Low Cost Sugar Decolourisation with Tulsion® A-722 MP
A large sugar refinery in Thailand was looking for an alternative resin solution that could maintain the required treated syrup quality while reducing resin costs. The plant operated a continuous lead-lag decolourisation system, with an acrylic resin in the primary column and a styrenic resin in the secondary column. The system treated 60° Brix sugar melt with an inlet colour of approximately 450–600 ICUMSA. The customer required the treated syrup colour to remain below 150 ICUMSA, while maintaining throughput and stable process performance.
Pilot Trial with Tulsion® A-722 MP
To meet these requirements, Thermax proposed Tulsion® A-722 MP as a replacement for the existing resin configuration. On-site pilot trials were conducted using Tulsion® A-722 MP in both the primary and secondary columns, resulting in a styrenic and styrenic configuration.
During the trial, a continuous feed was tapped from the sugar melt line. Key operating parameters including service hours, throughput, inlet and outlet colour and regeneration procedure were monitored to evaluate the resin performance.
Following the successful pilot trial and confirmation of the resin’s performance on-site, the customer replaced the existing acrylic and styrenic resin configuration across the streams with Tulsion® A-722 MP.
Consistent Results with Resin Cost Savings
Tulsion® A-722 MP delivered treated syrup quality comparable to the previous resin configuration while achieving the required outlet colour of below 150 ICUMSA. The resin also provided an equivalent treated volume of approximately 80 to 85 bed volumes (BV).
Other syrup quality parameters, including invert sugar, Brix, and pH, remained within acceptable limits throughout the treatment process. The replacement also delivered substantial resin cost savings for the customer. Following the successful implementation, the refinery continued replacing the resin in its other streams with Tulsion® A-722 MP.
Tulsion® A-722 MP Resin for Sugar Decolourisation
