Glyceric acid has broad prospects but difficult industrial production

Glyceric acid (2,3-dihydroxypropionic acid, GA) is an organic acid that exists as a chemical component in many plants in nature, such as peanuts, artichokes, tomatoes, apples, bananas, tobacco, broad beans, and grapes. . At the same time, as a metabolite, derivatives of glyceric acid also exist in the human body.

Glyceric acid molecule contains 3 functional groups, is chemically active, miscible with water, and has optical activity. It can be divided into two types: D-glyceric acid and L-glyceric acid. Among them, D-glyceric acid has biological activity and can promote ethanol catabolism, diuresis, stimulate liver tissue regeneration, and lower cholesterol. It has certain applications in the fields of medicine and chemical industry. L-glyceric acid has no biological activity, is very rare in nature, and can be obtained through chemical synthesis.

In terms of production technology, there are currently not many literature reports on the synthesis technology and methods of glyceric acid at home and abroad. There are two main types of production technology patents: (1) Using glycerol as raw material and oxidizing it with a strong oxidant to obtain glyceric acid, but the reaction The process is cumbersome and will produce a lot of glycerol derivatives. The conversion rate is not high and the products are complex, which is not conducive to the separation and extraction of later products. (2) Microbial fermentation process has mild reaction conditions, high raw material utilization rate, and is green and environmentally friendly. However, the production efficiency is limited, the production cycle is long, and the production capacity of the production device cannot be fully utilized; and the cells in the fermentation broth often adhere to the membrane during use. , thus greatly shortening the service life of the membrane and limiting its practical application.

According to the“2022-2026 glyceric acid industry in-depth research and investment strategy released by the Industrial Research Center The recommendation report》 shows that the production process of glyceric acid is relatively complex. At present, industrial production has not been achieved in China, and the product is still in the laboratory production stage. , the products in the market are all reagent grade, and the main specifications are 25g, 50g, 100g, etc. At this stage, there are many domestic reagent-grade glyceric acid companies, such as Shanghai Bide Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., Hubei Xinkang Pharmaceutical Chemical Co., Ltd., Jinjinle Chemical Co., Ltd., Hubei Yongkuo Technology Co., Ltd., etc., but the scale is generally small, with annual sales of There are relatively few companies with volumes reaching the kilogram level.

Industry analysts said that in recent years, my country’s economy has continued to develop, national income levels have continued to increase, and residents’ consumption levels have also significantly improved. The demand for food, medicine and health care is also growing, creating good market demand conditions for the development of the glyceric acid industry. With the improvement and upgrading of existing production technologies and the emergence of new production technologies, the demand for glyceric acid will achieve leapfrog growth, the market size will continue to expand, the industry has broad development potential and high investment value.