Malic Acid Buying Guide-FAQs about buying Malic Acid
Malic acid is another example of a dicarboxylic acid recognized as being within the GRAS classification. In most cases, it is applied as a component in the food and beverage, medicine, textile, electroless plating, and metal cleaning and treating industries. This buying guide on Malic acid will assist you in clearing any confusion if you are wondering if you should make the purchase or not.
Overview of Malic Acid
Malic acid is an organic acid and it exists in fruits like apples and pears. It is very indispensable in many fields because of its special chemical characteristics. It helps in the biological synthesis of food flavors, change of pH and also helps in preservation of food. Chemically, malic acid exists in two forms: Compared with L-malic acid and DL-malic acid, although they have similar chemical formulas and some similar uses, they have their differences.
Product Specifications
Malic acid comes in two primary forms: L-malic acid and DL-malic acid. L-malic acid is a naturally occurring isomer mainly extracted from fruits and is preferred in food and beverage applications for its natural flavor and high optical purity. In contrast, DL-malic acid is synthetic and is the racemic mixture of D and L. It is normally practiced in several industries that do not require the use of natural sources of this material hence making it very useful in these other uses besides food.
Malic acid is classified into food-grade malic acid and industrial-grade malic acid, the standard and specifications of each type are quite different. The food-grade malic acid meets some standards formulated by some bodies like the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) which means that the product does not contain any impurities or chemical substances that are dangerous to the health of persons consuming food products containing the chemical substance.
However, the industrial-grade malic acid even though it is relatively refined, does not need to meet the same level of refinement as the food grade. It is used in purging, washing, and in processing metals. Most of the regulations of industrial grade malic acid are not very much compared to those of the food grade malic acid since they do not approve or disapprove the food grade malic acid against issues of ingestion but they major on safety measures on handling the chemical and its effectiveness on the environment.
Malic Acid Price Fluctuations and Influencing Factors
Raw Material Price Changes
The production of malic acid primarily depends on two key raw materials: That is, maleic anhydride and fumaric acid.
Obtained from n-butane or benzene by oxidation, the cost of maleic anhydride is generally determined by the price of petroleum. For instance, an average of 10% increase in crude oil prices was seen to result in a 5-7% increase in the cost of maleic anhydride. Also amazing is that prices of natural gas influence n-butane production that also influences maleic anhydride.
Fumaric acid can be synthesized chemically from maleic anhydride or by fermentation of carbohydrates in what is becoming a rather popular biotechnological route. Thus, the price of fumaric acid depends on the costs of maleic anhydride for the chemically synthesized product. In the case of bio-based production, agricultural commodities like glucose prices are of utmost importance.
Seasonal Demand Variations
The demand for malic acid can be considered cyclical, mainly due to the key using industries of the product.
Beverage Industry
It peaks during the period from the latter half of May up to the early half of September since it may be up to forty percent higher than the off-peak. This can then cause the price to rise by a margin of between 10% to 15% in some months of the year. Moreover, in the particular areas, it differs, thus, for the Northern countries and regions, which register increased service demand during June-August, it is December-February for the Southern countries and regions.
Industrial Applications
This demand is spread out throughout the year though it’s slightly low in the cold season particularly December, January and February because construction activities are not so rampant during these times. Thus, there is an extremely negligible direct impact on the general pricing solutions.
Overview of Malic Acid Application Fields
Malic Acid Uses in the Food and Beverage Industry
Acidulant and pH Regulator: Most often it is used as a stabilizer and a means of controlling the pH level together with enhancing the flavor in soft and sodas, sweets, and bakery products.
Preservative: Helps to enhance the shelf time at different intervals to enhance the reduction of microbial growth in various foods.
Flavor Enhancer: Appealing to be added to fruit juices, soft drinks and confectioneries to increase the level of tartiness on the food or drink.
Malic Acid Uses in Pharmaceutical and Personal Care
Role in Drug Formulations: Malic acid is utilized in the formation of tablets acting as a flavoring agent and stabilizer.
Cosmetics and Personal Care Products: Malic acid is used mostly in the same way as propylene glycol as an effective skin-peeling agent as well as in shampoos and lotions for buffering.
Industrial Applications
Metal Cleaners: Used in preparations for cleaning and treating metals to remove rust, and degreasing metal surfaces.
Plastics and Polymers Production: Used in the modification of polymers as a plasticizer and cross-linking agent to improve physical properties, for example, PVC.
Malic Acid Substitute
Citric Acid
Advantages and Disadvantages: Citric acid is cheaper and more widely used but due to the disparities in properties from that of malic acid, it may not give the exact taste or the required effect in some instances.
Lactic Acid
Comparison of Suitable Scenarios: Best for dairy products as well as fermented foods as it is mildly acidic and can be used in the preservation of foods. It might not offer the match to the versatile application that malic acid gets in other industries.
Tartaric Acid
Substitution Possibilities in Specific Applications: It is mainly used in wine preparation or used in products that have equal or similar acidity with the cream of tartar but they are expensive and rigid.
Storage Requirements
Since malic acid is in the category of a bulk commodity its storage is recommended to be under certain conditions to experience less spoilage.
The recommended storage temperature for malic acid is within 10-25°C or 50-77°F. High temperatures should be avoided as this results in clustering or caking of the product.
You should never store malic acid on the floor at all or directly on the floor. Pallets should always be used to create height for the product to help with air circulation and avoid” suckering” from moisture in concrete Floors.
Store malic acid in its container far from other chemicals to prevent contamination. This is especially so about food-grade malic acid since any contaminants will render it unsuitable for use in the food industry.
Sample Requests and Small Batch Trials
Mondstar has managed to organize the way of sample requests more efficiently to respond to potential clients’ needs as rapidly as possible. Organize distribution to enable small lot runs in a bid to enable the clients to test performance of diverse products to order in bulk.
Conclusion
It is important to understand the chemical property and product specification of malic acid, and the main sourcing approaches of it. This discussion whether you are sourcing for food, pharmaceuticals, or industrial uses will give you all the information needed to be able to source for malic acid without having to worry about any barriers that are present.
Mondstar is a food additives trading company in China majoring in the supply of high-quality malic acid and chemicals globally. For further queries or sample requests, kindly feel free to contact us.
