Tartaric acid has wide application fields and good industry development prospects

Tartaric acid, 2,3-dihydroxysuccinic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the chemical formula C4H6O6. It appears as a white crystalline powder, soluble in water and ethanol, slightly soluble in ether, and naturally exists in a variety of plants. Such as grapes and tamarind. According to different molecular structures, tartaric acid can be divided into dextrotartaric acid (D-tartaric acid), levorotatory tartaric acid (L-tartaric acid), meso-tartaric acid (MESO-tartaric acid), and racemate (DL-tartaric acid).

There are various production processes for tartaric acid. The main methods include extraction method, which refers to the process of using wine as raw material and refining tartaric acid through physical and chemical means; glycofermentation method refers to the process of using glucose as raw material and using microbial fermentation technology to generate tartaric acid; Maleic anhydride oxidation method refers to the process of using maleic anhydride and hydrogen peroxide solution as raw materials to generate tartaric acid through tungstic acid reaction, hydrolysis and other links. Among them, chemical synthesis is the current mainstream method for tartaric acid production.

Tartaric acid is an important organic acid with a wide range of applications, including food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, building materials, printing and dyeing, and other fields. Specifically, in the food field, tartaric acid is mainly used as a food sour agent in beverages, candies, jams and other food processing scenarios; in the medical field, tartaric acid can be used as a pharmaceutical intermediate and efficient resolving agent in zolpidem tartrate, metoprolol, etc. Lorol and other pharmaceutical production scenarios; in the chemical industry, tartaric acid can be used as tartrate and tartaric acid ester in metal surface cleaner and polishing agent production scenarios.

Currently, driven by the rapid development of tartaric acid application fields, its market size is continuously expanding. According to the “China Tartaric Acid Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2023-2027” released by the Industrial Research Center, 2022 The global tartaric acid market size has reached 3.54 billion yuan in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%.

From the perspective of market supply, there are currently a large number of companies in the tartaric acid market around the world. The main companies include Japan’s Showa Chemicals, Japan’s Fuso, Australia’s Tarac Technologies, Chile’s Vinicas and other international companies, as well as Ruijing Bio, Jinzhan Bio, and Baojing Bio. , Changmao Biotechnology, Aibo Biotechnology, Lailan Biotechnology, Dareq and other Chinese companies. There are a large number of domestic tartaric acid companies, and the production method is mainly based on chemical synthesis, which is less restricted by raw materials. Currently, my country’s tartaric acid production capacity accounts for about 70% of the world’s total production capacity, and it has become the world’s largest producer of tartaric acid.

Industrial analysts said that tartaric acid is a widely used organic acid product and is currently rapidly used in domestic medicine, food, chemical and other fields. Driven by development, its market demand continues to increase, and the industry shows good development prospects. At present, my country has become the world’s major producer of tartaric acid. There are many companies, but most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises. The industry concentration is low. There is no leading company with technology and scale advantages. There is still huge room for growth in the industry in the future.