Products

Methane Sulfonic Acid
(MSA)

• Low Molecular Weight

  Catalyst	MSA	pTSA	H2SO4
  molecular weight (g/mol)	96	172	98

  MSA is the lowest molecular weight sulfonic acid commercially available. In most esterificatins, 30% less MSA by weight than
  pTSA can give the same kinetics.

• Strong Acid

  Catalyst	MSA	H2SO4
  pKa	-2	-3

  MSA is a Strong Acid. Its kinetics closely relate to H₂SO₄

• Purity

  MSA has limited impurities of which iron and sulfuric acid content is present in extreme low levels compared to pTSA.

  Catalyst	70%MSA	65%pTSA
  Iron	<10ppm	50ppm MAX
  Sulfuric Acid	150ppm	0.5%-3.5%

  Iron can initiate polymerization reactons causing unwanted and detrimental by-products. other organic impurities, such as sulfones, which are present in percent quantities in pTSA are virtually absent in MSA. The amount of sulfuric acid which forms alkyl sulfates and is high corrosive is very low in MSA. MSA provides a crude ester color within specifications without activated carbon treatment. This is critical where an ester cannot be distilled.

  Sulfuric acid is a strong dehydrating agent which leads to charring color and ester formation. As these esters are recycled with excess alcohol, they compromise the purity and resistivity of the final ester, imparting color and taste. Sulfuric acid reacts irreversibly with excess alcohol to form the alkyl sulfate. Alkyl sulfates, when neutralized, forms detergents which increases filtration time and COD. Unlike other homogeneous catalysts, MSA limits the amount of by-products, solid residues and effluents, decreasing purification costs and increasing equipment capacity.

• High Thermal Stability

  Thermal Stability is SS316 cell with: (microcalorimeter DSC 92)	MSA	pTSA
  Beginning of decomposition	180oC	162oC
  Activation energy	30 kcal/mol	15 kcal/mol

  The higher thermal stability reduces formation of decomposition products which can further react with the final product or starting materials imparting corrosion and color.

• Recyclable

  Since MSA is water miscible, the cost of the catalyst can he noticeably reduced by recycling. More than 80% of introduced MSA can be recovered in some cases by washing the reaction medium with a small amount of water.

• Biodegradable

  MSA, like other acids1 is toxic to aquatic organisms. Effluents have to be neutralized before being released to the environment. When neutralized, MSA is considered readily biodegradable with respect to BOD₂₀, based on an OECD 30/D closed bottle test.

• Pricing:

  Type	Price
  MSA	$2.75/lb.
  F.O.B. Philadelphia

• MSDS: Click here