BASF, the world's leading chemical company, will present its chemical intermediates, catalysts and inorganics portfolio at the "ChemSpec" trade show in Barcelona, Spain, on June 17 and 18. ChemSpec Europe is considered one of the major trade shows for manufacturers of fine and specialty chemicals in this region.
BASF to showcase new and proven intermediates
In early 2010, BASF will launch its cyclododecanone (CDon) intermediate. To produce it, the company operates a novel, highly efficient manufacturing process that has meanwhile earned international distinction. CDon is the key raw material for making laurolactam, an intermediate used to produce the high-performance plastic polyamide 12. It also serves as an intermediate for fragrances and UV stabilizers.
Two specialty amines, methylisopropylamine and cyclohexylmethylamine, are new products expanding BASF’s extensive amines portfolio. They are employed in the manufacture of active ingredients for the agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries and feature excellent purity as well as a very low range of side products, meeting even most stringent specifications in these two industries.
BASF has continued to add to its broad portfolio of chiral intermediates, which are marketed as ChiPros ®. New amino alcohols include amino butanols as well as cyclohexyl and cyclopentyl amino alcohols with amino and alcohol groups protected in different ways. The range of chiral alcohols has been expanded to include naphthylethanols and differently substituted phenylalkanols as well as aliphatic and cycloaliphatic alcohols. ChiPros, which are manufactured on the basis of various biocatalytic processes, are used successfully in the production of active substances for pharmaceuticals and crop protectants.
With Huenig's Base (ethyldiisopropylamine) and DBU Pharma (1,8-diazabicycloundecene pharma) BASF offers two versatile reagents in high quality for the synthesis of pharmaceutically active compounds. Huenig’s Base is employed both to drive reactions to completion and/or to remove unwanted side products. A typical example is the formation of esters from alcohols and acid chlorides in the presence of Huenig's Base. DBU Pharma on the other hand addresses specific problems in synthesis, such as the formation of olefins by dehydrohalogenation or targeted alkylation of methylene compounds. Both Huenig’s Base and DBU Pharma are available from BASF as drummed or bulk material.
BASF will be presenting vinyl compounds at ChemSpec, including novel vinylphosphonic acid and vinylphosphonic acid dimethyl ester. From these monomers various specialty polymers are manufactured for uses in coatings, construction chemicals and adhesives. Both products feature favorable properties with respect to improved adhesion, anti-corrosive and flame-retardant behavior.
Moreover, BASF will showcase its extensive range of vinyl ethers and acetylene alcohols. They serve as building blocks in manufacturing crop protection products, medical drugs and fragrances, and as monomers to make specialty polymers for applications in coatings, construction chemicals and adhesives.
Customized technical service: that is how BASF helps its customers to use vinylphosphonic acid, vinylphosphonic acid dimethyl ester as well as vinylethers and acetylene alcohols in the best possible manner.This service also allows for customized development cooperation.
In producing its intermediates BASF employs a most diverse range of sophisticated technologies, including biotransformations, enantioselective synthesis and electrochemistry as well as high-pressure reactions like hydrogenation or amination of ketones and alcohols. Professional handling of reactive building blocks can obviously be taken for granted in all cases. The company also offers to develop on request new intermediates that are not yet commercially available.They can be produced on all scales, from kilogram to ton volumes.
Catalysts for environmental and chemical applications
With its Catalysts division, BASF is one of the world’s leading suppliers of environmental and process catalysts. The company offers exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that protect the air, produce fuels and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals, plastics and other products.
This year’s focus is on two environmentally-friendly catalysts for use in environmental and chemical applications, from BASF’s NanoSelect platform technology for controlled flexibility: the lead-free Pd-based NanoSelect LF 100 and NanoSelect LF 200 catalysts. Characterized by similar activity and selectivity in specific hydrogenation reactions, these new heterogeneous catalysts are an environmentally compatible alternative to Lindlar catalysts. The new BASF catalysts are also designed to achieve significant cost savings by using approximately 10-times lower amounts of precious metals. The NanoSelect platform technology is the proud recipient of the Frost & Sullivan 2009 North American Nanocatalysts Green Excellence of the Year Award.
BASF continually develops new intelligent solutions based on the latest catalyst technologies for its customers. The portfolio of these “Enabling technologies,” including precious metal and base metal hetero- and homogeneous catalysts and metal scavenging materials, is continuously strengthened by focused R&D and licensing of new technologies.
Inorganic specialties and much more
The Inorganics division of BASF offers to its customers a broad portfolio of inorganic chemical specialties, for example a broad range of standard and specialty alcoholates and alkali metal amides. By its wealth and versatility this portfolio of bases covers many different requirements in organic synthesis.
In addition the product range also includes alkali metal compounds, boron trifluoride and borane compounds, boroxins and borates, hydroxylamine and its derivatives. Recent market launches of BASF include organometallic halide compounds, for example for highly efficient C-C cross-coupling reactions allowing for maximum functional group tolerance. This enables customers to chose direct routes of synthesis while ensuring optimum efficiency.
The product range also includes 2- and 4-hydroxyacetophenone. These specialties are used as catalysts, reagents and synthesis building blocks in a wide variety of innovative industries, particularly in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and cosmetics.
Driven by customer needs the New Business Development team of the Inorganics division continuously works to expand BASF’s portfolio of inorganic specialties. The most recent examples in this area are the completed launch of hydroxylamine-O-sulfonic acid, a versatile aminating agent, and O-benzylhydroxylamine hydrochloride, which is useful whenever a protecting group on an N-O-functionality is needed. These product innovations contribute to making customer syntheses more cost-effective and more efficient. High product quality combined with outstanding delivery service translate into control, flexibility and security for BASF’s business partners.