A modified quentin method for desalting thin juice and mother liquor B in beet sugar industry

This work reports on a modification of the standard Quentin method by the use of Ca2+- enriched brine obtained by electrodialysis (ED) treatment of thin juice to regenerate the Ca2+ form of the resin used to remove of K+ and Na+ in mother liquor B. Results showed that after the ED treatment was carried out under the best operating conditions (voltage of 1.17 V/Cell and recirculating flow rate of 70 l/h), BK001 resin was regenerated within 3.6 h with a Ca2+ exchange capacity of 53.9 mg CaO per ml wet resin. The ED treatment removed 61.3% of conductive ashes in the thin juice, and its purity was increased from 90.0% to 92.3% while continuously treating thin juice under the optimal conditions. The modified method has potential to improve the sugar yield in beet sugar industry.

Research Highlights
► A modified Quentin method for the desalting process in sugar industry was developed.
► The electrodialysis(ED) treatment removed 61.3% of conductive ashes in thin juice.
► The regeneration time of BK001 resin was short to 3.6 h using the ED brine.
► Optimum conditions of the ED treatment were 1.17 V/cell at a flow rate of 70 l/h.
► The present technique can avoid the introduction of foreign Mg2+ in sugar processing.