New Delhi, [India] July 31, 2025: Specialty chemicals company LANXESS India showcased its innovative Lewatit® ion-exchange resins tailored for sugar decolorization and purification at the 83rd STAI Centennial Annual Convention & International Sugar Expo. The event was held from July 24 to 26, 2025, at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in New Delhi.
Lewatit® ion exchange resins are an established and indispensable component in the food and beverage industry. Lewatit® S resins are certified in many countries around the world for the processing of food, beverages, and food and drink additives. The Lewatit® S series has, among other things, Halal and Kosher certifications.
Lewatit® ion exchangers and Lewatit® adsorbers play a crucial role in separation processes. Often there is no alternative to isolating, enriching, and cleaning valuable materials from the liquid phase. Lewatit® makes a decisive contribution to giving the products resulting from separation processes a purity, shelf life, pleasant taste, and good appearance that meets specifications.
Today the main fields of ion exchange resin application in the sugar industry can be described as follows:
- softening before evaporation and crystallization
- demineralization to increase yield by elimination of ash
- decolorization to improve sugar quality
- high quality liquid sugar production by elimination of ash and colorants
- catalysis by strong acid cation resins of inversion of sucrose
- chromatographic separation of glucose and fructose
- chromatographic separation of sugar and by-products from molasses
Ion exchange resins manufactured by LANXESS have been used for more than 80 years. For the use in the food industry, where standards are far higher than in the industrial water treatment, especially with regard to the purity of the final product, LANXESS has introduced a special Lewatit® product portfolio.
Sugar decolorization
The color of sugar juice from beet and cane increases during the production process. Colorants such as caramel color bodies are formed. When producing refined sugar, various Lewatit® adsorber resins based on styrene or acrylic polymers can be used to decolorize sugar syrups with more than 1,000 ICU to meet all quality requirements in the sugar industry.
Excellent operating capacity, low chemical, and low water consumption are key considerations in plant operation. Monodisperse macroporous or gel-type Lewatit® ion exchange resins offer major advantages for the decolorization process of food ingredients.
- Higher operating capacity at equal total capacity (+10%)
- Better kinetic properties of monodisperse Lewatit®IXRs
- Longer lifetime of Lewatit®IXRs
- Longer cycle times (breakthrough)
- Lower Lewatit® IXR loss (3–5%)
Liquid sugar – demineralization and inversion
In addition to decolorization, LANXESS offers optimized solutions for reverse demineralization of non-inverted liquid sugar. Liquid sugar, which is widely used in the food industry, benefits from ion exchange processes that enable complete demineralization through exchange at the functional groups with cations and anions.
The ion exchange system for reverse demineralization comprises strong base anion exchange resin (SBA) and weak acid cation exchange resin (WAC) units to avoid the formation of inverted sugar.
The first stage involves removing the anionic impurities and the second stage involves removing the cationic counterparts (removal of cations).
With a legacy of providing high-purity, food-grade purification technologies, LANXESS continues to support the sugar industry in achieving consistent product quality while adhering to global sustainability standards. The company’s presence at the STAI Expo highlighted its dedication to providing tailored, efficient, and practical solutions for key industrial needs.
