07/04/2020

Citric acid - a product with many different applications

What is citric acid?

In addition to the most commonly used spelling citric acid, the terms Citronensäure (German) and Citric Acid (English) are also widely used. Citric acid is a naturally occurring carboxylic acid. This organic acid was isolated from lemon juice more than 200 years ago, which is why the compound with the formula C6H8O7 received its well-known name citric acid. The name citric acid is naturally much easier to pronounce than other names such as 3-carboxy-3-hydroxypentanedioic acid. However, the name citric acid should not lead to the assumption that this acid is only found in citrus fruits. It is widely distributed throughout nature and occurs in apples, pears, cherries and many other fruits.

Even the human body produces citric acid. Citric acid is used in many different applications, for example as a cleaning agent (especially for descaling - with the power of lemon), as a flavouring agent in food (to create a sour taste) and as a preservative, as many bacteria are less active in an acidic environment.

Citric acid available in shops and from major distributors is often advertised with images of lemons, but it is also a large-scale industrially manufactured product. During production, a mould fungus processes sugar-containing molasses or glucose on an industrial scale. This raw material usually comes from sugar beets and corn, but also from sweet potatoes or other starch-containing plants. The product offered by DistrEbution GmbH is imported from Asia (China) and is therefore highly competitive on the European market.

Lemon juice obtained from lemons contains approximately 5-8% citric acid. Therefore, freshly squeezed lemon juice can also be used in many applications. We particularly recommend this for smaller applications involving food. Solutions made from citric acid are also commercially available and can easily be prepared from our pure citric acid. For household cleaners and other technical applications, we recommend using pure citric acid. You can purchase it in smaller quantities in our shop. We are also happy to supply larger quantities. For this, we look forward to personal contact in order to provide you with the best possible advice.