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Citral Verbund expansion:
vitamins and aromachemicals "from the same pot" |
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Delicate curries, exotic soups: lemongrass is a fixture of Asian cuisine. The aroma source and secret of lemongrass is a compound called citral. BASF has manufactured this chemical by synthesis since 1981. The aromatic liquid has now become a major element of the fine chemicals business. The use of citral as a basic chemical is a milestone in the manufacture of aromachemicals and vitamins, and improves BASF's market position.
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Cute thing: With the citral Verbund BASF is the largest manufacturer of this lemon-smelling basic material. |
At the end of the 1990s, the vision of a universal citral Verbund (integrated production system) came to the minds of Dr. Ulrich Schäfer-Lüderssen, Head of Global Business Management Aroma Chemicals, and the researcher Dr. Klaus Ebel. The trigger was the growing competition and cost pressure in dynamic and attractive markets for aromachemicals, perfumes and vitamins. "It was an adventurous project," Schäfer-Lüderssen recalled. "Citral was supposed to advance to a central element in Fine Chemicals and thus mark a successful continuation of the BASF Verbund principle." To achieve this, it was necessary to develop a new citral-based synthesis method for the aromachemical linalool and for vitamin E in a large number of small individual steps, and to expand the citral Verbund to a significant extent.
In the case of linalool, this meant changing citral at two different places in the molecule in order to move from a lemon scent to a lavender scent. Another aim was to develop a technical method for the production of rose-scented geraniol - a known chemical process that merely required modification. The project team mastered both challenges. True research passion was required for the linalool process. A dedicated catalyst with high performance at low temperatures had to be invented specially. "With a lot of creative chemistry, we eventually managed to develop a new catalyst system, and with clever process management, we significantly improved the linalool aroma quality," Ebel is proud to report.
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The research team extended citral's range of applications significantly by also making citral a precursor for vitamin E. The team at the same time reduced the number of process steps necessary for vitamin E production. Suitable catalysts and a new reactor design were needed for the manufacture of a new vitamin E precursor from citral. "Catalysts are sensitive molecular machines that won't tolerate even the slightest of impurities," said Ebel. But the researchers finally identified the right approach. BASF is the only manufacturer in the world today to produce vitamin E from citral. This achievement made the vision of a citral Verbund come true.
"The breakthrough came only after we brought together the individual successes with linalool, geraniol and vitamin E. Internal demand for citral has soared since the redesign of the production processes," Ebel reported. The citral plant launched in Ludwigshafen in 2004 is the world's largest. "It's thanks to this extensive and innovative citral value chain that BASF is now by far the world's largest manufacturer of citral - that was our joint vision right from the start," noted Schäfer-Lüderssen.
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