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DESCRIPTION: Citric acid is a hydroxytricarboxylic acid.Citric acid is a relatively strong organic acid, and is very soluble in water. Citric acid and its salts are widely used because they are nontoxic, safe to handle, and easily biodegraded.
Application:
Citric acid is widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In foods it is used primarily to produce a tart taste and to complement fruit flavors in carbonated beverages, beverage powders, fruit-flavored drinks, jams and jellies, candy, sherbets, water ices, and wine. It is also used to reduce pH in certain canned foods to make heat treatment more effective, and in conjunction with antioxidants to chelate trace metals and retard enzymatic activity.
In pharmaceuticals, citric acid provides the acid source in effervescent tablets in addition to being used to adjust pH, impart a tart taste, and chelate trace metals. It is also used as a blood anticoagulant.
Citric acid, because of its low toxicity, relative noncorrosiveness, and biodegradability, is also being used for applications normally reserved for the strong mineral acids. These include preoperational and operational cleaning of iron and copper oxides from boilers, nuclear reactors, and heat exchangers; Passivation of stainless steel tanks and equipments; And etching of concrete floors prior to coating. It is also used as a dispersant to retard settling of titanium dioxide slurries and as a sequestering and pH control agent in the textile industry.