Special Report
Sorbitol Industry: A Techno-Commercial Profile
PANKAJ DUTIA
pankaj@chemicalweekly.com
INTRODUCTION
Sorbitol, a hexavalent sugar alcohol
is a common constituent in many edible
fruits. Although known since many de-
cades, it could not find any commercial
application, as its extraction from fruits
was very expensive.
Sorbitol was first isolated from the
juice of mountain ash berry (Srobus
Americana, S. decora) in 1872 by the
French chemist, Joseph Bovssingavit.
However, both the small yield and the
high price of the finished product did not
offer any inducement for the industry to
employ sorbitol. Its importance was
recognised later only after the large scale
economical manufacture of sorbitol from
the commercially available glucose be-
came possible by catalytic reductions
with hydrogen. During the last few de-
cades, numerous industrial uses of sor-
bitol were established in Europe, USA,
Japan and elsewhere in the world, to
make it one of the important industrial
chemicals, with innumerable applica-
tions in a large number of industrial pro-
cesses.
The versatile and unique properties
of sorbitol came to be known to the In-
dian industry only during the last two to
three decades. Even today, the indigenous
industries are not yet familiar with the
Chemical Weekly April 3, 2007
varied and versatile properties of sorbi-
tol and its applications in industrial pro-
cesses.
Properties
Commercially, sorbitol is generally
marketed in the form of 70% solution, as
a clear colorless or faint yellow syrupy
liquid, with a sweet cooling taste. It is
chemically classified as a polyhydric al-
cohol.
Being a hexavalent alcohol, it is
closely related chemically to the biva-
lent glycol, ethylene glycol and glycerol.
However, unlike glycols and glycerol,
sorbitol occurs as a white solid sub-
stance. In an aqueous solution of 70%
w/w strength, sorbitol has many com-
mon properties of glycols and glycerol,
which make sorbitol a good substitute.
Sorbitol is chemically inert and there-
fore compatible with many chemical sub-
stances, which makes it useful in cos-
metic and pharmaceutical formulations
and minimise the dangers of any side
reactions.
Sorbitol liquid (70%) hardly reacts to
fluctuations in environmental humidity.
This makes sorbitol liquid a good humec-
tant (water stabilizer).
A good humectant should stabilize
the water content, i.e. not respond to
moisture fluctuations of the environment
to any considerable degree and must,
therefore, not be too hydroscopic. While
glycols and glycerol belong to the highly
hydroscopic group of substances, sorbi-
tol liquid 70% is only moderately hygro-
scopic. Therefore, optimum softening
and flexibility effects in a product may
be obtained with sorbitol liquid along or
in combination with glycols, glycerol and
other humectants. As a humectant plas-
ticizer sorbitol is now increasingly used
either alone or in combination with gly-
cerol in the gelatin capsule industry,
printing ink formulations, cosmetic emul-
sions and tobacco processing.
Sorbitol is non-volatile with steam,
contrary to glycerol and other polyalco-
hols. This makes the use of sorbitol eco-
nomical. For example, during the roast-
ing process of tobacco, the water poly-
alcohols mixture is to be heated with
steam and the lower polyhydric alcohols
(like glycerol) are lost by evaporation
with the consequent loss of active sub-
stances. Also, at normal temperatures,
the nonvolatile character of sorbitol has
a beneficial effect, especially in products
with large surfaces. Such is the case
during the storage of cut tobacco, paper,
foils, bottle capsules and others. The
lower alcohols in the place of sorbitol
will gradually evaporate and thus the
products may lose flexibility, whereas
with sorbitol liquid, this risk is eliminated
with advantage. The non-volatile nature
of sorbitol liquid also makes it useful ei-
ther alone or in combination with gly-
cerol, in textile dressing, dyeing and
printing.
To summarise, the principal advan-
tages which sorbitol exhibits over other
polyols are:
w Sorbitol gives up water very slowly to
dry atmosphere
w Sorbitol takes up water very slowly
from a humid atmosphere
Sorbitol liquid does not, like the lower
alcohols, destroy foam. For this unique
209
 Special Report

property, sorbitol liquid is particularly of gically, also, sorbitol is innocuous and,
value for the formulations of products, therefore, can safety be incorporated in
where a high grade foaming capacity is cosmetic and dental formulations. Sor-
the essential mark of quality, such as bitol powder is preferred in the prepara-
shaving creams, shaving soaps and tion of sorbitol based esters and
other cosmetic preparations. polyethers.
