Potassium Methoxide KOMe CAS 865-33-8

Tree Chem manufactures Potassium Methoxide (CAS 867-56-1) using advanced production processes and strict quality control. As a powerful alkaline catalyst, it plays an essential role in transesterification, esterification, and condensation reactions across the chemical and energy industries. Our KOMe features high purity, strong catalytic activity, and consistent quality, making it suitable for a wide range of industrial and technical applications.

Tree Chem has established extensive cooperation in biodiesel production, providing catalytic solutions and process optimization support for multiple factories. Beyond clean energy, our Potassium Methoxide is also used as a catalyst in pharmaceutical synthesis and chemical intermediate production, including dimethyl carbonate (DMC), methyl formate, and dimethylformamide (DMF). With technical expertise and flexible supply, Tree Chem delivers integrated catalytic solutions across various industrial fields. For inquiries or quotations, please contact rocket@cntreechem.com.

Specification

Basic Information

Technical Specification

Applications

• This case highlights how advanced catalytic technology and process optimization can significantly enhance biodiesel yield, quality, and sustainability, setting a benchmark for future renewable fuel production.

Project Overview: A large-scale biodiesel facility was commissioned in Europe in 2023, focusing on the conversion of used cooking oil and animal fats into high-quality biodiesel with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons. The process adopts potassium methoxide as the main catalyst to overcome the rapid deactivation issues of conventional sodium methoxide when processing high-acid feedstocks.

Feedstock Preparation: Waste oil undergoes degumming and deacidification to reduce the acid value below 2 mg KOH/g before entering the transesterification system.

Catalyst System: A 28% liquid potassium methoxide solution is applied with a catalyst dosage of only 0.8% of the feedstock mass, much lower than the typical 1.2% used in sodium-based systems.

Reaction Conditions: The reaction takes place at 65°C, with a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 6:1, under continuous stirring for 90 minutes to ensure complete conversion.

Separation Process: After the reaction, the mixture is separated via centrifugal phase separation to remove glycerin, followed by vacuum distillation to eliminate residual methanol.

Product Quality: The final biodiesel achieves a methyl ester content ≥ 98.5% and an iodine value of 102 g I₂/100 g, fully meeting the EN 14214 European biodiesel standard.

Performance Improvement: Compared to conventional sodium methoxide catalysis, the yield increases by 3.2 percentage points, reaching 99.1%, while glycerin purity improves to 99.2%.

Cost Efficiency: Reduced catalyst consumption and higher by-product quality contribute to a cost reduction of approximately €8.5 per ton of biodiesel produced.

Technical Innovation: The system integrates a closed-loop catalyst recovery design, achieving a regeneration rate of up to 72%, which further lowers raw material consumption and enhances process sustainability.

• Potassium methoxide is often used as a catalyst in chemical production, and its excellent performance is primarily demonstrated in the following aspects:

Comparison with Sodium Methanol: Potassium methoxide generally has higher catalytic activity than sodium methoxide, with higher solubility and faster dissolution. In transesterification reactions, potassium methoxide achieves excellent catalytic effects even at lower catalyst dosages, and the catalytic effect is more durable. More importantly, the potassium carbonate produced by the reaction of potassium methoxide with water and carbon dioxide retains strong catalytic activity in transesterification, whereas sodium methoxide is difficult to recover after deactivation. Potassium methoxide can achieve higher yields in biodiesel production, and in waste cooking oil conversion studies, potassium methoxide has achieved yields of up to 99%.

Comparison with Sodium Hydroxide/Potassium Hydroxide: Compared to solid base catalysts, potassium methoxide, as a homogeneous catalyst, exhibits better dispersibility and reactivity. In transesterification reactions, sodium methoxide or potassium methoxide significantly outperforms sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Potassium methoxide also avoids the localized overheating and side reactions that can occur with solid bases.

Catalytic Efficiency Advantage: Potassium methoxide exhibits excellent catalytic performance in a variety of organic synthesis reactions. In oxo synthesis reactions, potassium methoxide achieves a 2%-5% higher catalytic conversion rate than sodium methoxide. In carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions such as Knoevenagel condensation and Michael addition, potassium methoxide achieves efficient conversion under relatively mild conditions.

Selectivity: Potassium methoxide’s selective catalytic ability makes it uniquely valuable in the synthesis of complex molecules. For example, in steroid drug synthesis, potassium methoxide can selectively catalyze reactions at specific sites without affecting other functional groups.

Environmental friendliness: Although potassium methoxide itself has certain environmental impacts, the reactions it catalyzes generally feature high atom economy and few byproducts. Its use in green chemistry applications, such as biodiesel production, particularly aligns with sustainable development requirements.

