- Email: [email protected]
Hydroformylation catalysts
N8
catalytic tests (L. Cavalli), the importance and significance of patents (V. Fattore), kinetic and transport phenomena (E. Santacesaria, R. Forzatti and E. Tronconi), approach to the industrial process (I. Miracca and R. Trotta), a case history, the synthesis and decomposition of MTBE (I. Miracca and R. Trotta), fixed-capital cost estimating (M. D'Adda) methodologies for economic and financial analysis (M.A. Solinas), scale-up of chemical reactors (G. Donati and R. Paludetto) and scale-up of catalyst production (N. Pernicone). The book is distinguished from many other books on catalysis by its wide-ranging subject matter, many of the subjects discussed here being things that most catalytic scientists occasionally hear about but never see written down: mattersthat are more commonly let slip by industrial colleagues as asides at conferences, such as the pros and cons of patenting, the factors determining the economics of a catalytic process, etc. Another distinguishing factor is that many of the authors are practising Italian catalytic scientists, technologists and engineers who have a myriad of experience between them of the subjects about which they write. And finally, another feature is that there may, I understand, still be a number of free copies of the book available for distribution. The book is likely to be very valuable as a text-book for academics who teach courses in applied catalysis but also as a training manual for young scientists and engineers without a background in the subjects covered here who are about to start work on catalysis in practice. JULIAN ROSS
applied catalysis A: General
Homogeneous Catalysis in Water With the title "Breakthrough in Homogeneous Catalysis in Water", the Dutch weekly publication Chemisch Weekblad (21st January 1995) has described work on water-soluble homogeneous catalysts carried out by Georgios Papadogianakis who is working as post-doctoral researcher in the group of Roger Sheldon and Leen Maat at Delft Technical University. He has succeeded in carbonylating an alcohol in water using a palladium complex as catalyst. He is studying the carbonylation of carbohydrate molecules using the molecule 5-hydroxy-methylfural as model reagent and has found a water soluble palladium complex (palladium trisulphonate-phenyl-phosphine with a strong acid as co-catalyst at 70°C and 5 bar pressure) that converts this molecule selectively into 5-formyl-furan-2-acetic acid. If the coordinating acid has a strongly coordinating anion, the CH2OH group is reduced to CH3 and the product is 5-methyl-furfural. If the former reaction could be carried out with a carbohydrate, then interesting monomers for polyesters and polyamides would be formed which would be biodegradable natural materials. The work has been sponsored by the Dutch Innovative Research Programme (lOP) on Carbohydrates and will be continued with financial support from Hoechst.
Hydroformylation Catalysts The latest issue of Chemik (48 (1995) 56) contains a paper by W. Tic and A. Zoltanski entitled "Deactivation of rhodium hydroformylation catalysts and methods for their regeneration". In this paper the authors review and discuss the causes for
Volume 125 No. 1 - - 2 7 April 1995
N9
the deactivation of rhodium hydroformylation catalysts and processes for their regeneration. The paper contains some 35 literature references, including 20 patents and patent applications. The authors conclude that the selection of the optimum regeneration method depends on the degree of deactivation and on various economic criteria. J. RYCZKOWSKI IR Study of Zeolite Treatment
The latest issue of Russian Chemical Bulletin ( 2 (1995) 236) contains a paper by L.S. Kosheleva entitled "Effect of thermal and acidic treatments on the structure of a NH4Na-Y zeolite by IR data". The change in the structure of ammonium-exchanged forms of Na-Y zeolite occurring on thermal and acidic treatment was studied by means of IR spectroscopy. The formation of H-forms of the zeolite after shallow-bed thermal evacuation of NH4Na-Y at 570 K is shown to be accompanied by a high frequency shift of the bands in the IR lattice vibration spectra. In contrast, on the formation of the H+-forms as a result of the decationization of the zeolite by treatment with aqueous HCI solutions, no shifts ofthe bands were observed. A rapid increase of the temperature of shallow-bed calcination brings about a collapse of the structure of the H- and H +-forms, followed by the formation of amorphous SiO2. J. RYCZKOWSKI
applied catalysis A: General
27th Annual Polish Catalytic Colloquium
The latest meeting of Polish scientists working in the area of catalysis, the Annual Polish Catalytic Colloquium, took place from 6th to 8th February at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Jagielonian University (Cracow). The program of this meeting was a little bit different than last year in that there were no plenary lectures. The Organizing Committee decided that this year there would be only presentations of work already done and presented at International Conferences (e.g. EuropaCat-I) or prepared for presentation in the near future. As usual, the opening ceremony was performed by the President of the Polish Catalysis Club (PCC), Prof. J. Haber (Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Cracow). During the three days of the meeting, thirty three oral presentations were made, these including the following: A model superbasic system of a donor-acceptor complex type on MgO - - hydrogenation of alkenes; A model of the activation and deactivation of a metallic cobalt catalyst for the methanation of carbon dioxide; TPR of supported Ni-Rh catalysts; New catalysts for steam reforming; Controlled Surface Reactions - - an unconventional technique for the preparation of bimetallic catalysts for selective hydrogenation; Chlorine as a poison of an iron catalyst for ammonia synthesis; and The influence of Mo on the activity and selectivity of catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene. At the end of the second day of the meeting, there was a poster session at which thirty-four posters were presented, Volume 125 No. 1 - - 27 April 1995