In addition, sorbitol liquid does not Applications
promote electrical charging. It has con- In general, hexitols and their deriva-
siderable anti-static activity. This anti- tives particularly Sorbitol, are used in
static activity provides certain advan- diverse industries, viz. pharmaceuticals,
tages in textile finishing and paper pro- cosmetics, toothpastes, cigarettes,
cessing. foods, textiles, adhesives, confectionery,
printing ink, etc.
The relatively non-toxicity of sorbi-
tol, further, is a distinctive advantage, One of the major uses of sorbitol is
when compared to the toxicity exhibited as a humectant and conditioning agent.
by ethylene glycol in internal use. This Many products under day-to-day atmo-
non-toxicity has made possible the ex- spheric changes require the addition of a
tensive use of sorbitol in oral pharma- humectant to assist them to retain their
ceutical formulations and edible gelatin freshness, softness and flexibility and to
capsules. For the same reason, the Food maintain ideal manufacturing conditions.
and Drug Administration permits the use
of sorbitol in the manufacture of wrap- Confectionery
ping papers for foodstuffs. Dermatolo- In candy manufacture, sorbitol is used
Table 1
Typical Specifications of sorbitol (70%)
Particulars Non-Crystallising Sorbitol
Description A clear colourless viscous liquid.
Taste Mild sweet
Specific gravity at 25°C 1.285 Min
Refractive index at 20°C 1.455-1.465
Acidity OR NMT 0.2-ml of 0.01M NaOH or NMT 0.3-ml of 0.01M HCl
solution as per specified test in I.P.
Reducing sugar NLT 12.8-ml of 0.05 M sodium thiosulphate solution
should be consumed as per specified test in I.P.
Optical rotation +1.5. to +3.5. (as per specified test in I.P.)
Clarity & color Clear & colourless
Arsenic NMT 2-ppm
Heavy metals NMT 10-ppm
Chloride NMT 50-ppm
Sulphate NMT 125-ppm
Nickel NMT 1-ppm
Sulphated ash NMT 0.1% w/w
Solid matter 68% to 72% w/w
Polyols NLT 62% w/w as D-Glucitol  and cooling taste, sorbitol contributes to
NMT: not more than; NLT: not less than
together with sugar to increase shelf life.
The function of sorbitol is to retard the
solidification of sugar often associated
with staleness in candy. It also helps to
improve softness, taste and texture. In
butter creams additional benefit is en-
hanced flavour. Sorbitol may be used in
diabetic chocolates. Sorbitol is used as
humectant and softener in shredded co-
conut, its decided advantage over invert
sugar being that the darkening of the pro-
duct does not occur. Sorbitol 70% added
to peanut butter has been shown to re-
duce dryness and crumbliness and im-
prove spreadability.
Textiles
Sorbitol functions in textile applica-
tions basically as a dispensing agent, hu-
mectant bodying agent and sequester-
ing agent. In printing, a paste of 2% to 3%
sorbitol solution 70% (on the weight of
the gum in the dye paste) prevents le-
vering of the paste, improves brightness
and intensity of colour, assists penetra-
tion, prevents bleeding and promotes
leveling.
In textile sizing, sorbitol acts as a
humectant and especially in winter it
preserves the film of adhesive from be-
coming dry and maintains its plasticity.
In finishing, it gives a soft feel, good
drape and proven dimension stability to
the fabric.
Tobacco
The moisture content of cigarettes
is very important, and change in mois-
ture content, due to change in humidity,
is minimised if sorbitol is used as condi-
tioner. Also sorbitol is non-volatile and
hence there is no danger of losing the
conditioner during drying and other
pressing operations. Sorbitol is compa-
tible with various ingredients used in to-
bacco mixture. Because of its sweetness
the flavour of chewing tobacco besides
conditioning the product.

210 Chemical Weekly April 3, 2007


Adhesives
Sorbitol is the ideal answer since it
neither loses nor absorbs any appreciable
quantity of water, unlike conventional
humectants like glycerine or ethylene
glycol. Sorbitol increases the viscosity
of the glue composition so that more
water is needed, resulting in greater
economy. Sorbitol functions as a mois-
ture conditioning agent and its non-vola-
tility ensures non-cracking labels and
envelops with minimum of curling.
