Indispensable Flavor - Vanillin
Vanillin is a widely used edible spice. It is a phenolic aldehyde, which is an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. Its functional groups include aldehyde, hydroxyl, a-nd ether. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. Synthetic vanillin is now used more often than natural vanilla extract as a flavoring agent in foods, beverages, a-nd pharmaceuticals. Vanillin has rich milk flavor, it is widely used in food industry, such as ice cream, cakes, chocolate, ca-ndies, etc. It can also be used in soap, toothpaste, perfume, rubber, plastics, pharmaceuticals, etc.
Natural "vanilla extract" is a mixture of several hundred different compounds in addition to vanillin. Artificial vanilla flavoring is often a solution of pure vanillin, usually of synthetic origin. Because of the scarcity a-nd expense of natural vanilla extract, synthetic preparation of its predominant component has long been of interest.
Vanillin is the first essence made by human being. It was first isolated as a relatively pure substance in 1858 by Nicolas-Theodore Gobley, who obtained it by evaporating a vanilla extract to dryness, a-nd recrystallizing the resulting solids from hot water. In 1874, the German scientists Ferdina-nd Tiemann a-nd Wilhelm Haarmann deduced its chemical structure, at the same time finding a synthesis for vanillin from coniferin, a glucoside of isoeugenol found in pine bark. Tiemann a-nd Haarmann founded a company, Haarmann a-nd Reimer a-nd started the first industrial production of vanillin using their process in Holzminden, Germany. In 1876, Karl Reimer synthesized vanillin from guaiacol. By the late 19th century, semisynthetic vanillin derived from the eugenol found in clove oil was commercially available.
Synthetic vanillin became significantly more available in the 1930s, when production from clove oil was supplanted by production from the lignin-containing waste produced by the sulfite pulping process for preparing wood pulp for the paper industry. By 1981, a single pulp a-nd paper mill in Ontario supplied 60% of the world market for synthetic vanillin. However, subsequent developments in the wood pulp industry have made its lignin wastes less attractive as a raw material for vanillin synthesis. While some vanillin is still made from lignin wastes, most synthetic vanillin is today synthesized in a two-step process from the petrochemical precursors guaiacol a-nd glyoxylic acid.
Natural "vanilla extract" is a mixture of several hundred different compounds in addition to vanillin. Artificial vanilla flavoring is often a solution of pure vanillin, usually of synthetic origin. Because of the scarcity a-nd expense of natural vanilla extract, synthetic preparation of its predominant component has long been of interest.
Vanillin is the first essence made by human being. It was first isolated as a relatively pure substance in 1858 by Nicolas-Theodore Gobley, who obtained it by evaporating a vanilla extract to dryness, a-nd recrystallizing the resulting solids from hot water. In 1874, the German scientists Ferdina-nd Tiemann a-nd Wilhelm Haarmann deduced its chemical structure, at the same time finding a synthesis for vanillin from coniferin, a glucoside of isoeugenol found in pine bark. Tiemann a-nd Haarmann founded a company, Haarmann a-nd Reimer a-nd started the first industrial production of vanillin using their process in Holzminden, Germany. In 1876, Karl Reimer synthesized vanillin from guaiacol. By the late 19th century, semisynthetic vanillin derived from the eugenol found in clove oil was commercially available.
Synthetic vanillin became significantly more available in the 1930s, when production from clove oil was supplanted by production from the lignin-containing waste produced by the sulfite pulping process for preparing wood pulp for the paper industry. By 1981, a single pulp a-nd paper mill in Ontario supplied 60% of the world market for synthetic vanillin. However, subsequent developments in the wood pulp industry have made its lignin wastes less attractive as a raw material for vanillin synthesis. While some vanillin is still made from lignin wastes, most synthetic vanillin is today synthesized in a two-step process from the petrochemical precursors guaiacol a-nd glyoxylic acid.
