Itaconic acid (2-methylidenebutanedioic acid) is an unsaturated di-carbonic acid. It has a broad application spectrum in the industrial production of resins and is used as a building block for acrylic plastics, acrylate latexes, super-absorbents, and anti-scaling agents.
Itaconic acid, or methylidenesuccinic acid, is an organic compound. This dicarboxylic acid is a white solid that is soluble in water, ethanol, and acetone. Historically, itaconic acid was obtained by the distillation of citric acid, but currently it is produced by fermentation.
Upon heating, itaconic anhydride isomerizes to citraconic acid anhydride, which can be hydrolyzed to citraconic acid (2-methylmaleic acid).
