Process for the preparation of purified sucrose esters and products obtained thereby

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE SUBSTANTIALLY QUANTITATIVE ISOLATION OF HIGH PURITY SUCROSE MONO- AND DI-ESTERS OF HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT ALIPHATIC ACIDS WITH THE RECOVERY OF UNREACTED SUCROSE AND UNREACTED LOWER ALKYL OR UNREACTED AND ONLY PARTIALLY REACTED GLYCERYL ESTERS OF SAID ACIDS, FROM THE PRODUCT OF THE INTERESTERIFICATION REACTION OF AN EXCESS OF SUCROSE IN AN ORGANIC REACTION SOLVENT WITH A MEMBER SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF LOWER ALKYL ESTERS AND FATTY ACID GLYCERIDES, COMPRISING EVAPORATING THE REACTION SOLVENT, DISSOLVING THE RESIDUE IN A LOWER ALKYL ACETATE AT ABOUT 60*90*C., EXTRACTING THE SOLUTION WITH WATER AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME TEMPERATURE, SEPARATING THE AQUEOUS PHASE CONTAINING THE UNREACTED SUCROSE, COOLING THE ORGANIC LAYER TO 0-30*C., AND EXTRACTING THE SAME WITH WATER AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME TEMPERATURE AND SEPARATING THE AQUEOUS PHASE TO EFFECT SUBSTANTIALLY QUANTITATIVE ISOLATION OF THE SUGAR ESTER FRACTION FROM THE REMAINING ORGANIC FRACTION OF THE REACTION PRODUCT.