School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sustainable Production of Low-Calorie Tagatose via CaO-Promoted Galactose Isomerization with CO 2 Neutralization under Ambient Conditions

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-11-2025

Abstract

Tagatose is a low-calorie sweetener with comparable sweetness to sucrose. This study presents a green process for tagatose production via galactose isomerization using CaO at room temperature, followed by neutralization with CO2, H2SO4, or H3PO4. At a CaO/galactose molar ratio of 1/1 and 0.5 M galactose, 86.7% galactose conversion and 43.7% tagatose yield were achieved when CO2 was used for neutralization. Replacing CaO with CaCl2, triethylamine, or arginine significantly reduced galactose conversion. Neutralization with H3PO4 resulted in higher galactose conversion (89.1%) but lower tagatose selectivity (53.6%) than H2SO4 (69.1%, 73.2%). Techno-economic analysis showed tagatose minimum selling prices of $0.80/kg (H2SO4), $0.81/kg (CO2), and $0.85/kg (H3PO4). Sensitivity analysis identified plant capacity, IRR, and galactose price as key cost drivers. Life cycle assessment found CO2 neutralization had the lowest environmental impacts. This work provides a sustainable approach to tagatose production and offers insights into nonenzymatic green sugar isomerization.

Comments

Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society

Publication Title

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

DOI

10.1021/acs.iecr.5c01664

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS