Hydrolysis of High Concentration Sucrose Solution into Glucose and Fructose over Amberlyst-15 Catalyst

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the reaction time and temperature on the hydrolysis of sucrose to glucose and fructose using an Amberlyst-15 catalyst. The experiments were conducted in a 100 mL high-pressure batch reactor. The initial sucrose concentration of 500 g/L, initial nitrogen pressure of 101.3 kPa, and catalyst loading of 0.2 g remained constant during the reactions. An increase in the reaction temperature and time, which varied in the range of 303–373 K and 1–12 h, respectively, resulted in an increase in the glucose and fructose yields owing to the high acidity of Amberlyst-15. The most elevated glucose and fructose yields based on carbon moles of 0.50 mol-C/mol-C and 0.49 mol-C/mol-C, respectively, were obtained at 373 K after 3 h with complete sucrose conversion. Moreover, Amberlyst-15 was reused for more than 24 cycles, with complete sucrose conversion and a high yield of inverted sugar. Therefore, Amberlyst-15 is an active, selective, and stable catalyst for sucrose hydrolysis.