Exemplary compositions comprise at least one aldopentonic acid, such as
xylonic acid; and further comprise a lignin, a lignosulfonic acid or its salt,
an additional sugar acid such as a aldohexonic acid or salt, a conventional admixture
(such as a polyacrylate superplasticizer, a corrosion inhibitor, a set retard,
a set accelerator, etc.), or a mixture thereof. Exemplary methods for obtaining
microbiologically or enzymatically converted sugar acids are also described herein.