Pharmaceuticals
Sorbitol finds use as a bodying agent
in pharmaceutical syrups and elixirs. The
use of sorbitol in cough syrups reduces
the tendency of the bottle caps to stick
due to the crystallisation of the sugar
present. Sorbitol is a good humectant and
plasticiser and these properties make it
useful in emulsion ointments, non-fat
soluble ointments and gelatine capsules.
Ointments, creams and pastes will show
satisfactory spreading capacity with sor-
bitol as adjuvant. Aqueous sorbitol solu-
tions are not subjected to fermentative
decomposition, and that is why sorbitol
finds increasing use in the preparation of
dental formulations for buckle cavity.
Cosmetics
Sorbitol is widely used in cosmetics,
both as a humectant to retard loss of
water from oil in water (O/W) type of
creams and as an emollient. Sorbitol so-
lution 70% has proved a useful additive
for improving the aesthetic appeal of gly-
cerine carbolic soap by imparting better
transparency. Generally speaking, sorbi-
tol solution 70% can replace other hu-
mectants, by weight where the humec-
tant percentage is less than 10%.
Toothpaste
Sorbitol effectively replaces glyce-
rine and sugar in toothpastes imparting
the required degree of plasticity and
sweetness, humectant and plasticising
properties of sorbitol.
Chemical Weekly April 3, 2007
Special
Skin cream and cream foundation
Sorbitol replaces glycerine as humec-
tant and conditioning agent and helps to
reduce the greasiness as well as the
particle size of the dispersion.
Emulsion
Sorbitol retards the loss of water by
evaporation from oil-in-water emulsion
and is more effective than glycerine of
the same concentration when this is less
than 10%.
Foods
Sorbitol imparts to frozen desserts,
body and texture, as well as some sweet-
ness. Sorbitol is used in frozen desserts
for diabetics because it is slowly absorbed
from the intestine and is metabolised as
fructose. In the manufacture of sugarless
chewing gum, sorbitol provides water
soluble solids; further a 70 per cent solu-
tion of sorbitol resists fermentation of ac-
ids by micro-organisms in mouth and there-
fore it is believed not to contribute to the
incidence of dental caries. In artificially
sweetened canned fruits, the undesirable
aftertaste of saccharine is avoided by use
of sorbitol. In low-caloric soft drinks, sor-
bitol finds use as a bodying agent, in addi-
tion to its use as a sequestering agent in
canned soft drinks.
Diabetic diets
Extensive research has led to the
adoption of sorbitol to substitute sugar
as sweetening agent in diabetic diets.
Manufacture
Sorbitol is derived by the process
of high-pressure hydrogenation of glu-
cose with nickel or copper chromium
as catalysts. It can also be prepared
by electrolytic reduction of glucose and
corn syrup. If cane or beet sugar is used
as a source, the dissacharide is hy-
drolysed to dextrose and fructose prior
to hydrogenation.
Sorbitol is synthesized commercially
Report
by high pressure hydrogenation of glu-
cose, usually using a nickel catalyst.
Catalyst promoters include magnesium
salts, nickel phosphate and iron. Other
heterogenous catalysts used for glucose
hydrogenation include cobalt, platinum,
palladium and ruthenium. Reduction of
glucose to sorbitol also can be effected
using ruthenium dichlorotriphenyl phos-
phine as a homogenous hydrogenation
catalyst, preferably in the presence of a
strong acid such as HCl.
To form sorbitol, glucose is usually
hydrogenated in the pH range of 4-8. Un-
der alkaline conditions, glucose isome-
rizes to fructose and mannose; hydroge-
nation of the fructose and mannose
yields mannitol as well as sorbitol. In
addition, under alkaline conditions the
Cannizzaro reaction occurs and sorbitol
and gluconic acid are formed. Gluconic
acid formation during hydrogenation can
be minimized if anion exchange resins in
the basic form are the source of alkali-
nity. Although aqueous solutions are cus-
tomarily used, the monomethyl ethers
of ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol
are satisfactory solvents.
Corn sugar is the most important raw
material, but other sources of glucose,
such as hydrolyzed starch, also may be
used. Both supported nickel and Raney
nickel are used as catalysts. In the con-
tinuous procedure, a 50% solution of dex-
trose in water is prepared and transferred
to a mixing tank. The catalyst, nickel on
diatomaceous earth, is added to the glu-
cose solution and the resulting slurry is
pumped to the reactor after being heated
to about 140°C. Hydrogen is introduced
into the reactor at a pressure of approxi-
mately 12.7 MPa (125-atm) concurrently
with the sugar solution. Spent catalyst
is collected on a filter and is separately
regenerated for reuse.
