For example, 4-isobutyl-α-methylphenylacetic acid.
That's the well-known ibuprofen—works great for headaches and toothaches, and according to a certain history major's firsthand experience, it's also super effective for period pain.
Can you guess how much it costs to produce?
The answer is 575,000 yuan per ton.
The unit is RMB, and as for "t", everyone learns in elementary school—it means ton.
This is based on the BOOTS synthesis method, with a yield rate of only 40.03%.
From a cost perspective—
The pollution cost from byproducts can even outweigh the cost of the main product.
As for the big manufacturers using BHC synthesis—don't even get me started.
Though the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction uses proton acids as catalysts, which drives up catalyst costs,
as long as you've got the relevant tech reserves and equipment, getting your money back is just a matter of time, since production capacity is massive.
