Citric Acid Production Process
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Citric acid is derived from citrus fruits, such as lemons, limes and oranges. It is what gives these fruits their tart taste. Citrus acid is found naturally in many plants and in milk. Humans and animals produce citric acid as they metabolize food into energy. Citric acid also is used in many synthetic processes. It adds flavor to food and soft drinks, is a key ingredient in several pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients,and is used in cleaning agents and related chemical applications.
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Citric acid is produced through the fermentation of carbohydrates, also known as glucose, which often are found in starches and sugars. Fermentation produces an unrefined substance which is purified into citric acid. Citric acid is also extracted from the juicesof citrus fruits. When mixed with calcium oxide, these juices create calcium citrate, a salt product. Adding sulfuric acid to this mixture allows the acid to be removed from the salt.
The citric acid cycle also is known as the Krebs Cycle. This process feeds the cells through metabolism, giving it energy to produce the molecules that are responsible for creating amino acids, nucleotide bases, cholesterol and other components essential to building a healthy body. The citric acid process is responsible for creating 95 percent of the energy required by the human body.
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Citric acid concentrate was first developed in 1784 when Carl Wilhelm Scheele, a Swedish chemist, crystallized citric acid from lemons into a concentrate. This led to the development of lemonade, which was prepared using a dry mix of the citric acid of lemons. As more applications for the use of citric acid were developed, demand for it rose exponentially. This necessitated a method for producing citric acid in larger quantities. The development of the fermentation process in the early 20th Century made widespread distribution possible.
Half of the citric acid produced today is used by the soft drink industry. Citric acid is used as a flavoring agent and a preservative. In the pharmaceutical field, citric acid is used with bicarbonates to produce carbon dioxide in effervescent medicines and cosmetics. The cleansing properties of citric acid make it ideal for many of the cleaning products found in our homes and in industrial cleaners.
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Comments
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Your post glosses over the commercial production of citric acid via fermentation of Aspergillus niger fed by sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, usually corn syrups). This is a far more common production method in current times than extraction from citrus fruits, and renders those allergic to the production ingredients unable to consume products containing citric acid.
