New Delhi, July 24, 2025 – Specialty chemicals company LANXESS India is presenting its innovative Lewatit® ion-exchange resins tailored for sugar decolorization and purification at the 83rd STAI Centennial Annual Convention & International Sugar Expo from 24th to 26th July, 2025 at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre, 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 highlights its dedication to providing tailored, efficient, and practical solutions for key industrial needs.
Visit us at Booth no.65, Multipurpose Hall – Level 3, Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre, New Delhi.
About LANXESS:
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.4 billion in 2024. The company currently has about 12,000 employees in 32 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives and consumer protection products. LANXESS has achieved leading positions in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index and the MSCI ESG and ISS ESG ratings, among others, for its commitment to sustainability.
Forward-Looking Statements
This company release contains certain forward-looking statements, including assumptions, opinions, expectations and views of the company or cited from third party sources. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results, financial position, development or performance of LANXESS AG to differ materially from the estimations expressed or implied herein. LANXESS AG does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors, nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecast developments. No representation or warranty (expressed or implied) is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, any information, estimates, targets and opinions contained herein, and no liability whatsoever is accepted as to any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein, and accordingly, no representative of LANXESS AG or any of its affiliated companies or any of such person’s officers, directors or employees accepts any liability whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the use of this document.
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