Toward Sustainable Utilization and Production of Tartaric Acid

Abstract 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 C 4 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.