Used in food industry

Because citric acid has a mild and refreshing sour taste, it is widely used in the manufacture of various beverages, soda, wine, candy, snacks, biscuits, canned fruit juice, dairy products and other foods. In all organic acid markets, the market share of citric acid is more than 7%, and it can also be used as an antioxidant for edible oil as a flavoring agent. At the same time, it can improve the sensory properties of food, enhance appetite and promote the digestion and absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the body. Anhydrous citric acid is widely used in solid drinks. Salts of citric acid, such as calcium citrate and ferric citrate, are fortifiers that need to add calcium ions and iron ions to some foods. Esters of citric acid, such as triethyl citrate, can be used as non-toxic plasticizers to make plastic films for food packaging, and are acidulants and preservatives in beverage and food industries.

used in chemical industry and textile industry

Citric acid can be used as a reagent for chemical analysis in chemical technology, as an experimental reagent, a chromatographic reagent and a biochemical reagent; Used as complexing agent and masking agent; Used to prepare buffer solution. Using citric acid or citrate as builder can improve the performance of washing products, quickly precipitate metal ions, prevent pollutants from reattaching to fabrics and maintain the necessary alkalinity for washing; Disperse and suspend dirt and ash; It is an excellent chelating agent to improve the performance of surfactant; It can be used as a reagent to test the acid resistance of building ceramic tiles.

Formaldehyde pollution of clothing is a very sensitive issue. Citric acid and modified citric acid can be made into a formaldehyde-free crease-resistant finishing agent for crease-resistant finishing of cotton fabrics. Not only is the crease-resistant effect good, but also the cost is low.

for environmental protection

citric acid-sodium citrate buffer is used for flue gas desulfurization. China is rich in coal resources, which is the main part of energy. However, there has been a lack of effective flue gas desulfurization technology, resulting in serious SO2 pollution in the atmosphere. It is urgent to study effective desulfurization process. Citric acid-sodium citrate buffer solution is a desulfurization absorbent with great development value because of its low vapor pressure, non-toxicity, stable chemical properties and high absorption rate of SO2.

Used in livestock production

Adding citric acid to piglet feed can wean early, improve feed utilization rate by 5% ~ 1% and increase sow litter size. Adding 1% ~ 2% citric acid to the diet of growing-finishing pigs can increase daily gain, reduce feed-meat ratio, increase protein digestibility, reduce back fat thickness and improve meat quality and carcass characteristics. Rare earth citrate is a new efficient feed additive, which is suitable for pigs, chickens, fish, shrimp, cattle, sheep, rabbits, silkworms and other animals. It has the characteristics of promoting animal growth, improving product quality, improving disease resistance and survival rate, improving feed conversion rate and shortening feeding cycle.

used in cosmetics

Citric acid is a kind of fruit acid, and its main function is to speed up keratin renewal. It is often used in lotions, creams, shampoos, whitening products, anti-aging products and acne products. The renewal of keratin contributes to the exfoliation of melanin in skin, the narrowing of pores and the dissolution of blackheads.

used for sterilization

The combined action of citric acid and 8℃ temperature has a good effect of killing bacterial spores, and can effectively kill contaminated bacterial spores in the pipeline of hemodialysis machine. Lemon, which enjoys the reputation of "the king of western food", has a strong bactericidal effect, which is very beneficial to food hygiene. In addition, people have always liked to make cold dishes with lemon, which is not only delicious and refreshing, but also can stimulate appetite.

Used in medicine

Calcium ions must be involved in the formation of prothrombin activator and the subsequent coagulation process. Citrate ion and calcium ion can form a soluble complex which is difficult to dissociate, thus reducing the concentration of calcium ion in blood and blocking blood coagulation. This product is used as an anticoagulant in vitro when blood transfusion or laboratory blood samples are anticoagulated.

chemical processing or deep processing of citric acid

another main use of citric acid is deep processing, which is a rich industrial chain.

medicinal value

(1) citric acid can prevent and eliminate skin pigmentation. Traditional Chinese medicine in China believes that lemon is warm, bitter and non-toxic. It has the functions of quenching thirst, promoting fluid production, dispelling summer heat, preventing miscarriage, relieving stagnation, invigorating stomach and relieving pain, and regulating vascular permeability, and is suitable for mm with edema and puffiness. Smokers should eat more lemons because they need twice as much vitamin C as non-smokers. Lemon is low in calories and has strong contractility, so it is beneficial to reduce fat and is a good medicine for losing weight. Lemon can prevent cardiovascular arteriosclerosis and reduce blood viscosity. Hot lemon juice and honey are very effective in treating bronchitis and nasopharyngitis. Gandhi moistened lung, sourly quenched thirst, stimulated appetite, detoxified alcohol, whitened skin, moistened skin and lowered cholesterol. The rest of the brewing can be applied to the face to treat facial spots and pinprick.

(2) expectoration: even less well known, lemon can expectorate, and the expectoration effect is stronger than that of orange and mandarin orange. Add warm water and salt to lemon juice and drink it to cough up the thick phlegm accumulated in the throat, which is very effective. At the beginning of a cold, you might as well use lemon and honey to flush, which can relieve sore throat and reduce the discomfort of dry throat.

Transformation of citric acid in higher organisms

Citric acid is an important compound in the process of transforming fat, protein and sugar into carbon dioxide in physiology. These chemical reactions are the core reactions of almost all metabolism and provide energy for higher organisms. This series of reactions is called "citric acid cycle", "tricarboxylic acid cycle" or "Kjeldahl cycle".

keep fit

drinking a glass of lemonade every morning before eating any food can strengthen gastrointestinal peristalsis, treat constipation, expel toxins from the body, achieve the effect of beauty, and also remove oral odor and halitosis. A cup of hot lemonade every morning can also make your eyes more radiant and your skin more ruddy. If you add more lemon juice to the water, it will also play a role in removing garbage from the body.