JP2006316025A - Method for purifying and producing sugar alcohol anhydride composition and purified product - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for preparing an isosorbide composition having excellent stability. <P>SOLUTION: A crude isosorbide composition is prepared by dehydrating sorbitol using a dehydration catalyst comprising isosorbide as a main ingredient and containing impurities. The crude isosorbide composition is distilled in the absence of a solvent to obtain a distillate. The distillate is treated to be decolored using activated carbon to obtain a decolored product. The decolored product is heated in the absence of a solvent and the isosorbide composition reduced in the content of 1, 4-sorbitan is obtained by chemically reacting 1, 4-sorbitan which is an impurity having higher boiling point than that of isosorbide among impurities distilled during the distillation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates generally to methods for purifying and producing anhydrous sugar alcohol compositions, and more particularly to allow removal of impurities that cause unacceptable color development and coloring problems during processing. The present invention relates to a method for purifying and producing an improved sugar-free alcohol composition. The present invention relates to an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition obtained by such a method, and a product derived therefrom.

  Anhydrosugar alcohols, especially mannitol, iditol and sorbitol derivatives are known for therapeutic and edible purposes. Of these, isosorbide, ie 1,4: 3,6-dianhydrosorbitol, is a derivative of sorbitol that can be derived from various natural resources including corn starch and cassava (tapioca), so as a renewable natural resource, It is useful as a monomer (including chain extender) used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical raw materials, and polymers (especially polyesters) and copolymers.

  It is known that the anhydrous sugar alcohol is produced by dehydrating the corresponding sugar alcohol (or anhydrous hydrosugar alcohol) by the action of various dehydration catalysts, particularly a strong acid catalyst (hereinafter referred to as internal dehydration reaction). Examples of these catalysts include various mineral acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid and sulfonated polystyrene. These dehydration reactions are generally performed in the presence of a solvent. For example, water and organic solvents such as xylene and toluene are known to be useful (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The requirement for purity when using anhydrosugar alcohol varies depending on the intended use. For example, in pharmaceutical and food applications, one requirement is that substances containing anhydrous sugar alcohols be free of impurities that cause harm to organisms or individuals. In polymer applications, especially in applications where optical transparency is required, such as packaging polymers, the polymer produced during synthesis and / or processing does not contain impurities that cause unacceptable color development or coloration. . Further, it does not contain impurities that hinder the increase in molecular weight during the synthesis of the polymer. It may be practically unacceptable in polymer applications because impurities that are acceptable in anhydrosugar alcohols used in food and pharmaceutical applications cause unacceptable color levels of color development during polymer synthesis or processing.

  Several methods are known as methods for purifying anhydrous sugar alcohols. For example, an anhydrous sugar alcohol produced by an internal dehydration reaction such as sorbitol is distilled, and the obtained distilled product is recrystallized from an organic solvent (see Patent Documents 2 and 3). However, when the anhydrous sugar alcohol purified by this method is used, the remaining organic solvent becomes a chain transfer agent, and there is a problem that the molecular weight does not increase during the synthesis of the polymer. In addition, this method has a problem that impurities that cause unacceptable coloring and coloring during processing cannot be sufficiently removed.

  A purification method for recrystallization from water is also known. However, since the product obtained by this method has low purity and the anhydrous sugar alcohol has hygroscopicity, it is not preferable to use water as a solvent.

  Under the circumstances as described above, there is a demand for a method for purifying anhydrosugar alcohol that is simple, cost-effective, and extremely high in purity. Furthermore, very pure anhydrous sugar alcohols are desired, especially for use in polymer production.

British patent 613,444

Special Table 2002-534486

Special table 2003-535866 gazette

  It is difficult to purify the anhydrous sugar alcohol. The distilled sugar alcohol (black) produced by the internal dehydration reaction such as sorbitol is composed as a composition containing various impurities described below (hereinafter, anhydrous). This is considered to be because of the sugar alcohol composition. For this reason, a simple distillation / cooling operation cannot provide sufficient results in terms of purification. Further, only by treating the union with activated charcoal, a composition improved in terms of color tone can be obtained, but it does not improve at all in terms of purity.

