The property of agar and uses

Agar is a hydrophilic colloid and divided into powder and strip two kinds. It is insoluble in cold water but soluble in hot water. Agar in industry is of particular importance. Even though its concentration is as low as 1%, agar still forms a fairly stable agar gel. Agar has long been regulated as a recognized security products by the United States Food and Drug Administration regulations, and approved as a food additive in food chemicals Pharmacopoeia. Agar is the raw material for food industry, chemical industry and medical scientific research.

With solidification and stability in food, agar can form some complex of physical and chemical properties with some material. It can be used as thickening agent, coagulant, suspending agent, emulsifying agent, antistaling agent and stabilizer widely used in the manufacture of various drinks, jelly, ice cream, cakes, candy, canned food, meat products, rice pudding, tremella bird's nest soup type of food, cold food etc. Agar is rich in soluble dietary fiber and low in calories, its advantages of detoxification, runchang purge fire, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood sugar and slimming beautifying make it popular. Besides, it is suitable for people of all ages to eat.

Agar has a history of more than and 300 years in China and Japan. Because of the nature of a special gel, it has been widely used in food, medicine, chemical, textile, bio defense, scientific research and other fields. For example, it can be used in the production of crystal candy, soft candy, aquatic products, canned meat, fruit juice, beverage, wine, beverage, dairy and beverage products, dairy cake, jelly, etc.
The gel property of agar is primarily depends on the molecular structure of agar itself. But the environmental conditions, such as electrolyte, food gum and other non electrolytes on the gel properties also have a great impact. Agar and locust bean gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum and gelatin both have synergistic effect, but it is vary in degree of synergism. But agar do not have synergistic effect with guar gum, pectin, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and sodium alginate, on the contrary, it will produce antagonism.

The viscosity of agar and agar sol is generally affected by the process of agar raw materials and the extraction of agar. When the pH is maintained at 4.5 ~ 9, agar sol viscosity value is relatively constant; when the pH value is 6 ~ 8, there has little effect on the viscosity of the ionic strength and aging time on agar sol. During the constant temperature, as long as the gel phenomenon occurs, the viscosity of agar sol will increase with the increase of time. For more information, please visit https://www.okchem.com, thanks!

Many uses of citric acid

Citric acid is an organic acid, due to its physical properties, chemical properties and properties of derivatives, it is widely used in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and other industries. It is the important compounds in process of translating fat, protein and sugar into carbon dioxide in physiological. Citric acid is mainly used in the food and beverage industry as a sour agents, preservatives, flavorings and preservatives. It also used in the chemical industry, cosmetics industry and it functioned as an antioxidant, plasticizer and detergent in detergent industry.

Citric acid is mainly used as an acidic agent, solubilizing agent, buffering agent, antioxidant, fishy odor removal agent, flavor booster, gels, toners, etc. What's more, citric acid also inhibits bacteria, color protection, flavors improvement and promote the transformation of sucrose. The chelate of citric acid can remove certain harmful metals. Citric acid to prevent oxidation due to enzymatic catalytic and metal, thus preventing the frozen fruit color and taste change.




Citric in piglet feed helps early weaning, improve feed utilization 5%~10% and increase the amount of farrowing. In growing-finishing pigs diets supplemented add 1%~2% citric acid can improve daily weight gain, reduce feed conversion ratio, improve protein digestibility, reduce back fat thickness and improve meat quality and carcass characteristics. Rare earth of citric acid is a new feed additive applied to pigs, chickens, fish, prawn, SilkWorm, cattle, sheep, rabbits, and other animals, it promotes animal growth, improve product quality, improve disease resistance and survival rate and improve feed conversion rates, shorter feeding cycles and so on. It is an acid agents and preservative in beverage and food industry.

Citric acid salts such as calcium citrate and ferric citrate is an enhancer in some foods that needs to add calcium ions and iron ions. Esters of citric acid such as citrate triethyl for nontoxic plasticizer to manufacture plastic films for food packaging,
Citric acid combined with 80℃ can effectively kill bacterial spores and bacterial spores contaminated in hemodialysis machine line. Lemon has a strong antiseptic effect and is good for food hygiene, besides its scent of lemon odor, people always like to use it make cold dishes. It is not only delicious and refreshing, but also can increase appetite. But citric acid is flammable, irritant and stimulating, it can cause eczema when contact in industrial use. The powder can form explosive mixtures with air. If you have interest to okchem, please click here to get more, thanks!

How to distingush sodium hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide is a kind of alkali with strong corrosive, generally they are flake or pellet form, easily soluble in water, and forms alkaline solution. It is hygroscopic, easy to absorb water vapor in the air (hygroscopic) and carbon dioxide (metamorphic), hydrochloric acid can be added to verify deterioration. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) can be used as alkaline cleaning agents in water treatment to be dissolved in ethanol and glycerol, but it is insoluble in alcohol and ether.

