Tip of the Month  
PTC Organics recommends using one of the following 3 PT catalysts for screening new PTC applications: tetrabutyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate, tetrabutyl ammonium bromide or methyl tricaprylyl ammonium chloride. These catalysts very often work when PTC works and are good for screening  to quickly maximize the probability of determining whether or not PTC is appropriate for your application. The expensive hydrogen sulfate is particularly effective for screening because it allows bases, nucleophilic anions, oxidants and reductants to be extracted easily. Related Tip: PTC Organics rarely uses triethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (TEBA) for screening because [1] TEBA is usually a poor catalyst for "Intrinsic Reaction Rate Limited Reactions" that can mislead into thinking PTC doesn't work and [2] TEBA decomposes faster than most "quats" by both Hofmann decomposition and by nucleophilic substitution, forming undesired benzylated impurities. In fact, if you are using TEBA for a commercial application, you may want to verify that benzylated impurities are not present in your product (unless it doesn't matter).

The choice of phase-transfer catalyst for actual commercialization is obviously more complex than choosing one of the top 3 catalysts. To learn more about the 10 criteria for choosing a phase-transfer catalyst for a commercial application, call PTC Organics - Marc Halpern at +1 856-222-1146 or Contact PTC Organics.

Public PTC Course
May 6-7, 2003 in New Jersey. Click here for agenda, registration and hotel info. Rapidly achieve process improvement and cost reductions after this highly effective investment of your training budget. OR train your whole department on-site, in-house.

True Chemical Industry Story of the Month  
We heard this story during a recent customer visit. A plant in the US built a storage facility for significant quantities of sodium metal. The local authorities reportedly delayed issuing the Certificate of Occupancy for a few weeks because the company refused to install a sprinkler system!

If you have a True Chemical Industry Story you would like to share, please E-mail it to tip@phasetransfer.com or call PTC Organics - Marc Halpern at +1 856-222-1146 or Contact PTC Organics.

Process Improvement?
PTC Cost Savings Program Achieve Breakthrough Process Improvement! This pdf file includes a FREE pre-screening form to evaluate your process improvement opportunity (allow 60 sec for downloading pdf file).
Click here for 41 high-performance PTC reaction categories and benefits (allow 60 sec for downloading pdf file).
GENERIC PHARMACEUTICALS? Contact PTC Organics!!! PTC Organics can provide you with the cost savings you depend on by developing high-performance low-cost PTC processes for the manufacture of your organic intermediates!

FREE Download - Industrial PTC
Issue 16 of "Industrial Phase-Transfer Catalysis" (allow 2 min for downloading pdf file)
"Top 10 Opportunities to Improve Process Performance and Profit Using Phase-Transfer Catalysis"

Quiz of the Month
The choice of phase-transfer catalyst is very important but often not the most important process parameter for determining reactivity in PTC systems! Which parameter most often determines PTC reactivity more than catalyst structure?
a) agitation  b) solvent  c) concentration  d) interfacial tension  e) none of the above
The answer will be given next month. Can't wait? Call  PTC Organics - Marc Halpern at +1 856-222-1146 or Contact PTC Organics.

Meet PTC Organics at Informex 2003
Contact PTC Organics or call Marc Halpern at +1 856-222-1146 to arrange a meeting at Informex 2003 booth 1611. If you arrange the meeting before January 7, we will reserve for you a complimentary copy of the CD "The Best of Industrial Phase-Transfer Catalysis."

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Copyright 2002 PTC Communications, Inc.