  The present invention has been made in view of an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition having such characteristics, and provides an improved method of purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition so that an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition having extremely high purity can be obtained. For the purpose.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition having excellent stability.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining a very pure anhydrous sugar alcohol composition which can be used for polymer production.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining an internal dehydration product such as hexitol having high purity and excellent stability without performing a step of recrystallization from a solvent / solute. It is in.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple and cost-effective method for obtaining an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition having a purity of 99% or more, a white powder or a colorless solution, and having excellent stability. It is in.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition obtained by such a method.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a product using such an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition.

  In the method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to the present invention, first, an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol as a main component and containing impurities is distilled in the absence of a solvent to obtain a distillate ( First step). The distillate is decolorized by a decoloring means to obtain a decolorized product (second step). Thereby, the fluorescent material is removed. This decolorization treatment may be performed by redissolving the distillate in a solvent or without redissolving. Next, the decolorized product is heated in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction, whereby impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation An anhydrous sugar alcohol composition having a reduced content of is obtained (third step). By performing the reaction in the absence of a solvent, no side reaction occurs.

  The thermal reaction in the third step is preferably performed under reduced pressure.

  More preferably, after the second step, prior to the third step, the decolored distillate is treated by ion exchange means. As a result, the acidic component contained in the decoloring means and transferred to the decolorized product is removed.

  The anhydrous sugar alcohol composition obtained by this method has high purity and is preferably used for polymer applications. Since the organic solvent which becomes a chain transfer agent is not included, the molecular weight increases. The resulting polymer gives products such as fibers, optical discs, containers, sheets and films.

  In the method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to another aspect of the present invention, first, an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol as a main component and containing impurities is distilled in the absence of a solvent, and distilled. Get things. The distillate is heated in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction, whereby the content of impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation is increased. A reduced anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is obtained. Subsequently, the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is decolorized by a decoloring means. This decolorization treatment may be performed by redissolving the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition in a solvent or without redissolving.

  Also in this method, it is preferable to further include a step of treating the decolorized anhydrosugar alcohol composition with an ion exchange means.

  The anhydrous sugar alcohol composition obtained by this method does not contain a trace amount of organic solvent. Since it does not contain trace amounts of organic solvents, it does not harm the human body even when used as a pharmaceutical. Therefore, the obtained anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is preferably used for a pharmaceutical product or a product produced from the pharmaceutical product.

  Activated carbon is preferably used as the decolorizing means, and granular activated carbon is more preferably used.

  As the ion exchange means, one containing at least one kind of anion resin, preferably a strong anion dendrite, and at least one kind of cation resin, preferably a strong cation resin is used.

  In general, the composition contains a mixture of several anhydrous sugar alcohols produced by an internal dehydration reaction, one of which is the main component (the most abundant component). The first purpose of the purification method according to the present invention is to improve the stability and color tone of these compositions and to impart suitability as a comonomer containing a chain extender during polymer synthesis.

  The composition obtained by the purification method according to the present invention is an isohexide composition, that is, one isohexide as a main component and one or more different ones regardless of its origin, nature, provision form and composition. It becomes a mixture with isohexide. The isohexide is preferably isosorbide (1,4-3,6-dianhydrosorbitol), isomannide (1,4-3,4-dianhydromannitol), isoidide (1,4-3,4-dianhydroiditol). , Isoitide or isogalactide, more preferably isosorbide.

  According to the method of the present invention, the purity of the isosorbide or isomannide is at least 98.5%, preferably 99.0% or more, and the content of formic acid in the form of free and / or salt is maximum. An anhydrous sugar alcohol composition of 0.01% is obtained.

  When the conditions are selected, the purity of the isosorbide or isomannide is 99.5%, preferably 99.6% or more.

  Such an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition such as isosorbide or isomannide is obtained in a liquid, solid or powder form. Due to their purity, stability and / or hue characteristics, these compositions are intermediates for the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, comonomers including chain extenders, solvents, plasticizers, lubricants, constructions. Used in the preparation of products or mixtures as nucleating agents, fillers, sweeteners, perfumes and / or active ingredients.