Food grade sodium hydroxide is different from food grade sodium bicarbonate. Sodium hydroxide is a strong alkali substances with a certain amount of corrosive chemicals. And baking soda is a weak alkaline substances, it is hardly has any corrosion. Sodium hydroxide is usually used as food processing additives, and it will not have any residues after processing. While sodium bicarbonate is mainly used in the flour products food additive, the function is fluffy. So the two kinds of food additives uses are not the same. As to sodium hydroxide for industrial use and food grade use, the purity is different. The industrial use sodium hydroxide is low purity and may contain substances harmful to the human body, which is not allowed in food grade sodium hydroxide.

Generally, the presence forms of sodium hydroxide are rendered in white translucent crystalline flake, of course, some manufacturers according to customer's need to produce sodium hydroxide with different shapes, such as granular. Due to the special physical and chemical properties of sodium hydroxide, for example, it has a very strong water absorption and moisture absorption function, this indicate that one of its applications is similar to lime and can be used as a desiccant. Because of its strongly alkaline, it can be applied to cooking and bleaching papers. Food grade sodium hydroxide can be used as processing of starch as a catalyst.

But how it is stored, as well as during transport the attention? Industrial use solid caustic soda are packaged by metal pail or other airtight, the metal pail wall thickness is above 0.5mm, pressure resistance is 0.5Pa, the lid must be sealed solid barrel, etc. There should be clear symbol of "corrosive" on the packaging. Food liquid caustic soda load by tank wagon, it must be clean well after use two times. Do not allow shipment of liquid mercury-electrolysis of caustic soda tank wagons or tank, barrel shipping edible liquid caustic soda. There should be clear words of "food additive" and symbol of "corrosive". If you have interest, please get more about okchem here, thanks!

Application of sodium citrate in wide field

Sodium citrate is used as a flavoring agent and stabilizer in the food and beverage industry; in the pharmaceutical industry it is used as a blood clotting agent, expectorant and diuretic medicines; in the detergent industry, it can alternative to sodium tripolyphosphate as a nontoxic detergent additive; it is also used in brewing, injection, photography, pharmaceutical and electroplating, etc.

It contains a lot of citric acid in the lemon juice, citric acid and calcium ions combine into soluble complexes to mitigate the effect of calcium ions promote blood clotting, prevention and treatment of hypertension and myocardial infarction. So it has effect of anticoagulant. When taking fresh blood in the clinical, add some sterile sodium citrate or sodium oxalate can prevent blood clotting, therefore, sodium citrate and sodium oxalate is known as anticoagulants.

Sodium citrate used for soft drinks can ease the recipe to improve taste. Brewing of acceding to this product can promote the glycation, the amount is about 0.3%. In the manufacturing of ice cream and ice cream, sodium citrate used as an emulsifier and stabilizer, its dosage is 0.2%~0.3%. This product can also be used as the agent prevents rancidity of dairy products, or thickening agent in processed cheese, meats and fish, as well as food sweet correction.

Sodium citrate has many of these excellent properties, making it a very wide range of uses. Sodium citrate is nontoxic, pH adjusting performance and good stability, as a result, it can be used in the food industry. The demand is great when sodium citrate used as a food additive. It primarily as a flavoring agent, buffering agent, emulsifying agent, bulking agent, stabilizers, preservatives and so on. What's more, compatibility of sodium citrate and citric acid can be used as gels, nutritional supplements and flavoring agent in jams, jellies, fruit juices, beverages, cold drinks, etc.

Liquid detergents containing sodium citrate has an excellent washing performance, such as sodium citrate-containing cleaning agent is non-corrosive for certain metal appliances,  thus it can specifically for cleaning expensive precision instruments, and metal surfaces look like new after cleaning by detergent containing citric acid sodium.

Sodium citrate has good complexing properties, so is widely used in the plating industry; sodium citrate can be used as retarder admixture in concrete in the construction industry, as it can promote tensile, compressive strength and frost resistance of cement products; in terms of environmental protection, sodium citrate can be used for removal of sulphide in industrial gas. In addition, sodium citrate in brewing and the photographic industry also has new uses, thereby it further broaden the field of application of sodium citrate. If you have interest to okchem, please click here, thanks!

Something about food grade phosphoric acid

Food grade phosphoric acid is an inexpensive sour agents, it can replace citric acid used in the production of various beverages. Food phosphoric acid is the basic raw material of production of food-grade phosphates, food phosphoric acid can produce multi-series, multi-species food-grade phosphates. Phosphate in food can adjust and improve structure, color, flavor and sensory characteristics of the food, as well as improve performance in making baking food. Phosphorus is indispensable basic nutrients for the human, food grade phosphoric acid and phosphate for food in developed countries has been widely used as a food additive.

There are some difference between food grade phosphoric acid and CP grade phosphoric acid. Food phosphoric acid cannot have impurities to effect food safety, but it is not strict to purity; CP level of purity is required, namely, phosphoric acid content to meet the requirements of chemically pure. phosphoric acid or orthophosphoric acid is a common inorganic acid. Phosphoric acid in the air easily deliquescence. When heat it will water loss to get pyrophosphate, and further loss to get metaphosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is mainly used for pharmaceutical industry, foodstuff industry, fertilizer industry, it can also be used as a chemical reagent.

