Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) has opened a new facility in Bad Wimpfen, Germany to produce the synthetic building block 4-ethoxy-1,1,1-trifluoro-3-butene-2-one (ETFBO), expanding its range of fluorinated organic intermediates. ETFBO is a building block that boosts the efficiency of active ingredient molecules and makes them more easily biodegradable.
Large active-ingredient molecules for pharmaceutical products and agrochemicals are put together from smaller, so-called synthetic building blocks. ETFBO is such a synthetic building block, which contributes both fluorine and a complex molecular structure to the active ingredient molecule at the same time.
The new €5-million facility has a capacity of 1,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). Construction of the facility, integrated into an existing building, began in May 2014 and preliminary sample amounts were produced in October.
Initially, only small amounts were synthesized for research purposes in Bad Wimpfen. These were then successfully tested in co-operation with selected customers. After that, ETFBO was produced at the industrial scale in a multi-purpose facility. The rapidly growing demand now makes a dedicated ETFBO facility viable.