BASF to open new L-Menthol production facility at Ludwigshafen site

Germany-based diversified chemical company BASF will open its new L-Menthol production facility at its Ludwigshafen site in summer 2012 to produce the synthetic compound with improved purity and increased volumes.

The company said the new production site will facilitate the need to meet the increased demand of menthol by oral care, skin care and food industries, along with offering an alternative to the unsustainable properties of naturally-sourced menthol.

Global demand of 25,000 to 30,000 metric tonnes of menthol per year already exceeds the available supply, and to cater to this demand, BASF’s new manufacturing efficiencies will play a vital role, the company noted.

BASF has developed a new process for manufacturing synthetic menthol based on the aroma chemical citral, which already is produced in the firm’s Verbund system.

BASF research scientist Rocco Paciello said that one of the key steps in the new process is called asymmetric hydrogenation, a special, highly efficient catalyst system that ensures a certain enantiomer is synthesised from the citral.

In the two future synthesis steps, this intermediate is used to produce L-Menthol and is a continuous process in which substances are constantly added and removed to avoid downtimes.

The company said that the process helps save time and is also more efficient as more L-Menthol is obtained with purity of nearly 99.7% even after using the same amount of starting materials.

BASF said that the new production facility will also will help to avoid the use of complex multi-step procedure to obtain desired flavours and properties.