Food grade phosphoric acid is considered from food safety, it distinguishes from other industrial products, such as food grade alcohol, food grade lubricants, food-grade wax, the request is it can not pollute the product or introduce new hazards when in use. China in development and application of food level phosphate and the food level  phosphoric acid aspects is more late, but with the national development, gradually improvement of living, our country pay more attention to food grade phosphoric acid and food level phosphate, and the national standards of them are established. Some domestic research units and production factory also develop it and certain results have been achieved. Food phosphates and phosphoric acid have been applied to the drink industry and  food canning industry. China is a populous country, food phosphoric acid and food-grade phosphates has a big potential in our market. Food grade phosphoric acid is also now have a certain market at present. If you have interest to okchem and want to know more details about chemicals, please click here, thanks!

Importance of l-Malic acid on the human body

L-Malic Acid is an important organic acid produced in organisms metabolism process, it is an important middle product in three carboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) and branch acetaldehyde acid cycle metabolism process, as well as CO2 fixed reaction of middle product. It is an activity material exists within organisms cell. Its easy absorption can make it quickly through membrane go into mitochondria and directly participation energy metabolism.

Malic acid plays an important role in the transfer of cytosol and mitochondria reducing equivalents (NADH). Therefore,  l-Malic acid  in the body has great metabolism significance, as well as significant physiological functions. It can improve the performance effectively and has other physiological functions such as protecting the heart, promote metabolism of carboxylic acid salts, promotes mitochondrial respiration, improve memory, enhance calcium activity, reduce side effects of cancer drug, etc.

L-Malic acid in food, medicine, daily chemical sector uses are as follows: in food industry, it can be used for processing and configuration of beverages, wine, fruit juice, also used in candies, jam and other manufacturing, it has antimicrobial effects to food and can be used for yoghurt PH adjustment; in tobacco industry, malic acid derivatives such as esters can improve the tobacco aromas; in pharmaceutical industry. various tablets, syrup with Malic acid is fruit-flavored and is conducive to the absorption, diffusion; in daily-use chemical industry, it is good complexing agents, esters and used in toothpaste formulations, net dental plate, synthetic fragrances formulations, it also applied to deodorant and detergent ingredients.

Acid agent is an essential food additives.  Sour agents used flexibility and scientifically not only can play a role in season, but also make food products with the best flavor and texture. Besides, acidity agent  in improving the conditions of sterilization, oxidation, hydrolysis, foam play an essential role in the production process. L-Malic Acid has a promotional function to oxidation of citric acid salt, after fumarate and succinate salt convert to Malic acid can also stimulate the oxidation of citric acid, so it is mainly mediated by Malic acid. L-Malic acid can improve sperm mitochondrial pyruvate Dehydrogenase activity, so as to promote the uptake and use of Pyruvate. If you want to know more about chemicals, please read more here, thanks!

The use of fumaric acid

Fumaric acid is an important organic chemical raw materials and fine chemical products, which is widely used in food, pharmaceutical, chemical, paint, resin, plasticizers and other fields. Industrial fumaric acid is mainly used for production of unsaturated polyester resins and alkyd resins, as well as raw materials to produce electrophoresis paint. The copolymer of fumaric acid and styrene is a raw material for production of glass fiber reinforced plastic, it is an excellent binder with vinyl acetate copolymer. Fumaric acid acts as an important platform of four-carbon compound also through the enzyme catalysis, ester, hydrogenation processes to produce  l-aspartic acid, Malic acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, 1,4-Butanediol, gamma-butyrolactone, tetrahydrofuran and other four-carbon compound.

The purity is higher than 99% food grade fumaric acid is the pure taste sour agents, sodium fumarate made by fumaric acid and sodium carbonate is a flavor enhancer for food additives. Fumaric acid can be used to produce antidotes medicine dimercaptosuccinic acid sodium, the replacement product of fumaric acid sodium and ferrous sulfate is iron fumarate that is widely used in the medical treatment of human red blood cell anemia. Ester derivatives of fumaric acid including dimethyl fumarate, diethyl ester, dibutyl ester, etc.

Fumaric acid in food is mainly used in meat, fish and meat processing. Fumaric acid can be used as acidity regulators, acidifier, antioxidant additives, pickling accelerant and spices. It has a strong cushion to keep pH3.0 aqueous, and it has an important role in antibacterial mildew as well. It is astringent, one of the most sour solid acids and low absorption rate, can help extend the shelf life of powder products. Chemical synthesis of fumaric acid include maleic anhydride (maleic anhydride) method of heterogeneous and furfural oxidation. Maleic anhydride is widely used in synthetic resin, paint, pesticides, lubricating oil additives, pharmaceuticals, paper handling, food additives, stabilizers and so on, it is a large organic material. Furfural is important organic chemical raw materials obtained by hydrolysis based on agricultural, forestry and by-products.  It has a very wide range of uses in  pharmaceuticals, veterinary drugs, pesticides, dyes, fragrances, paints, plastics and electrical insulating materials, auxiliaries, reagents, solvents, adhesives, animal feed additives, food, synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, synthetic fiber monomer, etc. If you have interest, please click here, thanks!