In the method for producing an anhydrosugar alcohol composition according to another aspect of the present invention, first, a sugar alcohol (a sugar having an aldehyde group (—CHO) such as glucose or fructose is reduced and the terminal is changed to an alcohol (—CH ₂ OH)). A generic name of the changed compound) is dehydrated using a dehydration catalyst to form a crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol as a main component and impurities. The crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is distilled in the absence of a solvent to obtain a distillate. The distillate is decolorized by a decoloring means to obtain a decolorized product. The content of impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation by heating the decolorized product in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction. An anhydrosugar alcohol composition having a reduced content is obtained.

  In the method for producing an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to still another aspect of the present invention, first, a sugar alcohol is dehydrated using a dehydration catalyst, and a crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol as a main component and containing impurities. Form things. The crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is distilled in the absence of a solvent to obtain a distillate. The distillate is heated in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction, whereby the content of impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation is increased. A reduced anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is obtained. Subsequently, the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is decolorized by a decoloring means.

  According to the present invention, impurities that cause instability are removed, so that an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition improved in terms of stability can be obtained.

  The purification method according to the present invention is a combination of distillation under reduced pressure, decolorization treatment and / or ion exchange means, followed by heat treatment (thermal reaction treatment), or distillation under reduced pressure, heat treatment, then decolorization treatment and / or treatment by ion exchange means. By the combination, impurities are removed and a composition improved in terms of stability is obtained. Here, the stability means that there is little change in pH and hue of the obtained composition, and there is no generation of impurities over time (oxidation products such as formic acid).

  The reason why the stability of the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition is improved by the thermal reaction treatment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, when sorbitol is subjected to an internal dehydration reaction with an acid catalyst, peak No. 1 is obtained. A crude isosorbide composition containing a fraction of 1-9 (the higher the peak No., the higher the boiling point fraction) is obtained. It is estimated that 1,4-sorbitan having a glycol structure that easily undergoes auto-oxidation is deteriorating the stability. 1,4-sorbitan is present in the crude isosorbide composition at 0.5-1.0%. By carrying out a thermal reaction treatment under reduced pressure, 1,4-sorbitan is changed to a compound having a lower boiling point than isosorbide and having stability against oxidation, and the content of 1,4-sorbitan is reduced. We believe that stability has been improved. In FIG. The structures of 3, 4, 7, and 9 have not been estimated yet.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below.

  The content of isosorbide and other anhydrous sugar alcohols was measured by gas chromatography (GC). The content of impurities such as formic acid was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC / MS).

  A series of purification experiments were performed using isosorbide as the anhydrous sugar alcohol.

  (Manufacture of isosorbide)

  Into a vacuum reactor with a capacity of 2 liters equipped with a stirrer was charged 1930 g of a 70% aqueous solution of sorbitol (Sorbit (registered trademark) D-70, manufactured by Towa Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.) and heated to 120 ° C. under a reduced pressure of 40 torr. 580 gr of water was distilled off. Next, 32 g of 98% concentrated sulfuric acid was added and reacted under reduced pressure for 24 hours to distill 262 g of water. The reaction solution was cooled to 80 ° C. and neutralized with a 40% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution to pH 7.2 (1% aqueous solution). The reaction was heated again to 130 ° C. under reduced pressure. 16 g of water was distilled off to obtain 1076 gr of a black viscous crude isosorbide composition. As a result of analysis, it contained 0.65% of 1,4-sorbitan.

  (Purification of isosorbide composition)

  The crude isosorbide composition (538 g) was charged into a vacuum distiller (1 l), heated to a bath temperature of 210 ° C. under a reduced pressure of 9 torr, and a yellow-green fluorescent distillate (394 g) was obtained over a period of about 3 hours (hereinafter physical). (This will be described later). The isosorbide content was 99.1%. As the kettle residue, 148 gr of pitch-like material (isosorbide content 2.0%) was extracted.

