Removal of Odor-Causing Components in Beet Sugar by Adsorption and Oxidation Techniques

Odor problem in beet sugar is a significant issue in the sugar industry. This study aimed to eliminate the primary odor-causing compounds in beet sugar: acetic acid, butyric acid and isovaleric acid, in order to remove the odor. It was carried out using two different methods. The first method involved removing odor-causing compounds from the dark syrup, the main intermediate product of sugar production, using an adsorption technique with activated carbon. Color removal from the syrup was achieved within 20 minutes, while odor removal was completed within 30 minutes. The highest color removal efficiency (99.1%) was obtained at 25 °C within 30 minutes using 50 g/L of activated carbon in a 50 g/L dark syrup solution. When odor removal was evaluated at a dark syrup concentration of 200 g/L, removal efficiencies were 93.7% for acetic acid, 66.1% for butyric acid, and 100% for isovaleric acid. As a second deodorization method, oxidation was applied to white sugar using air and ozone as oxidizing agents. Air treatment for 15 minutes at 50 °C with a flow rate of 5 L/min resulted in the removal of 76.2% of acetic acid and 100% of both butyric acid and isovaleric acid, achieving an overall removal efficiency of 84.7%. Ozone treatment for 15 minutes at 25–75 °C completely removed butyric and isovaleric acids and eliminated at least 80% of acetic acid.