The sorbitol solution is purified in two
steps:
211
 Special Report

w By passage through an ion-exchange Status of industry in India sugars. With around 50% of market share
resin bed to remove gluconate as well In India, the production of sorbitol com- in India, the company claims clients such
as other ions; and menced in 1969-70 when Sarabhai M as Hindustan Lever Ltd. Colgate Palmolive,
w By treatment with activated carbon to Chemicals installed a plant of 2,000-tpa in Merck India Ltd., etc. in India.
remove trace organic impurities. Baroda. Till 1975-76, it was the only manu-
facturing unit in the country. In 1976-77, Gulshan Polyols Ltd.
The solution of pure sorbitol is concen- three more units (Anil Starch, Maize Starch The Group has diversified interests and
trated in a continuous evaporator to a solu- and Jayant Vitamins) installed plants with is engaged in manufacture of various in-
tion containing 70% solids. Crystalline sor- capacities of 2,000-tpa each. By 1989-90, dustrial chemicals for multiple applications.
bitol is obtained by further concentration five more units came up and the total in- The group was initially engaged in the sugar
and crystallization. It is sold in a variety of stalled capacity increased from 19,500-tpa business, and later diversified into the field
particle-size distributions, the one chosen in 1986-87 to 43,100-tpa in 1989-90. How- of industrial chemicals. It set up its first
depending on the application. When invert ever, during the post liberalization period, a plant to produce precipitated and activated
sugar is used as a starting material, sorbi- number of plants had to shut down due to calcium carbonate in Uttar Pradesh where
tol and mannitol are produced simulta- various reasons that included high cost of high quality limestone is available. The
neously. Mannitol crystallizes from solution production, obsolete technologies, price group set up manufacturing facilities in
after the hydrogenation step owing to its controls and government policies in the pre- 1996 to produce sorbitol 70% in Gujarat.
lower solubility in water. It is sold as a liberalisation era. Today there are seven The plant, equipped with international
white, crystalline powder or free-flowing units in operation with a total capacity that quality equipment and technology, is ca-
granules (directly compressible grades). has gone up to around 102,700-tpa. pable of producing crystalline and non-
Electrolytic reduction of glucose was used crystalline grades of sorbitol. The
formerly for the manufacture of sorbitol. Kasyap Sweetners Ltd. present installed capacity is 30,000-tpa
Both the g- and d-lactones of D-gluconic Kasyap Sweetners Ltd. was promoted of sorbitol. GPL has ISO 9001:2000 certi-
acid may be reduced to sorbitol by sodium by Mr. Chetanya Kumar Kasyap in June 1986 fication.
borohydride. to manufacture sorbitol. The company has
a corn refining plant and manufactures Maize Products Ltd.
Technology developments starch derivative products and specialty Incorporated in January 1941 as
A research group at the Catalysis Re-
search Center of Hokkaido University (Ja- Table 2
pan) has developed a catalyst that converts Installed capacity for sorbitol (70%): 2005-06
cellulose into sugar alcohols. They made Company Installed Share in Location
the catalyst by dispersing extremely fine capacity [tpa] capacity [%]
platinum or ruthenium particles into alu-
mina and zeolite. Maize Products Ltd. 12,000 11.7 Ahmedabad
Anil Starch Ltd. 3,250 3.3 Ahmedabad
Just mixing the catalyst with cellulose Kasyap Sweetners 36,000 35.0 Ratlam (M.P.)
in water produces sugar alcohols with sor- Gulshan Polyols Ltd. 30,000 29.2 Delhi
bitol as the main component. The new Gujarat Ambuja Exports 16,500 16.0 Ahmedabad
method requires no wastewater treatment,
Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Ltd. 4,950 4.8 Punjab
and the catalyst can be used repeatedly.
Total 102,700 100.0
The innovative catalytic method for ef-
ficient cellulose decomposition offers pros- Units Closed
pects for future major reclamation of bio- Jayant Chemicals 13,500 Ratlam (M.P.)
mass. Existing methods of cellulose de- Sarabhai M Chemicals 2,000 Baroda
composition — the enzyme process, sulfu- Amaravati Chemicals 3,300 Pondicherry
ric acid process, alkali process and Unicorn Organics Ltd. 7,200 Warrangal (AP)
supercritical aqueous process — impose Prestige Fibres 3,600 Muzafarpur (U.P.)
heavy burdens on the environment, giving Tan India 4,500 Kumarapalayam (TN)
rise to a pressing need for a new, efficient Total 34,100
method to decompose cellulose.

