L-Gulose → Sorbitol

Participants

Reaction Steps

A method for producing L-sugars including L-idose and L-gulose from D-glucose. The method comprises hydrogenating D-glucose to provide sorbitol, oxydizing the D-sorbitol to provide L-sorbose, racemizing the L-sorbose to provide a mixture of L-sorbose, L-idose and L-gulose, and precipitating the L-sorbose with lime from a dilute solution. The unconverted L-sorbose is recovered by carbonation and recycled. The hydrogenation of glucose is done in a fixed catalyst bed.

Provenance & Evidence