Calcium alginate is
the Calcium salt of alginic acid, which is a natural carbohydrate
extracted from kelp. Calcium alginate is made during the calcium
alginate process for making sodium alginate; can be removed at
the appropriate stage and, after thorough washing, can be dried
and milled to a required particle size.
Calcium Alginate is
white to yellowish powder. It is odorless and tasteless,
insoluble in water and most organical solvent, hardly soluble in
ethyl alcohol, slowly dissolve in solution of sodium
polyphosphate, sodium carbonate and calcium compound.
Alginate is present
in the cell walls of brown algae as the calcium, magnesium and
sodium salts of alginic acid. Alginate molecules are long chains
that contain two different acidic components, guluronic acid and
mannuronic acid. The way in which these M and G units are
arranged in the chain and the overall ratio, M/G, of the two
units in a chain can vary from one species of seaweed to
another.