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Citric Acid anhydrous appears as an odorless white crystalline granule with
a strong acidic taste. It is very soluble in water, freely soluble in
alcohol and slightly soluble in ether.
Citric
Acid is a constituent of fruit and soft drinks and other food products. Uses
include flavor enhancement, bacterial inhabitant, pH adjustment, and as an
anti oxidant.
APAC's
Citric Acid is available in granular and fine granular particle size.
APAC's
Citric Acid meets Food Chemical Codex (FCC),
United States Pharmacopoeia (USP)
specifications.
APAC's
Citric Acid is Orthodox Union Kosher Certified.
Packaging
50 lbs. (22.7 Kg) white Kraft, Semi-extensible paper bag
= mil HDPE
liner
Storage
Storage should be in tight containers in a cool, dry,
well-ventilated area.
Technical Services
APAC
's Citric Acid is available in granular and fine
granular particle size.
APAC
brand
Citric Acid is Kosher approved and meets FCC/USP specification.
For Technical assistance,
call: (626)203-0066 or (866)849-APAC(2722).
Industrial Application
Algicides
Citric Acid is used to chelate copper in formulations used to
kill algae in reservoirs and natural waters. The citric acid chelates the
copper, then slowly releases it resulting in extended time of effectiveness.
Animal Feed
Citric acid is used in animal feeds to form soluble, easily
digestible chelates of essential metal nutrients, enhance response to
antibiotics, enhance flavor to increase food uptake, to control gastric pH
and improve the efficiency of the feed.
In the
slaughter operation, sodium citrate is used to prevent the coagulation or clotting of fresh blood. Calcium is an essential mineral for the clotting mechanism to occur. Citrate chelates the calcium, thus preventing the coagulating from taking place.
Cigarettes
Air-cured tobacco smoke is often alkaline, giving harsh and
irritating flavors. Citric acid and other components are added to balance
the flavors.
Citric acid is also used in
cigarette paper to control the burn rate. This ensures the tobacco and
paper burn at the same rate.
Circuit Boards
Citric acid can be used to clean circuit boards prior to
soldering. Although more costly than mineral acids, citric acid has the
advantage of being environmentally friendly.
Concrete Admixture
Citric acid is added to concrete formulations to retard the
set rate and reduce the amount of water required. In the retarding the set
rate, the Citrate interferes with the hydration of portland cement. In its
role as a water reducer, citrate acts as a dispersants, reducing the
viscosity of the cement slurry so less water is needed to make a workable
mixture.
Detergents
The largest industrial application for citrates is the
detergent industry. In liquid detergents, sodium citrate is used as a
builder, to increase the effectiveness of the surfactants, due to its high
solubility and bio-degradability.
In powder detergents,
sodium citrate is used as a co-builder and processing aid. Sodium
citrate also contributes alkalinity to enhance surfactant performance.
The environmentally friendly nature of sodium citrate is a major factor in
the use of citrates in the detergent industry.
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Aluminum citrate is used for in-situ gelling of
polymers in polymer flooding operations. The citrate controls the rate of
availability of the aluminum ion.
Environmental Aspects
Many of the following industrial applications utilized citric
acid due to its environmentally friendly properties.. Citric acid is found
throughout nature in many fruits and vegetables and is a natural component
in metabolic processes. Citric acid is highly biodegradable and is an
affirmed GRAS food additive.
Fertilizer Micronutrients
Citric chelates of iron, copper, magnesium, manganese and
zinc are used to correct soil deficiencies because they are soluble in water
at normal soil pH. Metal sulfates are dissolved in water and citric acid
followed by neutralization with ammonia. The soluble citrate chelate
promotes the transfer of the metal nutrient into the plant's root or leaf
system the biodegradability of citric acid is important for this
application.
Fossil-Fuel Power Plants
Ammoniated citric acid is used to clean metal oxides from
the water side of steam boilers with a two-step single-fill operation the
resulting surface is clean and passivated. The cleaning solution can easily
and safely be disposed of by incineration or liming.
Hard Surface Cleaners
Citric acid is used in liqued hard surface (floor). Citrate
acts as a scale-dissolver, buffer and as an anti-redeposition agent.
Hair Shampoos and Rinses
Citric acid is added to hair care formulations to adjust the
pH, act as a buffer and chelate metal ions to prevent discoloration and
decomposition the presence of the citric ion stabilizes the formulation.
Nuclear Reactors
Citric acid is utilized in nuclear reactors to remove mill
scale from welding operations. HC1 cannot be used due to the possibility of
chloride stress fracturing of the stainless steel.
Oil Well Acidizing
Citric acid is used in oil well acidizing to prevent the
formation of insoluble gels of iron hydroxide.
Wells are
typically injected with HC1, oxidation reactions can occur which cause
formation of insoluble iron hydroxide gels. These gels interfere with
pumping hydroxide gels. These gels interfere with pumping operations.
Citric acid is added to the well to chelate the iron thus preventing the gel
formation.
Radiator
Sodium citrate is used in radiator cleaning formulations to
chelated metal from the metal oxide scales and to maintain the pH.