  380 gr of purified water was added to 390 gr of the distillate, diluted and dissolved. Subsequently, powdered activated carbon 73gr was added and stirred at 60 ° C. for 6 hours, and then the activated carbon was filtered to obtain a colorless and transparent aqueous solution 717gr. This aqueous solution was charged into a vacuum distiller (1 liter), water was distilled at 130 ° C. and 50 torr (357 gr), and the temperature was gradually increased under reduced pressure up to 9 torr, that is, the bath temperature was increased over 6 hours. The mixture was heated to 190 ° C. to obtain 367 gr (melting point: 64 ° C.) of a white solid distillate (hereinafter referred to as chemical distillation, which will be described later). The chemical distillation is characterized in that the bath temperature is lower than that in the physical distillation, and is performed over a longer time than the physical distillation while gradually raising the temperature. That is, the distillation is performed at a slow rate.

The isosorbide content was 99.5%. The composition of this isosorbide composition was as shown in Table 1. Therefore, the purity of isosorbide in this isosorbide composition was 99.2 / 99.5 × 100 = 99.7%.

  10 grams of this isosorbide composition was charged into a conical stoppered Erlenmeyer flask, left in an oven at 70 ° C. for 7 days, and then the purity of isosorbide was measured. As a result, it was 99.1%. The formic acid concentration was 0.0005% or less and no increase was observed. The pH was 6.5.

  Isosorbide (isosorbide) thus obtained is a divalent alcohol having a cyclic five-membered ring and has a specific gravity (30 ° C.) of 1.32, a melting point of 61 to 64 ° C., a boiling point of 155 to 165 ° C./3 mmHg, water, methanol It is very soluble in water, is easily soluble in ethanol, is not soluble in ether, has a slightly yellowish odor (sugary odor) with light yellow crystals or lumps, has a bitter taste, is hygroscopic, and produces nonionic surfactants. It is a useful substance that is used as a cardiovascular medicine by performing raw materials, polymer raw materials, cosmetic moisturizers, drinking as pharmaceuticals, and nitration.

  The crude isosorbide composition obtained in Example 1 was purified by a modified method of Example 1. That is, 539 gr of a crude isosorbide composition was charged into a vacuum distillation apparatus with a glass stirrer having a capacity of 1 liter, heated to a bath temperature of 210 ° C. under a reduced pressure of 9 torr over about 3 hours, and a yellow-green fluorescent color was distilled off. 394 gr of product was obtained. The isosorbide content was 99.6%.

  Purified water 384gr was added to the distillate 384gr, diluted and dissolved. Next, 73 g of powdered activated carbon was added and stirred at 55 ° C. for 6 hours, and then the activated carbon was filtered to obtain 715 gr of a colorless and transparent aqueous solution. This aqueous solution was treated with a strong cation resin and then with a strong anion exchange resin, and then charged again into the vacuum distillation apparatus (1 l) described above, and after distilling water (357 gr) at 130 ° C. and 50 torr, 9 torr. The temperature was gradually raised under reduced pressure until the temperature reached, that is, the bath temperature was heated to 190 ° C. over 10 hours to obtain 358 gr of a white solid distillate (melting point 64 ° C.). The isosorbide content was 99.8%.

  (Comparative example)

  The yellowish green fluorescent distillate obtained in Example 2 was purified by another modification method not according to the present invention.

  Comparative Example 1

  Just by treating the yellowish green fluorescent distillate obtained in Example 2 with activated carbon, water was distilled off to obtain a white solid.

  Comparative Example 2

  The yellowish green fluorescent distillate obtained in Example 2 was treated with a strong cation exchange resin and then treated with a strong anion exchange resin, and water was distilled off to obtain a white solid.

  Comparative Example 3

  The yellowish green fluorescent distillate obtained in Example 2 was treated with activated carbon, then with a strong cation exchange resin, and further treated with a strong anion exchange resin. A solid was obtained.

As a result of leaving the isosorbide composition obtained by these methods under the same storage conditions as in Example 1, generation of formic acid more markedly than that in Example 1 was observed. Table 2 shows the results.

