Claims
- 1. A process for extracting sugar from dates which comprises the steps of:
- at least partially freezing pitted dates;
- subdividing said pitted dates into particle sizes suitable for extraction while said pitted dates are at least partially frozen;
- contacting the subdivided date particles with at least one extraction liquid for a sufficient time and at sufficiently elevated temperatures so as to extract at least some sugar therefrom; and
- separating the date fibers from the sugar enriched extraction liquid.
- 2. The process of claim 1 in which said subdivided dates contain at least some small particles.
- 3. The process of claim 1 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 3% by weight of small particles.
- 4. The process of claim 1 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 5% by weight of small particles.
- 5. The process of claim 1 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 10% by weight of small particles.
- 6. The process of claim 1 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 20% by weight of small particles.
- 7. The process of any one of claims 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in which said subdivided dates are separated from the sugar enriched extraction liquid by conducting at least a portion of the extraction liquid through at least one milli-screen containing a plurality of discrete milli-size openings.
- 8. The process of any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in which the sugar enriched extraction liquid is purified.
- 9. The process of any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8 in which the sugar enriched extraction liquid is further treated to reduce the water content.
- 10. The process of any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in which the extracted date fibers are mixed with ground date seeds.
- 11. The process of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in which said extraction of sugar from the subdivided dates is performed by pushing the date particles in one direction and flowing at least one water based extraction liquid in the opposite direction in contact with the date particles in counter-current diffusion for extraction of at least some sugar.
- 12. A process for extracting sugar from dates which comprises the steps of:
- at least partially freezing dates;
- subdividing said dates while at least partially frozen into particle sizes suitable for extraction;
- contacting the subdivided date particles with at least one water based extraction liquid for a sufficient time and at sufficiently elevated temperatures by countercurrent extraction so as to extract at least some sugar therefrom; and
- separating at least some of the date fibers from the sugar enriched water based extraction liquid.
- 13. The process of claim 12 in which said subdivided dates contain at least some small particles.
- 14. The process of claim 12 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 3% by weight of small particles.
- 15. The process of claim 12 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 5% by weight of small particles.
- 16. The process of claim 12 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 10% by weight of small particles.
- 17. The process of claim 13 in which said subdivided dates contain at least about 20% by weight of small particles.
- 18. The process of claim 12 in which the enriched water base extraction liquid is purified by at least one ultrafiltration step.
- 19. The process of claim 9, 12, or 18 further characterized in that the extracted sugar is dried under reduced pressures less than atmospheric in vacuum oven drying.
- 20. The process of claim 9, 12 or 18 further characterized in that the extracted sugar is dried under reduced pressures less than atmospheric by freeze drying.
- 21. The process of claim 9, 12 or 18 further characterized in that the extracted sugar is dried by spray drying.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 653,502, filed May 24, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,464, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/443,579, filed May 17, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 289,923, filed Aug. 12, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,893, which is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 08/106,077, filed Aug. 18, 1993, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (29)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
Shubber, B. H. "Sugar Extraction from Dates". Date Palm Journal, (1981), 1(1), pp. 61-78, 1981. |
Ehrenberg, J. "Production of Liquid Sugar from Dates". Zucker, (1977), 30(11), pp. 612-619, 1977. |
Milner. "Selection of Proper Working Screens For Continuous Sugar Centrifugals," 1992. (Month N/A). |
Continuations (1)
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Date |
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443579 |
May 1995 |
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Continuation in Parts (3)
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653502 |
May 1996 |
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289923 |
Aug 1994 |
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106077 |
Aug 1993 |
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