Ship Bilge and Reverse
Osmosis Cleaning
Citric acid is used as a chelating agent in cleaning bilges
and desalination units aboard ships.
In bilge cleaning, citric
acid is used for rust removal.
In
desalination units, citric acid solutions are used to remove iron, calcium
and other cations which foul the cellulose acetate membranes used in
reverse-osmosis systems. Citric acid will solubilize these ions without
damaging the membranes.
Paint Industry
In the paint industry citric acid is used to retard the
setting of titanium dioxide, the most common pigment used in paints and
other coatings.
Paper
Citric acid is added to the pulp slurry prior to bleaching to
control paper staining by sequestering metal ions.
Pet
Food
In the animal feed industry, the primary use of citric acid
is in pet food, where it is the flavor enhancer of choice. Fumaric acid is
also used in this application.
Pharmaceuticals
Citric acid is
widely used as a flavoring and stabilizing agent in pharmaceutical
preparations. It is used in liquid preparations to enhance fruit
flavors and to impart a desirable tart taste that helps mask medicinal
flavors.
Citric acid
help maintain stability of the active ingredients by buffering aqueous
solutions, sequestering trace metals, and assisting in the dispersion of
suspensions.
Citric acid in syrups,
elixirs, of suspensions and solutions is considered a well established
market.
The largest
use of citric acid in the pharmaceutical industry is for the effervescent
effect it produces when combine with bicarbonates or carbonates in antacids
and dentrifices. Effervescence, beside improving palatability, can greatly
improve the solubility of co-constituents.
Plating
Citric acid is used as a chelating agent to control the
deposition rate of metals in both electroplating and electroless plating
operations. It is also used to buffer the pH of the plating bath.
Textiles
In textile
finishing, citric acid is used to adjust pH, as a buffer and as a
chelating agent in dye operations and in durable-press finishes using
glyoxal resins. In this application citric acid is easier and sager to
work with than acetic acid.
Water Softener Resin
Citric acid is mixed in the salt to chelate iron from fouled
water softener resins in both home and commercial systems.
 Food
Applications
Beverage
Citric acid is the acidulant of choice in the beverage
industry. Citric acid is used extensively in carbonated beverage for
flavoring and buffering properties.. Their high solubilities make them ideal
for syrup concentrates.
Citric acid is also used in
non-carbonated beverages as flavoring agents and buffers. They also
increase the effectiveness of anti-microbial preservatives.
Modifications such as juice-added beverages, low calorie beverages, and
thirst quenchers use citric acid alone and in combinations with citrate
salts.
Canning Industry
Citric acid lowers the pH to reduce heat processing, chelates
trace metals to prevent enzymatic oxidation and color degradation, and
enhances the flavor.
Confections
Citric acid is utilized in the confection industry. Citrates
control sugar inversion, optimize gel-setting characteristics, provides
tartness and enhance flavor.
Coffee Creamers
Sodium citrate is used in dairy and non-dairy creamers to
stabilize the casein. This prevents feathering of the creamers when added
to hot beverages.
Dietary Calcium Supplements
Citric acid in the from of calcium citrate is used as a
dietary calcium supplement. Studies have shown that calcium citrate is more
bio-available than calcium carbonate.
Dry Beverage
Citric acid is used in dry powder beverages for flavor and pH
control.
In
artificially sweetened beverages citric acid add the bulk and mouth
feel
normally obtained from the sucrose.
Jello
Jello Brand Gelatin is another example of a food product
which uses Fumaric acid. The low solubility rate is overcome by
solubilizing the gelatin in boiling water.
Jams & Jellies
Citric acid used in jams and jellies to provide tartness and
to control the product pH for optimum gelation.
Examples of chelation
in the canning industry
The lower set
of canned goods demonstrates how citric acid as a chelating agent helps
preserve the natural color and prevent discoloration in canned mushrooms,
kidney beans and canned corn. The upper set of cans show the same
products without citric acid.
Fruit and Vegetable
Processing
Citric acid is
used to inhibit enzymatic and trace metal-catalyzed oxidation reactions
which can cause color and flavor deterioration it is often used with
ascorbic acid for this purpose. The stability of frozen foods is
optimized by the presence of citric acid.
Oil
Citric acid is utilized in Canola oil de-gumming.
Citric acid
is also used in the deodorization and hydrogenation steps in oil processing
to chelate trace metals which can catalyze rancidity reactions.
Pudding/Pie Fillings
Fumaric Acid is used in pudding and pie fillings to provide
pH control. The non-hygroscopic nature of Fumaric acid lends itself to the
less expensive packaging of these product.
Process Cheese
Sodium Citrate
is used in the process cheese industry. Sodium citrate functions as an
emulsifying salt to stabilize the water and oil phases of the cheese and
improves body and texture.
Seafood
Citric acid is used in the seafood industry to prevent
discoloration and the development of off-odors and flavors by chelating
trace metals which catalyze these reactions.
Citric acid can be used in
conjunction with ascorbic acid as a dip, glaze or used directly in solutions
form.
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