  Those subjected to internal dehydration reaction, then physical distillation, and then ion exchange resin treatment / activated carbon treatment had a formic acid concentration of 5 ppm or less immediately after the treatment. However, as is clear from Table 2, formic acid increases to 200 to 800 ppm after aging (60 ° C. × 48 hours). This indicates that a compound that generates formic acid exists and cannot be removed by distillation or ion exchange resin treatment / activated carbon treatment.

The reaction formula for producing formic acid is considered as follows. That is, the peak No. It is thought that the diol portion of 9 isosorbitan was oxidized to cause glycol cleavage to generate formaldehyde, which was further oxidized to form formic acid.

In this example, the crude isosorbide composition after physical distillation was further chemically distilled three times as shown in FIG. The chemical distillations 1, 2, and 3 were performed in the same manner as in Examples 1 and 2, by gradually raising the temperature over time under reduced pressure. The analysis results of the isosorbide composition in each step are shown in Table 3.

  As is apparent from the analysis results, as the number of chemical distillation increases, the peak No. 8, the amount of 1,4-sorbitan decreased. It has been observed that the amount of compounds (including isosorbide) having a boiling point lower than that of isosorbide, such as 2, which is stable to oxidation, tends to increase. This is because chemical distillation by the method of gradually raising the temperature over time under reduced pressure by the chemical reaction shown in FIG. 3 is simply physical distillation in which separation and purification are performed based on the difference in boiling points. However, by thermal reaction, 1,4-sorbitan (substance of peak No. 8) is converted to isosorbide (substance of peak No. 5) and a compound having a boiling point lower than isosorbide (substance of peak No. 2, 3, 4). It indicates that the distillation involves a chemical reaction that changes. The peak No. in Table 3 Is the peak No. in FIG. Correspond to each.

  Subsequently, the isosorbide composition after the above chemical distillation is decolorized with activated carbon, the fluorescent material is removed, then treated with a strong cation exchange resin, further treated with a strong anion exchange resin, and contained in the activated carbon. The acidic component that had been removed was removed. The obtained anhydrous sugar alcohol composition does not contain a trace amount of organic solvent. Since it does not contain trace amounts of organic solvents, it does not harm the human body even when used as a pharmaceutical. It had sufficient purity to be used for a medicine or a product manufactured from the medicine.

  A stainless steel reaction vessel (0.5 l) equipped with a stirrer is charged with 107 g of dimethyl terephthalate, 58 g of the isosorbide composition obtained in Example 2, 49 g of ethylene glycol, and 47.6 g of manganese (II) acetate under a nitrogen stream. The methanol produced is distilled off while heating the reaction vessel at 230 ° C. for 3 hours, then at 240 ° C. for 1 hour, and further at 264 ° C. for 1 hour. After the temperature reaches 284 ° C., polyphosphoric acid (P: 40 mg) is added. Then, 47 gr (ethylene glycol solution) of germanium (IV) oxide catalyst is added. The reaction vessel is lowered to 1 mmHg and held at 285 ° C. for 3 hours. The reaction product was extruded into a water bath to obtain a transparent resin. After cutting and pelletizing, it was put in an oven and dried. The intrinsic viscosity at 25 ° C. of a 1% orthochlorophenol solution was 0.45 dL / gr. The isosorbide residue content was 13% (nmr measurement).

  20 g of water was added to 200 g of the isosorbide composition obtained in Example 2, kneaded with a kneader, dried at 60 ° C., and granulated with a 12-mesh and 16-mesh sieve. To the obtained granules, 2 gr of Carbopol (registered trademark) 97IP (manufactured by BF Goodrich) and 2 gr of magnesium stearate were added to obtain granules. This medicine can be taken after suspending it in water etc.

  400 gr of the isosorbide composition obtained in Example 2 is put in a kneader, and 60 g of a wetting agent (ethanol: water = 80: 20) is gradually added and kneaded while stirring. The resulting kneaded material was treated with a minimizer and then dried (60 ° C. × 3 hours) with a circulating hot air dryer. After drying, it was fractionated with a 32 mesh stainless steel sieve. For errands, it can be dissolved and taken as a dry syrup.

