1. Acesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium, CAS 55589-62-3, EINECS number 259-715-3, chemical formula C4H4KNO4S, molecular weight 201.2422.
Acesulfame potassium is a food additive with a strong sweet taste, about 130 times sweeter than sucrose. The chemical name is potassium acetyl sulfonate, also known as ace-k, AK sugar, and acesulfame-k, the appearance of white crystalline powder, is an organic synthetic salt, Its taste is similar to sugar cane, easily soluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol.
2. Acesulfame potassium physical properties
| Name | Acesulfame potassium |
| Synonyms | Acesulfame-k, AK, Ace-k |
| CAS number | 55589-62-3 |
| Density | 1.7±0.1 g/cm3 |
| Boiling point | 332.7±25.0 °C at 760 mmHg |
| Flash point | 155.0±23.2 °C |
| PSA | 80.85000 |
| LogP | -0.31 |
| Refractive index | 1.609 |
| Solubility | 270 g/L at 20 ºC |
3. Advantages and disadvantages of acesulfame potassium
3.1 Advantages
1. Easily soluble in water, increase the sweetness of food, no nutrition, good taste, no heat
2. Not metabolized and not absorbed in the human body
3. Good stability to heat and acid
3.2 Disadvantages
1. Taste similar to saccharin sodium, bitter taste when in high concentration.
4. Production of acesulfame potassium
4.1 Production method
Acetyl sulfamic acid is produced by the condensation reaction of sulfamic acid with diethyl ketone under triethylamine as the catalyst, sulfonated with sulfur trioxide, neutralized with potassium hydroxide to produce acesulfame-k, concentrated, decolorized, crystallized, dried and packaged.
4.2 Main raw material
Diethylene ketone is an important raw material for the production of acesulfame potassium.
5. Manufacturers of acesulfame potassium
At present, the main manufacturers of acesulfame potassium (ace-k) are Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd, Celanese Corporation, Vitasweet Co., Ltd, and Shandong Yabang Chemical Technology Co., Ltd.
5.1 Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd
Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd. is specialized in the production of chemical, biological, and new materials. It is a major producer of acesulfame, sucralose, maltol, and ethyl maltol.
For ace-k, they have the technology, cost, and scale advantages.
5.2 Celanese Corporation
The Celanese food ingredients business is the producer of [Sunett® acesulfame potassium (Ace-K)] and [Nutrinova® sorbates]. We believe that the key to our customers’ success is close cooperation and reliability.
5.3 Vitasweet Co., Ltd
Established in 1995, Vitasweet Co., Ltd is one of the few professional production providers that can have both ace-k and aspartame as high-quality sweeteners. Over the years, Vitasweet has been focusing on innovation and development in the field of sweeteners and has quickly grown into a leading professional manufacturer of sweeteners.
5.4 Shandong Yabang Chemical Technology Co., Ltd
Shandong Yabang Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. is located in Dongying City, Shandong Province, which is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the R&D and production of fine and specialty chemicals. It has built production units with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons of acesulfame potassium (acesulfame-k), 10,000 tons of bis(vinyl ketone), 10,000 tons of tert-butylamine, and 10,000 tons of methyl acetoacetate.
6. Summary
At present, the main producers of acesulfame-k are Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd, Celanese Corporation, Vitasweet Co., Ltd, and Shandong Yabang Chemical Technology Co., Ltd.
Among them, Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd has technology, cost, and scale advantages.
