Citric acid is mainly
produced in the fermentation industry, which
needs complex processes and produces a high amount of CaSO
4
as waste. In this study, CO
2
has been used to convert
calcium citrate to citric acid and CaCO
3
by controlling
the reaction parameters (reactants ratio, temperature, and pressure).
The CaCO
3
produced in this conversion could further be
used in the fermentation industry for citric acid production. The
transformation condition has been optimized by controlling temperature,
pressure, reaction time, and mass ratio of calcium citrate and water.
The highest conversion could reach up to 94.7% under optimal experimental
conditions of 18 MPa of pressure, 65 °C of reaction temperature,
4 h of reaction time, and 2 g/L of calcium citrate/water suspension
solution. This method features simple process, easy separation of
citric acid, and environmentally friendly process, which could be
a potentially alternative route for downstream treatment in fermentation
production of citric acid.