Akzo Nobel is the global leader in manufacture of of magnesium alkyls for the polyolefin industry. The most important product is n-butylethylmagnesium (BEM). The registered trademark, MAGALA®, commonly precedes the acronym for magnesium alkyls from Akzo Nobel. MAGALA originally was derived from the term 'magnesium-aluminum alkyls' because many of the early products were complexes of magnesium alkyls with aluminum alkyls. The term has been retained today, even though many of the Akzo Nobel dialkylmagnesium formulations contain little or no aluminum.
Due to the difficulty of handling undiluted magnesium alkyls and the manufacturing process, magnesium alkyls are offered only as hydrocarbon solutions. Solutions typically contain 2-5 wt% soluble Mg. Magnesium concentrations of 2-5% correspond to an alkyl concentration of about 10 to 20%. The most common hydrocarbon solvent for magnesium alkyls is heptane.