212 Chemical Weekly April 3, 2007


Hindustan Color Chemicals Manufactur-
ing Company and subsequently rechris-
tened as Sayaji Industries Ltd., the com-
pany is the largest manufacturer of
starches, liquid glucose, dextrose mono-
hydrate, anhydrous dextrose and sorbi-
tol in India, employing around 1,100 per-
sonnel with a distribution network
throughout the country. The company’s
R&D laboratory has developed the pro-
cess to manufacture sorbitol and anhy-
drous dextrose. For the development of
anhydrous dextrose technology, the com-
pany was awarded the import substitu-
tion award by the Government of India in
1975. Since 1986, the company has en-
tered into a technical know-how agree-
ment to upgrade its’ manufacturing fa-
cilities with. Amylum NV (Belgium),
which is one of the largest corn wet mill-
ing companies in Europe.
Anil Starch Products Ltd.
The Anil Starch Products Ltd. was
established in 1939 by Chinubhai
Manibhai Sheth and was the Lalbhai
group’s first foray into chemicals. At that
time, the textile industry in India im-
ported a great deal of starch from Eu-
rope. The start of the Second World War
prevented imports, and presented an
opportunity for the manufacture of starch
in India. Unfortunately, the ships carrying
the machines for the new company were
sunk in the high seas. Anil Starch over-
came this problem by improvising with
machines made locally, and the company
was soon producing starch. Thus, from its
inception, Anil Starch had to develop the
spirit of innovation to overcome impedi-
ments placed in its path.
Anil Starch grew, and soon became a
pioneer in the introduction of various pro-
ducts on the Indian market. It soon was
the industry leader, and manufactured a
range of products for textile, food, chemi-
cal, pharmaceutical, paper and other in-
dustries in India. It has a technical col-
laboration with CPC, USA.
Chemical Weekly April 3, 2007
Special Report
Gujarat Ambuja Exports
Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd. (GAEL) Table 3
is principally involved in agro-process- Trends in production of
ing & trading and has focused on exports. sorbitol (70% basis)
With a humble beginning in 1983 and with [Tons]
just a textile processing unit, the com- Year Production
pany has grown with the addition of nu- 1975-76 1,370
merous state-of-the-art- plants in the 1980-81 2,732
agro-processing sector. After establish- 1981-82 3,487
ing its first edible oil refinery in 1986, 1982-83 4,149
the company set up its wheat flour mill 1983-84 6,700
and cattle feed mill in 1987. The year 1984-85 9,400
1993-1994 was a crucial period for the 1985-86 14,760
company, with major projects being 1986-87 13,000
taken up like the cotton yarn spinning 1987-88 16,500
project and the maize-based starch 1988-89 22,000
project. Simultaneously the company 1989-90 30,000
also set up huge capacities in the sol- 1994-95 38,000
vent extraction industry backed by ver- 2000-01 50,000
tically integrated projects of edible oil 2004-05 65,500
refinery and vanaspati. 2005-06 70,000
The Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Ltd. and have fallen in 2005-06 to around
Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Ltd. 1,200-tons. Exports are not growing sig-
manufactures and distributes liquid glu- nificantly due to stiff competition faced
cose, starch, sorbitol, dextrins and re- from cheaper Chinese exports in the in-
lated by-products. The plants of the ternational market. Major destinations
group are located in Phagwara, Punjab of exports have been Nepal, Turkey, UAE,
and Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh. Yemen and Tanzania.
Production Prices
The production of sorbitol has grown The current price of Sorbitol (70%) in
from a mere 1,370-tons in 1975-76 to the market is Rs. 25 (basic) for the bulk and
50,000-tons in 2000-01 and further to Rs. 28 per kg (basic) for the material in
around 70,000 tons-in 2005-06. The an- barrel packing. Glycerine and penta-
nual compounded growth rate in produc- erythritol are the two competing products
tion during the period 1994-95 to 2000- used for similar applications as sorbitol.