catalytic tests (L. Cavalli), the importance and significance of patents (V. Fattore), kinetic and transport phenomena (E. Santacesaria, R. Forzatti and E. Tronconi), approach to the industrial process (I. Miracca and R. Trotta), a case history, the synthesis and decomposition of MTBE (I. Miracca and R. Trotta), fixed-capital cost estimating (M. D'Adda) methodologies for economic and financial analysis (M.A. Solinas), scale-up of chemical reactors (G. Donati and R. Paludetto) and scale-up of catalyst production (N. Pernicone). The book is distinguished from many other books on catalysis by its wide-ranging subject matter, many of the subjects discussed here being things that most catalytic scientists occasionally hear about but never see written down: mattersthat are more commonly let slip by industrial colleagues as asides at conferences, such as the pros and cons of patenting, the factors determining the economics of a catalytic process, etc. Another distinguishing factor is that many of the authors are practising Italian catalytic scientists, technologists and engineers who have a myriad of experience between them of the subjects about which they write. And finally, another feature is that there may, I understand, still be a number of free copies of the book available for distribution. The book is likely to be very valuable as a text-book for academics who teach courses in applied catalysis but also as a training manual for young scientists and engineers without a background in the subjects covered here who are about to start work on catalysis in practice. JULIAN ROSS
applied catalysis A: General
Homogeneous Catalysis in Water With the title "Breakthrough in Homogeneous Catalysis in Water", the Dutch weekly publication Chemisch Weekblad (21st January 1995) has described work on water-soluble homogeneous catalysts carried out by Georgios Papadogianakis who is working as post-doctoral researcher in the group of Roger Sheldon and Leen Maat at Delft Technical University. He has succeeded in carbonylating an alcohol in water using a palladium complex as catalyst. He is studying the carbonylation of carbohydrate molecules using the molecule 5-hydroxy-methylfural as model reagent and has found a water soluble palladium complex (palladium trisulphonate-phenyl-phosphine with a strong acid as co-catalyst at 70°C and 5 bar pressure) that converts this molecule selectively into 5-formyl-furan-2-acetic acid. If the coordinating acid has a strongly coordinating anion, the CH2OH group is reduced to CH3 and the product is 5-methyl-furfural. If the former reaction could be carried out with a carbohydrate, then interesting monomers for polyesters and polyamides would be formed which would be biodegradable natural materials. The work has been sponsored by the Dutch Innovative Research Programme (lOP) on Carbohydrates and will be continued with financial support from Hoechst.
Hydroformylation Catalysts The latest issue of Chemik (48 (1995) 56) contains a paper by W. Tic and A. Zoltanski entitled "Deactivation of rhodium hydroformylation catalysts and methods for their regeneration". In this paper the authors review and discuss the causes for
Volume 125 No. 1 - - 2 7 April 1995
N9
the deactivation of rhodium hydroformylation catalysts and processes for their regeneration. The paper contains some 35 literature references, including 20 patents and patent applications. The authors conclude that the selection of the optimum regeneration method depends on the degree of deactivation and on various economic criteria. J. RYCZKOWSKI IR Study of Zeolite Treatment
The latest issue of Russian Chemical Bulletin ( 2 (1995) 236) contains a paper by L.S. Kosheleva entitled "Effect of thermal and acidic treatments on the structure of a NH4Na-Y zeolite by IR data". The change in the structure of ammonium-exchanged forms of Na-Y zeolite occurring on thermal and acidic treatment was studied by means of IR spectroscopy. The formation of H-forms of the zeolite after shallow-bed thermal evacuation of NH4Na-Y at 570 K is shown to be accompanied by a high frequency shift of the bands in the IR lattice vibration spectra. In contrast, on the formation of the H+-forms as a result of the decationization of the zeolite by treatment with aqueous HCI solutions, no shifts ofthe bands were observed. A rapid increase of the temperature of shallow-bed calcination brings about a collapse of the structure of the H- and H +-forms, followed by the formation of amorphous SiO2. J. RYCZKOWSKI
applied catalysis A: General
27th Annual Polish Catalytic Colloquium
The latest meeting of Polish scientists working in the area of catalysis, the Annual Polish Catalytic Colloquium, took place from 6th to 8th February at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Jagielonian University (Cracow). The program of this meeting was a little bit different than last year in that there were no plenary lectures. The Organizing Committee decided that this year there would be only presentations of work already done and presented at International Conferences (e.g. EuropaCat-I) or prepared for presentation in the near future. As usual, the opening ceremony was performed by the President of the Polish Catalysis Club (PCC), Prof. J. Haber (Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Cracow). During the three days of the meeting, thirty three oral presentations were made, these including the following: A model superbasic system of a donor-acceptor complex type on MgO - - hydrogenation of alkenes; A model of the activation and deactivation of a metallic cobalt catalyst for the methanation of carbon dioxide; TPR of supported Ni-Rh catalysts; New catalysts for steam reforming; Controlled Surface Reactions - - an unconventional technique for the preparation of bimetallic catalysts for selective hydrogenation; Chlorine as a poison of an iron catalyst for ammonia synthesis; and The influence of Mo on the activity and selectivity of catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene. At the end of the second day of the meeting, there was a poster session at which thirty-four posters were presented, Volume 125 No. 1 - - 27 April 1995