What are organic acids?

Organic acids are substances that are acidic in nature and derived from organic sources. Compared to inorganic acids, they are weak acids. Their organic origin means they must include a carbon atom in their structure. Organic acids are proton donors. They possess at least one H atom that can be released as a proton H+. The structure of an organic acid is primarily composed of Carbon-Hydrogen (C-H) bonds.

A substance can only be classified as an organic acid if:

• It is primarily composed of C-H bonds
• It has a hydrogen atom that can be released as a positively charged hydrogen ion (H+)