01 was 5.7% and the same during the The current price of glycerine is in the re-
period 2000-01 to 2005-06 has been 6.9%. gion of Rs. 36/37 per kg. (basic) and that of
pentaerythritol is in the region of Rs. 80
Foreign trade (basic). Internationally, sorbitol prices,
Sorbitol is both imported as well as among other factors, are affected by the
exported from the country; however the price of corn syrup, the raw material for
quantities are not significant. Imports sorbitol.
during the year 2005-06 are estimated
to be in the region of 950-tons and ex- Substitution
ports in the region of 1,200-tons. Imports Pentaerythritol is an important raw
are mainly from France, Indonesia and materials used in the manufacture of syn-
Thailand. Exports have grown from 771- thetic resins, mostly alkyds. At present
tons in 2002-03 to 1,500-tons in 2004-05 over 80% of pentaerythritol is being used in
213
 Special Report

the manufacture of paints. However, due to

Table 4 rising cost of pentaerythritol, it is being
Imports of Sorbitol partially replaced by either glycerine or
[Quantity in Tons; Value in Rs. Million] sorbitol. While the price of glycerine is 30%
02-03 03-04 04-05 higher than sorbitol, pentaerythritol is cost-
Country Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value lier by almost 2.8 times as compared to
sorbitol. In the toothpaste industry, although
China 0 0 0 0 1.00 0.11 sorbitol is mainly used, some quantities of
France 220.97 13.40 415.75 23.38 418.35 23.97 glycerine is also used for technical reasons.
Germany 71.45 5.26 65.21 7.46 27.25 3.61
Indonesia 0 0 147.84 17.35 109.92 2.62
Thailand 98.52 2.29 0 0 0 0 Consumption pattern
UK 1.50 0.42 0 0 0.05 0.07 As mentioned earlier, sorbitol finds its
USA 55.82 3.48 98.36 3.53 5.55 0.33 bulk requirements in the pharmaceuticals
Nepal 0 0 0 0 1.00 0.35 industry, particularly in the manufacture of
Japan 2.60 0.59 0.79 0.18 0.79 0.17 Vitamin C. Besides, it is also used as a
Poland 0 0 0.13 0.01 0.11 0.04 bodying agent, as humectant, as adjuvant
Greece 125 0.03 0 0 0 0 and as plasticizer in pharmaceutical formu-
Total 450.98 25.31 728.06 51.92 564.02 31.27 lations. The other major uses include tooth
pastes, paints, cosmetics, tobacco, paper
etc. As can be seen, out of the total con-
Table 5 sumption, pharmaceuticals and dentifrices,
Exports of Sorbitol together, consume around 70% of sorbitol,
[Quantity in Tons; Value in Rs. Million] followed by paints (12%). Cosmetics and
other miscellaneous uses account for the
02-03 03-04 04-05 balance 18%. The share of the pharma sec-
Country Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value tor has gone down due to decline in the
Brazil 0 0 0 0 68.00 1.32 domestic production of Vitamin C, which
Jordan 0 0 0 0 50.03 0.90 consumed good quantities of sorbitol in its
Kuwait 23.10 0.71 0 0 0 0 manufacture.
Nepal 380.60 7.53 757.06 13.93 1,026.06 18.39
Oman 24.05 0.33 0 0 2.000 0.03 Future outlook
Saudi Arabia 0 0 24.00 0.39 10.00 0.39 The demand for sorbitol would depend
South Africa 0 0 0 0 5.10 0.10 upon the development of its end-uses and
Sri Lanka 0 0 0 0 3.00 0.05
the shape these end-uses industries are
Turkey 5.60 0.92 0 0 193.20 3.16
UAE 4.20 0.38 24.60 0.49 36.00 0.79 likely to take in the future.
Yemen 24.00 0.49 0 0 48.00 0.91
Australia 110.00 2.32 50.00 1.05 0 0 The average annual growth rate during
Tanzania 5.00 0.57 20.00 0.34 48.00 0.83 last ten years has been around 6%. Accord-
Uganda 1.08 0.02 2.40 0.04 0 0 ing to the industry experts, future demand
Congo 0 0 0 0 8.10 0.19 is also expected to move ahead in the re-
Kenya 4.50 0.12 0 0 24.00 0.37 gion of 6% per annum. Pharma and the
Nigeria 20.15 0.34 54.60 1.12 0 0 dentrifice sector are expected to continue
Unspecified 1.50 0.05 3.00 0.07 0 0
dominating the market for sorbitol.
