Feasibility Analysis of Two Suggested Methods to Reduce Xylitol Production Costs

Xylitol is a naturally occurring carbohydrate sweetener classified among the sugar alcohols or polyols. It is a white, crystalline sugar substitute. While sorbitol dominates the global polyols market, Xylitol comes second in terms of production.Xylitol and Sorbitol have similar end-uses and hence are substitutes. However, Xylitol is priced far higher than Sorbitol owing to greater costs of production.

In the wake of increasing Xylitol demand owing to perceived health benefits, research work has been conducted in order to ascertain whether it is possible to develop a cost effective method for Xylitol production.This article thus, reviews the feasibility of 2 suggested alternatives to conventional Xylitol production - usage of switchgrass as feedstock and the usage of sugarcane bagasse as feedstock.

This analysis concludes that the most feasible alternative method for xylitol production is the usage of sugarcane bagasse as feedstock and such a development would imply the emergence of major sugarcane producing regions like Brazil and India as Xylitol suppliers in the future.