Organic acids

• An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties.
• The most common Organic acids are the carboxylic acids, whose acidity is associated with their carboxyl group –COOH. Sulfonic acids, containing the group –SO2OH, are relatively stronger acids.
• The relative stability of the conjugate base of the acid determines its acidity.
• Other groups can also confer acidity, usually weakly: –OH, –SH, the enol group, and the phenol group.
• In biological systems, organic compounds containing these groups are generally referred to as Organic acids.
• Simple Organic acids like formic or acetic acids are used for oil and gas well stimulation treatments. These Organic acids are much less reactive with metals than are strong mineral acids like hydrochloric acid (HCl) or mixtures of HCl and hydrofluoric acid (HF).