New Zealand 144.50 2.85 0 0 0 0
Algeria 0 0 8.00 0.33 0 0
Cambodia 0 0 1.00 0.02 0 0 Sorbitol’s largest single application,
Burundi 1.08 0.02 0 0 0 0 toothpaste formulation, is mature and ex-
Costa Rica 21.93 0.77 0 0 0 0 pected to grow only with population. Mini-
Rwanda 0 0 2.20 0.06 0 0 mal growth is predicted for sorbitol in the
Total 771.29 17.43 946.86 17.85 1,521.48 27.45 production of pharmaceuticals. Sorbitol’s
application in the domestic production of

214 Chemical Weekly April 3, 2007


vitamin C has been hurt by imports of the
vitamin, primarily from China.
Assuming 6% growth, demand of the
order of 88,000-tons is expected by 2009-
10.
The present level of capacity utilization
is only around 70%. Further capacity of the
order of 10,400-tpa are likely to be added
by way of expansions by existing units, tak-
ing total capacity to 113,100-tpa.
Assuming the entire domestic require-
ment of 88,000-tons is met indigenously,
capacity utilization is expected to be around
78%. These utilization levels could further
go down if demand is met through imports.
Hence, it will be important to develop newer
avenues of growth by increasing awareness
in the textile, food and confectionery seg-
ments.
A newly developing outlet for sorbitol
is its use in producing clarifying agents for
polypropylene. Clarifying agents enable
polypropylene to substitute for higher cost
polymers in food packaging, drinking cups
and housewares.
Demand for transparent packages and
resin moldings is increasing worldwide.
However, clarifying agents in the past had
problems such as transfer of odors to mold-
ings, which restricted their applications.
Sorbitol-based clarifying agents do not suf-
Table 6
Consumption pattern of sorbitol
1989 – 90
Consumption Share [%]
[Tons]
Pharmaceuticals 15,000
Dentriflices 9000
Paints 3000
Cosmetics 1000
Miscellaneous 2000
Total 30,000
Chemical Weekly April 3, 2007
Special Report
fer from this limitation and a few compa- overcapacity, pricing issues and height-
nies in the US, Europe and Japan offer such ened competition have pushed
products. thesorbitol industry to consolidate.
Table 7 Consumption of sorbitol in the United
New capacity additions States, Western Europe and Japan was
anticipated estimated to be about 690,000-tons in
[tpa] 2004, with a value of US$420-520 mn.
Company Additional capacity The market has grown at an average
Anil Starch 4,000 annual rate of 1-2% since 1997. Consump-
Gujarat Ambuja 1,500 tion in the United States, Western Eu-
Sukhjit Starch 4,900 rope and Japan is expected to grow at
Total 10,400 slightly less than 1.0% per year during
2004-2009.
Global Scenario The food sector remains the most
The global polyols (sugar alcohols) important market, contributing 39% of the
market is estimated to be in the region total market volume, followed by tooth-
of 1.65-mt, out of which the market for paste and cosmetics (27%), and the vi-
sorbitol is over 1-mt, with the rest tamin C market (13%). Vitamin C is the
shared by other polyols such as penta, only sorbitol market that is expected to
mannitol, xylitol etc. lose market share in these regions.
Leading players in global sorbitol
supplies include US giant Archer Daniels In the United States and Western Eu-
Midland, Swiss firm Lonza, Roquette rope, consumption of sorbitol is almost
America and SPI Polyols. In China, Glo- equal between personal care products
bal Biochem with its 60,000-tpa plant at and foods and confections. In Japan, the
Changchun, Jilin, is a major supplier. use of sorbitol for food and confections
is much higher than use for personal
The global sorbitol industry conti- care.
nues to suffer from excess capacity and
competition from other polyols, which Sorbitol can be substituted for gly-
could lead to further consolidation in the cerine in toothpaste and liquid pharma-
market. Liquid sorbitol has become the ceutical applications. Sorbitol is also the
most commoditized polyol. In addition to most economical sweetening ingredient
in the ‘sugarless’ confectionery product
category, where it is sometimes com-
bined with another higher-value-added
sweetener, xylitol.
2005-06
Consumption Share [%]
A new and competitive polyol with
[Tons]
potential for use as a reduced-calorie
50.0 28,000 40.0 sweetener is erythritol, which was cer-
30.0 21,000 30.0 tified for food use in the United States
10.0 8,400 12.0 and Europe in 2001. Erythritol is a fer-
3.3 2,100 3.0 mentation-based polyol sweetener with
6.6 10,500 15.0 5% of the calorific value of sucrose, with
100.0 70,000 100.0 comparable sweetness but with a much
higher price.
215