• Potassium methoxide can be used as a catalyst to participate in the synthesis of various drugs, such as sulfonamides, vitamins, antibiotics, trimethoprim, fluorenylmethanol and other drugs.
• Drug synthesis: For example, sulfonamides, vitamins, antibiotics, trimethoprim, and fluorenylmethanol.
• Insecticide synthesis: For example, organophosphorus insecticides (trimethyl phosphite), pyrethroid insecticides (chrysanthemic acid esters), and new insecticides (chlorantraniliprole).
• In addition to the above uses, potassium methoxide can also be used in herbicides (glyphosate, sulfonylurea herbicides), fungicides, and more.

Storage & Handling

• Store in a cool, dry place, away from moisture and heat sources.
• Suitable containers: stainless steel or coated carbon steel.
• Keep sealed and away from acids or strong oxidizing agents.
• Handle with care; avoid direct contact with skin and eyes.
• Use appropriate PPE during handling, including gloves and goggles.

Usage Notice

• Industrial use only — not for food or pharmaceutical applications.
• Ensure the moisture and methanol content is within specified limits before use.
• Comply with local regulations regarding hazardous material handling and waste disposal.
• Use appropriate spill containment procedures during transfer.
• Sulfonamide Synthesis: Potassium methoxide is a key catalyst in the production of sulfonamides, and can be used to synthesize a variety of sulfonamides, including sulfadiazine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfamethoxazole. In the synthesis of sulfadiazine, potassium methoxide acts as a condensing agent to catalyze the cyclocondensation of sulfaguanidine and malondialdehyde. The reaction is carried out in methanol at a temperature of 50-85°C. After completion, the product is obtained through methanol recovery, pH adjustment, decolorization by activated carbon adsorption, filtration, crystallization, and drying. Research has shown that the potassium methoxide-catalyzed synthesis route offers advantages such as mild reaction conditions, high yield, and high product purity.
• Vitamin synthesis: Taking the Wittig condensation process for vitamin A acetate as an example, the molar ratio of sodium methoxide (or potassium methoxide) to C₁₅ phosphine salt is 1.4, and the reaction solvent is ethanol. The Wittig condensation reaction yield can reach 91.5% (based on the total cis-trans form). After transposition isomerization, the trans form content can reach approximately 85%, and after crystallization, the trans form content reaches 97.8%, for an overall yield of approximately 75% (based on the C₅ aldehyde ester). The strong basicity of potassium methoxide makes it an effective catalyzer for complex multi-step synthetic reactions.
• Antibiotic synthesis: Potassium methoxide is used in the preparation of intermediates for certain β-lactam antibiotics, antiviral drugs, and cardiovascular drugs, building molecular backbones through catalytic condensation and substitution reactions. In the synthesis of cephalosporin antibiotic intermediates, potassium methoxide can act as a base catalyst to promote key cyclization reactions, increasing reaction rate and selectivity.
• Other Pharmaceutical Applications: Potassium methoxide can also be used in the production of drugs such as trimethoprim and fluorenylmethanol. In the methoxylation reactions of certain drugs, potassium methoxide acts as a methoxylation reagent, selectively introducing methoxy groups into drug molecules, improving their physicochemical properties and biological activity.
• Environmentally friendly synthesis of imidacloprid: condensation reaction is carried out in polar solvents (such as DMF, DMSO, acetonitrile, etc.) using alkali metal alcoholates such as sodium methoxide, potassium methoxide, sodium ethoxide, and potassium ethoxide as catalysts.
• Synthesis of indoxacarb intermediates: Dimethyl carbonate and benzyl alcohol undergo an ester exchange reaction in the presence of a catalyst such as potassium methoxide, sodium methoxide, and potassium carbonate to produce monobenzyl carbonate. After the reaction, unreacted dimethyl carbonate and benzyl alcohol are removed by vacuum distillation. A crystallization solvent and water are added to the system, the solid catalyst is dissolved, and the system is allowed to stand to remove water. The remaining organic phase is cooled and crystallized to obtain the product, benzyl carbazate.
• Methanol reacts with trichlorothiophosphorus under appropriate conditions to produce O-methylphosphorothioyl dichloride. O-methylphosphorothioyl dichloride then reacts with methanol and potassium methoxide (or sodium hydroxide) to produce O,O-dimethylphosphorothioyl chloride.

Packaging

• Bulk / Flexitank: 20–24 MT
• IBC: 1,000 L
• Drum: 200 L
• Labeling includes product name, batch number, and packaging details.