Dihydroxymethyl butyric acid self-supply in China
It is understood that before 2005, only Japan’s Asahi Kasei Corporation had the ability to industrialize DMBA production. In 2005, after Asahi Kasei stopped production, it transferred its technology and equipment to the Swedish company Pasto, the world's largest polyol producer. As Pasto is the only producer of the current DMBA, all domestic products are dependent on imports, so the import price of the product is as high as 120,000 yuan/ton.
According to reports, Jiangxi Nancheng Hongdu Chemical Technology Development Co., Ltd. uses formaldehyde and n-butyraldehyde as synthetic raw materials to obtain DMBA through aldol condensation, oxidation, and crystallization purification. Among them, the aldol condensation catalyst uses a complex system of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate, dichloroethane as a diluent, and methyl isobutyl ketone as a refining solvent. The process has great innovation in the catalyst selection of aldol condensation reaction, recovery of unreacted n-butyraldehyde, azeotropic removal of formic acid by water addition, improvement of product yield, and shortening of production cycle.
DMBA solves the problem of the presence of dimethylaminopropionic acid (DMPA), which is widely used in polyurethane coatings, in the presence of organic solvents, high melting point, slow dissolution rate, long reaction time, high energy consumption, poor product performance, and large solvent residues. problem. The use of DMBA as an emulsifier for the production of waterborne polyurethane, without the use of organic solvents, so the organic residue is zero, and the product coating is more uniform, good water resistance. DMBA is therefore also regarded as a new generation of environmentally friendly chemicals for waterborne polyurethanes. Recently, this technology has passed the appraisal organized by the Science and Technology Department of Jiangxi Province.
The replacement of traditional solvent-based coatings with water-based coatings has become a major trend in the development of coatings. However, the proportion of aqueous coatings in China currently is not high. With the gradual improvement of environmental protection standards, the amount of water-based coatings is growing at a faster rate, and the demand for waterborne polyurethane production for DMBA is also increasing. DMBA is not only a key raw material for water-soluble polyurethane, but also an important raw material for polyester and epoxy resin production.