1. Citric Acid- A natural preservative

DESCRIPTION:

Citric Acid- a natural preservative serves as a weak natural organic acid found in citrus fruits and is also

used to add a sour taste to foods and drinks. It exhibits properties of a chelating agent, an acidifier and a

descaler. Citric Acid is used for the removal of lime scale from evaporators and boilers. In biochemistry,

the conjugate base of citric acid i.e. citrate, acts as an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which exists in

the metabolism of all aerobic organisms.

At room temperature, citric acid exhibits a white hygroscopic crystalline powder form that can occur

either in an anhydrous water free form or in a monohydrate form. The anhydrous form tends to

crystallize in hot water, while the monohydrate form gets crystallized in cold water. This mentioned

monohydrate form can get converted to the anhydrous form when heated above 78 °C. Absolute

anhydrous ethanol poses as a good solvent for dissolving Citric Acid at 15 °C - 76 parts of citric acid per

100 parts of ethanol. Citric Acid serves as a slightly stronger acid than typical carboxylic acids as the

anion can be stabilized by intra molecular hydrogen bonding from other protic groups on citric acid.

Chemtex Speciality Limited manufactured product Citric Acid can be used to soften water, thereby

making it useful in laundry detergents and soaps. On account of chelation of the metals in hard water,

Citric Acid helps these cleaners produce foam and work better without the need for water softening.

The buffering characteristics of citrates are used to control pH in household cleaners and

pharmaceuticals. It also serves as an environmentally benign cleaning agent and acts as an antioxidant.

Citric Acid finds it to be applied in the Food & Beverage Industry, Personal Care, Cleaners and

Detergents, Healthcare, Feed and Pet food and in other Industrial Applications.

Chemtex Speciality Limited hails as an ISO 9001 certified company that deals in the manufacturing,

supplying and exporting of industrial chemicals in the likes of Citric Acid since its inception back in 1970.