Multipurpose Citric Acid Manufacturing and Applications

Citric Acid is the most important organic acid. It can be used as an acidifier, as a chelating agent or as a cleaning agent. So many uses of citric acid, then we should call it as a multipurpose citric acid.

What comes in your mind when you hear Citric Acid? Lemon, lime and oranges are some common fruits.  The sour taste from citrus fruit leads people thinking that citrus fruit is the source of citric acid. However, the content of citric acid in lemon is just 6%. So what are other sources from which we get this multipurpose citric acid? Citrus fruits are not the only source of citric acid, whereas we can prepare citric acid from molasses. Molasses is the sweet, dark syrupy byproduct made during the extraction of sugar from sugarcane and sugar beets. Its availability and relatively low price make it desirable raw material for citric acid production.

We should be thankful to the great American food chemist James Currie who discovered the industrial process to manufacture multipurpose citric acid.For Citric Acid production, Aspergillus nigeris the fungi used in fermentation process. A possible raw material for use in fermentation could be molasses garnered from sugarcane. 

Submerged Fermentation

Submerged Fermentation is commonly used for citric acid production.About 80% of citric acid production in the world is obtained by submerged fermentation. Stirred fermenters and tower fermenters are used in submerged fermentation. Sugar and starch based media are used in submerged fermentation for citric acid production.

Surface fermentation

Surface fermentation is the process for citric acid production in which liquid/solid surface culture is used. This process occurs in the fermentation chamber. To control the temperature and supply of air to the microorganism, high amount of heat and high aeration rates are provided. When the fermentation is completed, the tray is washed to remove the impregnated citric acid.

Solid-state fermentation

Solid-state fermentation uses agro industrial residues like fruit waste, rice bran for citric acid production. Aspergillus niger is the most commonly used microorganism in this fermentation. The solid substrate is moistened to raise the effectiveness of citric acid production.

Application of Citric acid

In food and beverage industry, citric acid is used in pH adjustment to provide uniform acidity. It acts as acidulant for jellies and jams.

In Dairy industry, it acts as emulsifier in ice creams and processed cheese.

In Pharmaceutical Industry, it acts as effervescent in powders and tablets in combination with bicarbonates.

It helps in metal cleaning by removing metal oxides from surface of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Also, it is used as a cobuilder with zeolites, mainly in concentrated liquid detergents. 

Citric Acid Global Market

According to market trends, citric acid is majorly used in food and beverage industry. The following pie chart shows the world consumption of citric acid.

Asia is the largest consumer of citric acid and citrates accounting 28% of world consumption in 2015, whereas China is the largest player in citric acid production accounting 59% of world production in 2015.

To know more about citric acid and citrates visit our website https://www.chemtradeasia.in/ or mail me at [email protected]