  The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  Anhydrosugar alcohol composition obtained by the present invention comprises an intermediate for chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, a comonomer containing a chain extender, a solvent, a plasticizer, a lubricant, a nucleating agent, a filler, It can be used to prepare products or mixtures as sweetening, flavoring and / or active ingredients.

It is a figure which shows the gas chromatography component of the physical distillation product of the crude isosorbide composition obtained by carrying out internal dehydration reaction of sorbitol with an acid catalyst. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a process of chemical distillation of Example 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the mode of a thermal reaction.

Claims (21)

A first step of distilling an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing an impurity as a main component and containing impurities, in the absence of a solvent, to obtain a distillate;
A second step of decolorizing the distillate with a decoloring means to obtain a decolorized product;
The content of impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation by heating the decolorized product in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction. And a third step of obtaining an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition having a reduced content.   The method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 1, wherein the thermal reaction in the third step is performed under reduced pressure.   3. The method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 1, wherein, after the second step, prior to the third step, the decolorized distillate is treated by an ion exchange means. A first step of distilling an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing an impurity as a main component and containing impurities, in the absence of a solvent, to obtain a distillate;
The distillate is heated in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction, whereby the content of impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation is increased. A second step of obtaining a reduced anhydrous sugar alcohol composition;
And a third step of decolorizing the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition with a decoloring means.   The method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 4, wherein the thermal reaction in the second step is performed under reduced pressure.   The method for purifying the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 4, further comprising a step of treating the decolorized anhydrous sugar alcohol composition with an ion exchange means.   The method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein activated carbon is used as the decoloring means.   The method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 7, wherein activated carbon in a granular form is used as the activated carbon.   The method for purifying an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 3 or 6, wherein the ion exchange means includes at least one kind of anion resin and at least one kind of cation resin.   The method for purifying the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the anhydrous sugar alcohol contains an isohexide selected from the group consisting of isosorbide, isomannide, isoitide, and isogalactide. An anhydrous sugar alcohol composition obtained by the method according to claim 10,
An anhydrous sugar alcohol composition wherein the purity of the isosorbide or isomannide is at least 98.5% and the content of formic acid in free and / or salt form is at most 0.01%.   The anhydrous sugar alcohol composition of claim 11, wherein the isosorbide or isomannide has a purity of at least 99.5%.   The anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 11 or 12, which does not contain a trace amount of an organic solvent.   A pharmaceutical comprising the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 11.   15. A product manufactured from the pharmaceutical product of claim 14.   A polymer comprising the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to claim 11.   A product made from the polymer of claim 16.   The product of claim 17 selected from the group consisting of fibers, optical discs, containers, sheets and films.   Intermediates for chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, comonomers including chain extenders, solvents, plasticizers, lubricants, nucleating agents, fillers, sweeteners, fragrances and / or active ingredients An anhydrous sugar alcohol composition obtained by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition according to any one of claims 11 to 13, which is used for preparing a product or a mixture. object. Dehydrating the sugar alcohol using a dehydration catalyst to form a crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing one type of anhydrous sugar alcohol as a main component and impurities;
Distilling the crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition in the absence of a solvent to obtain a distillate;
Decolorizing the distillate with a decoloring means to obtain a decolorized product;
The content of impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation by heating the decolorized product in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction. A method for producing an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition comprising the step of obtaining an anhydrous sugar alcohol composition with reduced sucrose. Dehydrating the sugar alcohol using a dehydration catalyst to form a crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition containing one type of anhydrous sugar alcohol as a main component and impurities;
Distilling the crude anhydrous sugar alcohol composition in the absence of a solvent to obtain a distillate;
The distillate is heated in the absence of a solvent to cause a thermal reaction, whereby the content of impurities having a boiling point higher than that of the one kind of anhydrous sugar alcohol among the impurities distilled together during the distillation is increased. Obtaining a reduced anhydrous sugar alcohol composition;
And a step of decolorizing the anhydrous sugar alcohol composition by a decoloring means.

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