Evaluation of the production process of fructo-oligosaccharide syrup in a sorbitol plant

Abstract

The possible production of fructo-oligosaccharides from sucrose was
evaluated in the Base Business Unit (UEB) “Ignacio Agramonte'”, which
currently produces sorbitol, with low exploitation of the installed capacity, due
to lack of glucose. There was an opportunity in infrastructure, time and labor
to convert the entity into a multipurpose plant. A simulation model of the
technology for the production of fructo-oligosaccharide syrup from sucrose
was developed, based on the enzymatic transformation of sucrose into
fructo-oligosaccharides, using the recombinant enzyme 1-SST (1-sucrose:
sucrose fructosyltransferase) expressed in Pichia pastoris, obtained at the
Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at Sancti Spíritus. Model
validation yielded relative errors lesser than 5 %. Two improvement
alternatives were evaluated based on increasing the production of FOS by
using the actual installed capacity in the sorbitol factory (alternative 1) and
also increasing the initial concentration of the sucrose solution (alternative 2).
Feasibility of the alternatives was evaluated by comparing the annual net
cash income (Anci) and expenses. Alternative 2 was the best, producing
841.5 t of fructo-oligosaccharides in 90 working days, with a benefit/cost ratio
of 1,2.