ABSTRACT
The concept of zero waste in the sugar industry has encouraged the development of technologies that promote utilization of by-products, including the enzymatic conversion of waste feed stocks into nutraceutical products. Here we investigated a membrane reactor for the production of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) with immobilized enzyme (Pectinex Ultra SP-L) system using pretreated molasses as substrate with cleaning efficiency and less fouling as performance tools. The resulting spectra showed a high FOS yield of 63% with 89% conversion from available sucrose. So, the enzymatic membrane reactor system with innovative continuous separation of enzyme was proved to fit for the production of FOS.
Acknowledgements
We thank Südzucker, BGD-Bodengesundheitsdienst GmbH (Ochsenfurt, Germany) for providing molasses for research purpose and acknowledge The Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Arts (LOEWE-Program), for financial support.
Funding
The second author is grateful for the Marie Curie FP7 Integration Grant provided by the 7th European Union Framework Program (PCIG11-GA-2012-322219).