Published December 2022
L-(+)- Tartaric acid occurs naturally in grapes. In commercial practice, it is derived from the by-products of winemaking; alternatively, it can be synthesized from maleic anhydride. Tartaric acid serves as an acidulant in wine, food, and beverages; a raw material in the production of emulsifiers; an excipient and buffering agent in pharmaceutical products; an effervescent in antacids; and a set retarder in gypsum and concrete.
Wine-producing markets such as Italy, Spain, and Argentina (and to a lesser extent Chile and Australia) supply the majority of natural tartaric acid; mainland China is the single largest producer of the synthetic product. The competition between natural and synthetic tartaric acids is based primarily on price, with synthetic tartaric acid as the cheaper option. As a result, there has been a shift toward increased use of synthetic product, which had an estimated market share of about 60% in 2022 compared with only 30% in 2006.
The following pie chart shows world consumption of tartaric acid:
Consumption of tartaric acid for food and beverages will see the largest volume growth during the forecast period; wine is expected to be second and pharmaceuticals (including nutritional supplements such as choline bitartrate) will be third.
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