Sugar Industry: Effect of Dextran Concentrations on the Sucrose Crystallization in Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

Using the spectrophotometric method, as a new method, the influence of dextran on the sucrose solubility and metastable zone width has been studied. In agreement with the literature the experimental data show that the dextran has a negligible effect on the sucrose solubility. The results also show that this impurity decreases the sucrose metastable zone width. The study of the nucleation kinetics performed, using Nyvlt’s approach, shows that the dextran accelerates the nucleation and that the nuclei are formed in the solution by instantaneous nucleation. The presence of dextran in the system causes a decrease in the growth rate of sucrose. The growth process of sucrose is governed by a Birth and Spread mechanism. The kinetic parameters of sucrose growth in aqueous solutions without and with dextran were estimated.