Saltigo develops environmentally friendly coupling reactions

18 Mar '08

2 min read

In close cooperation with leading research institutes, Saltigo GmbH has developed a number of new reaction technologies to bring the ecological aspects of the production of agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients in line with the economic implications.

Saltigo a wholly owned subsidiary of specialty chemicals group LANXESS AG has succeeded, with the aid of innovative processes based on catalytic C-C-, C-CN- and C-O couplings, in combining the technical accessibility of complex chemical structures with their cost-effective commercial production.

This collaboration between experts from university and industry yielded reaction technologies that Saltigo was able to scale up from laboratory to production in a very short time.

Ever higher demands are being made on the properties of new active ingredients for crop protection. They must, for example, have an excellent activity profile, minimal environmental impact and efficient application management.

At the same time, pressure on costs in the crop protection industry is enormous, which means that new developments are subjected from the very beginning to a very tight budget.

The products later on the market must not exceed this budget under any circumstances if they are to have prospects of economic success. This necessitates efficient, inexpensive syntheses, right from the market launch.

Dr. Matthias Gotta, head of Process Development in Saltigo's Agrochemicals business line, says: "The various approaches had to comply with a demanding catalog of requirements, including new access to interesting classes of agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients based on inexpensive starting materials and reagents, safe and reliable execution of the technical process in multi-purpose plants, and minimization of waste streams and energy losses."

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