Applications[edit]
Succinic acid is a precursor to some specialized polyesters. It is also a component of some alkyd resins.
Succinic acid is used in the food and beverage industry, primarily as an acidity regulator.[5] Global production is estimated at 16,000 to 30,000 tonnes a year, with an annual growth rate of 10%.[6] The growth can be attributed to advances in industrial biotechnology that seek to displace petroleum-based chemicals in industrial applications. Companies such as BioAmber, Reverdia, Myriant, BASF and Purac are progressing from demonstration scale production of bio-based succinic acid to viable commercialization.
In nutraceutical form as a food additive and dietary supplement, succinic acid is safe and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.[7] As an excipient in pharmaceutical products it is used to control acidity[8] and, more rarely, in effervescent tablets.[9]