Toward Sustainable Utilization and Production of Tartaric Acid

Global efforts toward establishing a circular carbon economy have guided research interests towards exploring renewable technologies that can replace environmentally harmful fossil fuel-based production routes. In this context, sugar-based bio-derived substrates have been identified as renewable molecules for future implementation in chemical industries. Tartaric acid, a special C₄ bio-compound with two hydroxyl and carboxylic groups in the structure, displays great potential for the food, polymer, and pharmaceutical industries due to its unique biological reactivity and performance-enhancing properties. To this point, there has yet to be a comprehensive literature review and perspective on the applications and synthesis of tartaric acid. As such, we have conducted a detailed and thorough outlook and discussion in terms of biological activity, organic synthesis, catalysis, structural characterization and synthetic routes. Lastly, we provide a critical discussion on the applications and synthesis of tartaric acid to give our insights into developing sustainable chemical technologies for the future.