Lactic Acid and Its Esters

Lactic acid (LA) and its ester are important platform chemicals prepared from biomass derived carbohydrates, which are widely used in food, cosmetic, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, lactic acid and its ester are also used as green solvents and materials for synthesis of biodegradable polymers.

Lactic Acid as a Platform Molecule

Lactic acid is one of the top carbohydrate-derived chemicals and it seriously considered as a platform chemical for the synthesis of a diverse range of chemicals such as pyruvic acid, 2,3-pentanedione, and acrylic acid. Figure 2 shows that lactic acid transformation in nearly every direction on the modified van Krevelen plot is feasible^[1].

Fig. 1 Modified van Krevelen plot demonstrating the conversion of lactic acid into various chemicals

Biosynthesis of Lactic Acid

Preparing of lactic acid from agricultural and forestry wastes can make full use of biomass resources and alleviate the contradiction between supply and demand of lactic acid. And this is of great significance to promote carbon emission reduction and green development. The common ways to produce lactic acid from biomass are microbial fermentation and chemical catalysis.

• Microbial fermentation process

Fermentative production of lactic acid has roused interest among researchers in recent years due to its high potential for applications in a wide range of fields. Lactic acid can be produced by several microorganisms classified into bacteria, fungi, yeast, cyanobacteria, and algae.

For example, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) constitute a diverse group of Gram-positive microorganisms that exist within plants, meat, and dairy products and can produce lactic acid as an anaerobic product of glycolysis with high yield and high productivity. The major pathways for the metabolism of hexoses and pentoses by lactic acid bacteria are indicated in figure 2^[2].

Fig. 2 Metabolic pathways for lactic acid production from various sugars by lactic acid bacteria

• Chemical process

Currently, lactic acid is primarily produced by the fermentation of glucose. but it could be considered a bottleneck for a million-ton scale breakthrough. Alternative chemical routes are therefore investigated using multifunctional catalysis. For example, direct conversion of low-value cellulose into highly priced lactic acid, is thus desired but challenging since as many as six reactions need to be controlled in a cascade reaction fashion, as seen in figure 3^[1].

Fig. 3 Cascade reaction from cellulose to lactic acid in water

Lactate Esters

Esterification of dilute lactic acid mixture with different alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol and butanol, and subsequent hydrolysis of the obtained lactate esters is an alternative and attractive option to produce desired grades of lactic acid. Besides, lactate esters can be used as solvents. For example, they can be used solvents in the paints and coatings industry with numerous attractive advantages including being 100% biodegradable, easy to recycle, noncorrosive, noncarcinogenic, and nonozone-depleting.

Our Lactic Acid and Lactates

Properties of our lactic acid are listed below.

In addition to lactic acid, we also supply high quality lactates:

Alfa Chemistry is a professional supplier of lactic acid and its esters. For high quality products, professional technical service, use suggestion and latest industry news, please feel free to contact us.

References

1. Dusselier, M., & Sels, B. F. Selective Catalysis for Cellulose Conversion to Lactic Acid and Other α-Hydroxy Acids. Selective Catalysis for Renewable Feedstocks and Chemicals, 2014, 85-125.
2. Abdel-Rahman, M. A., Tashiro, Y., & Sonomoto, K. Recent advances in lactic acid production by microbial fermentation processes. Biotechnology Advances, 2013, 31(6), 877-902.

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