DuPont has introduced the DuPont Sugar Separation Advisor, an interactive online platform created to simplify and speed up chromatographic separation development for sugar and sweetener producers.
As manufacturers expand into higher-value alternative sweeteners, including allulose, tagatose, sorbitol, xylose, and oligosaccharides, efficiently recovering and purifying specific molecules from complex feed streams has emerged as a significant bottleneck in early process development.
The new self-service tool helps process engineers assess separation potential at an early stage and identify the most suitable resin options for laboratory evaluation.
Empirical data instead of theoretical modeling
Rather than depending solely on theoretical calculations, the Sugar Separation Advisor draws on decades of DuPont application knowledge and extensive laboratory research. Its database contains experimentally determined resolution coefficients (R-values) generated through pulse testing of hundreds of combinations involving sugars, polyols, and impurities.
Major capabilities of the digital platform include:
- Customized feed stream design: users can choose the sugar or sweetener they want to recover and add as many as four other sugars, derivatives, or contaminants to mirror their actual process stream.
- Focused resin recommendations: the platform compares feed characteristics with DuPont’s AmberLite chromatographic separation resins, including potassium- and calcium-form products, and recommends appropriate bead sizes, water retention capacities, and ionic forms.
- Faster R&D timelines: reducing uncertainty during initial screening can help producers shorten pilot testing programs, lower labor requirements, and bring new sweetener products to market more quickly.
Supporting demand for alternative sweeteners
Growing interest in reduced-calorie, functional, and bio-based ingredients is prompting sweetener manufacturers to work with more challenging feedstocks. Because compounds with highly similar molecular structures can be difficult to separate—such as rare sugars and their secondary isomers—accurate resin selection is essential, whether the process relies on size exclusion or ionic affinity.
Through a guided interface that opens access to its proprietary chromatographic database, DuPont is seeking to connect early laboratory development with commercial-scale food and beverage production.
The DuPont Sugar Separation Advisor is now available online worldwide for process engineers, R&D teams, and plant managers.