Sorbitol Liquid

Brief Overview

Sorbitol is an organic compound with six carbons chain and an “OH” group classified as a hydroxyl group. C₆H₁₄O₆ is sorbitol’s molecular formula. Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that metabolizes slowly by living organisms. Its IUPAC name is (2S,3R,4R,5R)-Hexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexoland has other names like D-glucitol, Sorbogem, D-sorbitol, Sorbo. It is also well known as glucitol. Its solubility in water is 2350 g,L which means it is very soluble in polar solution. It melts at 95°C and boils at 296°C. It has a molar mass of 182.17 g,mol. It is a clean white powder that has a sweet taste.
Sorbitol is converted in our body to glucose because our intestine absorbs sugar as monomers. Most of the sorbitol production comes from corn syrup. It can be produced by reducing glucose. The process converts the aldehyde group to the hydroxyl group. We can find sorbitol in many fruits, such as pears, apples, prunes, and peaches. In our body, it is produced by converting 6-phosphate dehydrogenase to fructose. It is broken by sorbitol dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase, which are enzymes in carbohydrate metabolism.

Manufacturing Process

Sorbitol is mainly produced by catalytic hydrogenation and enzymatic hydrolysis. The raw material is starch found in star crops roots or grain. The following step is:

Preparing Dextrose Syrup

This process usually uses corn syrup as a raw material that dilutes in HCl (hydrochloric acid) at high temperature and pressure. Firstly, this mixture is added by the enzyme α-amylase, commonly released by the bacterium bacillus. The α-amylase breaks the starch into oligosaccharides. Then, the mixture is added again by y-amylase, and the result of the reaction is glucose. It was transported to the column, which loaded D-xylose isomerase as an enzyme.

Dextrose Hydrogenation

The pure dextrose solution is hydrogenated at high pressure and low temperature. It usually uses noble metal as a catalyst with high stability to minimize the side product and increase the activity of the reaction. The catalyst must not contaminate the result of the reaction because sorbitol is used in the chemical manufacture or food industry. It is utilized as a stirred reactor to obtain high-yield hydrogenated products. The catalyst used is regenerated and recycled.

Sorbitol Purification

The hydrogenated solution is decanted and transported through ion exchange. The result of this process contains 40% sorbitol. The purified solution is evaporated to a dry compound to get higher concentrations. The dry compound conceives about 70% sorbitol.
 

Food Industry

Sorbitol is an important substance used in this industry as a sweetener. It can substitute sugar that contains more calories. It is often utilized in cough syrup, mints, diet foods, candies, and sugarless chewing gum. Sorbitol is used in a frozen dessert for people with diabetes because of slowly metabolizes. It is also used for dietary food. Sometimes, sorbitol is utilized as a sweetener in cookies and other foods that are not classified as dietary items.

Detergent Industry 

Sorbitol is an important ingredient in toothpaste, especially for children's toothpaste. Sorbitol can give toothpaste a sweet taste that children like very much. Sorbitol also makes toothpaste moister, which is called a humectant. It is also used as an emulsifier to maintain the mix of ingredients. Sorbitol makes the toothpaste has high refractive indexes that are transparent.

Pharmaceutical Industry 

Sorbitol is used for constipation treatment as a laxative. Laxatives can increase feces movement. It works by keeping water in the colon, called a hyperosmotic agent, the brand name is SoftLax. It is also utilized as bacterial culture media to breed Escherichia coli, which can ferment sorbitol. If sorbitol mixes with kayexalate, it can assist the body in excess potassium ions.