Acetate is a compound derived from acetic acid found in household vinegar. It has various applications including use as a buffering agent, flavoring agent, and in waste management. Acetate biosynthesis is a natural process used in the flavoring industry. Cellulose acetate is used in film production as a safer alternative to cellulose nitrate.
An acetate is a chemical compound derived from acetic acid, or ordinary household vinegar, the product of wine fermentation. The chemical structure of the acid consists of a methyl group (CH3) bonded to a carboxylic acid group (COOH). When the hydrogen from the carboxylic acid of acetic acid is stripped off, the remainder, CH3COO-, is called “acetate” (abbreviation, -Ac). There are organic and inorganic forms of acetate. An example of the former is ethyl ester, or oily nail polish remover, while sodium is an inorganic acetate. One of the best known and most commercially important polymers is the plastic polyvinyl acetate (PVA).
These acetic acid derivatives find very diverse applications. Along with its most important use as a buffering agent, sodium acetate can be found in the hospital setting, where it is used in the intravenous treatment of the low sodium metabolic condition, hyponatremia. It is widely used as a flavoring agent in foods, including delicacies, such as salt and vinegar chips. Interestingly, the same compound can be used to make an unusual form of hand warmer or heating pad. In waste management, sodium acetate is used to neutralize sulfuric acid contaminated water by the exchange reaction: NaAc + H2SO4 → Na2SO4 + HAc, or sodium acetate plus sulfuric acid gives sodium sulfate plus acetic acid .
A very important class of chemical reactions in nature is the acetate biosynthesis reaction. In this process, the chemical complexity of the molecules is increased through the enzymatic addition of acetic acid molecules, usually mediated by bacteria. This process is being invoked to replace some more expensive synthetic reactions, particularly in the flavoring industry. One example is the production of banana oil, which can be produced using an engineered bacterium, Esirichechia coli. Even simply understanding the process is proving invaluable, enabling continued and successful research into the preservation of delicate strawberry esters through the use of controlled atmosphere (CA).
Cellulose nitrate was once the standard film variety used by the motion picture industry, until about the 1940s. That substance is unstable and highly flammable; Cellulose nitrate fires are difficult to extinguish and produce dangerous gases, including corrosive nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Many important films produced on cellulose nitrate have been lost forever due to degradative oxidation. The most recent films use cellulose acetate, the so-called “safety film”. Unfortunately, even this improved film is prone to degradation, although it can last more than a century when stored in cold, dry conditions.
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