

~('-A.:._.:._B:,_)__+-~--1-~- -~ ~ Ads orption

.2
g of Fru c t ose(A)
(BD) lL

Glucose

(EJ

lL

Partia l
des o rpt ion
of D

Re c cle stock

Fig. 4-A Sche mati c n ow diagram fo r the COilllllercial process fo r HFS

li ke th e food process in g indus try, soft drinks and

pharmaceuti cals. It is es tim ated th at the industri al
sector co nsum es about 30 per cent of cutTent sugar
co nsumption th at is about 13.0 million tonnes. Thus,
th e potential market for in ve rt sugar is of the order of
4.0 million tonnes, whi ch is indeed a hu ge market.
Effective Sweetener Output could be up by 25 per cent
It emerges fro m the above analys is th at in vert
syrups can substitute crysta l sugar in the industri al
sector with adva ntage. Prese ntl y the non-domestic
sector co nsumes about 4.0 million tonnes of crys tal

sugar. 25 per cent ex tra qu anti ty , that is about 1.0

million tonnes add iti onal in vert sy rup can be
produced from the same qu antity of suga rcane since
the loss of suga r in molasses is eliminated. Th is
additi onal 1.0 million tonn e equi va lent of sugar
produced annuall y is worth abo ut Rs. l ,500 crores.
The surplus sugar thus produ ced will imp rove the
profitab ility of sugar industry.
Conclusion
The sugar industry need to increase prod uct range
to im pro ve its pro fit ability. The production of in ve rt

32

INDI AN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., JAN UA RY 200 1

sugar and hi gh fructose syrups by this new

tech nology, particul arly for the non-domestic sector,
is in the national interest. The corresponding sugar
output will increase by about 25 per cent. The
integration of cane splitting technique for juice
extraction as discussed elsewheret 6 in details, makes
this process ideally suited for the mini-sugar plants.
The development and implementation of such costeffective technologies should be promoted in the
large r national interests.
References
I Mo nson P & Combes D, Biotechnol. /Jioeng, 26( 1984) 347.
2 Mansfield J, Schellenberger A & Rombach J, Biotechnol
/Jioeng, 40 ( 1992) 997.
3 Kumar V, Kumar N R & Upadhyay S N, Indian J Chem
Techno/, 2(1995) 179.
4 Anon , Business Line, 2 June (1993) 126.
5 Kulhanek , MiLos & Tadra Mil anc Czech CS 206, 710, 15
Scpi., ( 1983) Chem Abstr I00 ( 1984). I0545 lj .
6 Tadra Milan , Tuma Jan, Kulh anek Mi Los L C & Lis ty
Cukrov, I0 I( I), I0-15 ( 1985) (CLcc h) ; Chem. Absrr. I03
( 1985) 72842 .
7 Gehlawat Sccma & Gch lawat J K, Chem lnd News, 40 ( 1995)
595.
8 Gc hl awat J K, (Ed), Mode mizarion of l11dian suga r induslt)',
(A rnold Publishers, New Delhi ), 1990.

9 Gchlawat J K, J Sci lnd Res, 50 ( 199 1) 989.

I0 Gehlawat J K, Chemical Weekly, 39(20) ( 1994) 135.
II Schoenrock, Karlhein z W R, Kearney, Michael M, Rearick &
Enge ne D, US Appl. 267, 065 , 261h May ( 198 1), 33 pp ; Chem.
Ab.11r, 98 (1983) 9135lc.
12 Anon, Chemical Weekly, April 13 ( 1993) 114.
13 Kum ar R, Singh V, Sastogi, S, Brar, P, Meh ta R N & Raina P,
?roc. 54'" STAI, Convenrion, ( 1992) I.
14 Sarma M V J, Mal she V C & Gehla wat J K, Studies in
ultrafilt ration of sugar cane juice, ?roc. CHEMCON- '93,
Bombay (Dec. 15-1 8) ( 1993).
15 Gehlawat J K, Clarification of cane juice by the membrane
technology, Proc. STA I Seminar, Bhubancshwar, April 29
( 1995) .
16 Gchlawat J K, J Sci lnd Res , 57( 1998), 490.
17 Ge hl awat Secma and Gchlawat J K, Hi gh fructose syrups
from cane juice, ?roc ISSCT Con Carragena, Columbia.
Scpl. 8- 17 ( 1995).
18 Sinha Chitra & Gehlawat J K, In dian J Chem Tecllllol , 2
(1995) 171.
19 Niranjan T & Gchlawat J K, In dian Ch em Engr, 35(4) ( 1993)
217.
20 Kumar Satendra & Gc hlawat J K, J Set lnd Res, 55 ( 1996)
490.
21 Chandrashekar S, Sucrose faces the boot as in vert suga r
smiles sweet ly, Economic Tim es, Nov. 4 ( 1997).
22 Product Bulletin, Highlights of Vistas Liquid Cold, VISTA
Invertase Ltd., Dhampur, India, 1997.