technology

World-scale menthol/linalool production

Integration of new menthol and linalool capacity into an existing chemicals Verbund, sharing utilities and upstream feedstock streams (BASF Ludwigshafen, commissioned April 2026).

Where it's used

Biosynthetic menthol
L-menthol supply in 2026 is dominated by conventional routes under active capacity expansion — BASF's triple-digit-million-euro world-scale menthol/linalool plant at Ludwigshafen (Apr 2026) and Symrise's 50-year synthetic-menthol franchise in the EU, alongside NMPA-licensed API extraction (Huangshan Tianmu Mint Pharmaceutical, license renewed to 2030) and food-grade dispersion formulation (Jiangsu Caiwei, 0.001-0.5% precision dosing) in China — while dedicated fermentation-route biosynthesis remains at the academic/patent stage with no company-specific commercial originator confirmed.
specialty-fine-chem 8 min