Tartaric Acid
- IUPAC Name
- (2R,3R)-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid
- Molecular Formula
- C4H6O6
- Molecular Weight (g/mol)
- 150.0900
- Synonyms & Trade Names
- Tartaric acid; L-Tartaric acid; L-(+)-Tartaric acid; E334
- Purity / Assay (%)
- 99.5% min
- Grade / Quality Level
- Food Grade
Categories
Technical Document
An Overview of Tartaric Acid
Tartaric acid is a white crystalline diprotic aldaric acid. It is predominantly found naturally in several plants, particularly bananas, grapes, and tamarinds. It is a useful raw material in organic chemistry for synthesizing other chiral molecules.
Manufacturing Processes
Tartaric acid is obtained from a naturally-occurring component of lees, a solid by-product of fermentation. The former by-products mostly consist of potassium bitartrate (KHC4H4O6). This potassium salt is converted to calcium tartrate (CaC4H4O6) upon treatment with milk of lime (Ca(OH)2):
KO2CCH(OH)CH(OH)CO2H + Ca(OH)2 → Ca(O2CCH(OH)CH(OH)CO2) + KOH + H2O
Higher yields of calcium tartrate are obtained with the addition of calcium chloride. Calcium tartrate is then converted to tartaric acid by treating the salt with aqueous sulfuric acid.
This process yields tartaric acid:
Ca(O2CCH(OH)CH(OH)CO2) + H2SO4 → HO2CCH(OH)CH(OH)CO2H + CaSO4