Itaconic acid is one of the five largest organic acids in the world and the industry is developing well

Itaconic acid, whose scientific name is methylene succinic acid or methylene succinic acid, is an unsaturated binary organic acid with the chemical formula C5H6O4. It appears as a white crystalline powder with a special smell, is not volatile, and is easily overheated. Decomposes, slightly soluble in benzene, chloroform, ether, petroleum ether, carbon disulfide, soluble in water, ethanol, acetone.

Itaconic acid is the fifth largest organic acid in the world after citric acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid and malic acid. Itaconic acid has the characteristics of active chemical properties, low toxicity and high safety. It can undergo polymerization reactions among itself and with other monomers. As well as various addition and esterification reactions, it is an important raw material for chemical production.

According to the “China Itaconic Acid Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2023-2027” released by the Industrial Research Center , There are two main methods for producing itaconic acid: chemical synthesis and industrial fermentation. The main production paths of chemical synthesis include using citric acid or aconitic acid as raw materials, phosphate catalysis, heating isomerization and other steps to generate itaconic acid, and using dianhydride or succinic acid diester as raw materials, thorium salt catalysis , formaldehyde catalysis, heating isomerization to generate two kinds of itaconic acid; industrial fermentation method refers to using glucose, starch, molasses, sawdust and other agricultural and sideline products as raw materials, adding an appropriate amount of nitrogen source and inorganic salt, and produced by the biochemical action of Aspergillus terreus Itaconic acid method. Among them, industrial fermentation is the mainstream production method of itaconic acid.

Under the current background of the gradual upgrading of domestic itaconic acid production technology, its production capacity is gradually increasing. The main itaconic acid manufacturers in my country include Jinan Huaming Biochemical, Qingdao Kehai Biotech, Chengdu Lac Biotech, Zhejiang Guoguang Biochemical, Dezhou Huamao Biotech, etc. At present, my country’s annual itaconic acid production capacity is about 100,000 tons, leading the world in production capacity, and has become the world’s major producer and exporter of itaconic acid.

Itaconic acid is mainly used to generate important monomers such as synthetic fibers, synthetic resins, synthetic plastics, and ion exchange resins, as well as to prepare high-efficiency deodorants, paper coating agents, carpet lining agents, dental adhesives, and polymer plasticizers. Agents, lubricant additives, cosmetic thickeners, herbicides and other chemicals. The terminal fields involve medical treatment, coatings, papermaking, plastics, paints, daily chemicals, metallurgy, food packaging, etc., and are widely used. With the rapid development of the downstream market, my country’s demand for itaconic acid continues to increase, and the market development space is broad.

Industrial analysts said that itaconic acid is one of the five largest organic acids in the world and has active chemical properties. Due to its high safety properties, it has been widely used in the field of chemical synthesis. With the rapid development of the downstream market, domestic demand for itaconic acid continues to increase, and the market demand space is vast. At the same time, through continuous research and development, domestic itaconic acid production technology has become mature, production capacity has gradually increased, and it has become a major global producer and exporter. The overall development trend of the industry is good.