Lactic Acid
Market Dynamics: Lactic acid is a hydroxycarboxylic acid commonly used as a flavoring, inhibitor of bacteria, and acidulant. Because much of the lactic acid is derived from milk and glucose, corn is a key starting material that can impact price and availability. Corn is impacted by the harvest in the US, which supplies 50% of the global supply of corn.
Up Stream Materials/Building Blocks: Lactic acid can be produced in several ways: fermentation of milk or whey, which is animal derived (not acceptable for biotech); fermentation of sucrose, glucose; and synthetic.
​Milk/Beef
Corn
Dextrose
Sucrose
Beet/Sugar cane
Hydrogen cyanide
Acetaldehyde
Hydrochloric acid
Ammonium chloride
Vinyl acetate
Glycerol
Down Stream Materials Consuming:
Tableting
Polyester (biodegradeable)
Food preservations/flavoring
Cosmetics