- Email: [email protected]
Europe opens up debate on nanotechnology
FOCUS ON C A T A L Y S T S A MONTHLY REPORT FROM ALAN E COMYNS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND USE OF CATALYSTS ISSN 1351–4180
SEPTEMBER 2008
LET US NOW PRAISE THE OTHERS
In this issue
MARKETS AND BUSINESS
1-2
EU debating nanotech at last
COMPANY NEWS
2-5
Avantium focusing on furanics BP buys Verenium’s cellulosic ethanol technology Dow and DOE to develop cellulosic ethanol Perstorp enters biotech Verenium and Marubeni to collaborate on cellulosic ethanol
NEW PLANTS
5-6
Albemarle redesigns its organometallics plant in TX Diesel from wood in Saxony
NEW TECHNOLOGY
6-7
Non-catalytic esterification uses microwaves Gasoline from sugar Ethanol from municipal waste Algae-to-chemicals
ENVIRONMENT
7
HF-free alkylation in France
PATENTS BOOKSHELF EVENTS
7-8 8
In my July editorial I reminded readers that (despite what the Royal Society of Chemistry wrote in its Annual Review) Geoffrey Wilkinson did not invent the catalytic converter. That raises the obvious question – who did invent it? A quick search of Wikipedia gave no simple answer – many technologies are incorporated in this complex device, each of which had its own inventor or inventors, so there was probably no single inventor. With multi-facetted devices it would be invidious to name individuals as inventors. Wikipedia does name the three Corning inventors of the ceramic substrate, who are honoured in the National Inventors Hall of Fame (Rodney Bagley, Irwin Lachman, and Ron Lewis), but not the inventor(s) of the whole device. Perhaps Eugene Houdry, who (among many other things) founded the Oxy-Catalyst company which manufactured devices for removing CO from engine exhausts, deserves some of the credit. He was ahead of his time because his platinum-containing device needed unleaded petrol, unavailable then. Robert Stempel of General Motors was GM’s engineering manager for these products during this time and he too deserves credit. Carl Keith and John Mooney of Engelhard received the Walter Ahlstrom prize in 2001 for the invention of the three-way catalytic converter. By coincidence, the 30 June issue of Chemical & Engineering News carried an obituary of Gunther Cohn. You guessed it – he too invented the
catalytic converter! He also invented Selective Catalytic Reduction, now used in diesel trucks as well as in power stations in Germany and Japan. Incidentally, BASF, the company which engineered SCR, acquired Englehard in 2006, so the consolidation of the global chemicals industry continues. Cohn had been Englehard’s research director since 1957 and he did receive the International Precious Metals Industry’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1987, but he was largely unrecognised outside his industry. Cohn and his several predecessors were largely responsible for the improvement in air quality we all enjoy today, yet they are largely unrecognised. A definitive history of the development of vehicle exhaust gas treatment is a book waiting to be written. Let us now praise those men (and women) who should have been famous but weren’t. Alan E. Comyns A potted history of the three-way catalytic converter is given in Tim Palucka’s article “Doing the Impossible” on the American Heritage website: http://www.americanheritage.com
MARKETS AND BUSINESS Europe opens up debate on nanotechnology The European Commission has begun a consultation with the
CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS
F O C US nanotechnology sector and EU member states to bring a better understanding of nanomaterials and to provide adequate ways of protecting humans and the environment. The nanotechnology sector is covered by existing legislation such as Reach and specific sector regulations for food, cosmetic and drug sectors. Analysts forecast that the world market for nanotechnology products could be worth $750-2000 bn over 10 years. Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 23 Jun 2008, (428), 4 (in French)
Nanoparticulate titanias as photocatalysts for industry The commercial development of nanocrystalline photocatalytic materials is a potentially huge area of nanomaterials development. Titanium dioxide (titania) nanoparticles, like all nanomaterials, exhibit unique physical and chemical properties that are currently being used in a raft of applications. Industrial utilisation of the photocatalytic effect of nanoscale titania has already found its way into various applications, especially for self-cleaning and anti-fogging purposes like self-cleaning tiles, selfcleaning windows by CVD processes or self-cleaning textiles, anti-fogging car mirrors, and the anti-microbial effect also has been demonstrated. The commercial potential for such coatings is massive. Applications include medical, architectural (particularly cultural heritage purposes, facade paints, indoor, wall paper, tiles, consumer goods, etc), automotive and food industries (cleaner technologies, non-fogging glass and mirrors, product safety), textile and glass industry, and environmental protection (water and air purification and disinfection). The report looks at the photocatalytic process, investigates global commercialization of nanoparticulate titania, and details the leading suppliers and application developers. Price: £400. Press release from: Nanoposts.com, c/o Technology Transfer Centre (TTC), 6 The Alpha Centre, University of Stirling Innovation Park, Stirling, FK9 4NF, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1786 474768. Fax: +44 (0)1786447530. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.nanoposts.com (Jun 2008)
2
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COMPANY NEWS Albemarle reports 2Q 2008 results Albemarle Corp reported 2Q ended Jun 2008 net income of $61.7 M, or 67 cts/share (net income of $53.9 M, or 55 cts/share for 2Q ended Jun 2007). The company reported net sales in 2Q 2008 totalling $621 M ($564 M in 2Q 2007). Net income for 1H ended Jun 2008 was $124.9 M or $1.34/share (net income of $112 M or $1.15/share for 1H ended Jun 2007). Net sales for 1H 2008 were $1.29 bn ($1.15 bn for 1H 2007), an increase of 12%. During 2Q 2008: Catalysts generated net sales of $208.4 M; and Fine Chemicals net sales were $151.9 M, a 15% increase. R&D expenses were $17.593 M during 2Q 2008 ($14.924 M in 2Q 2007) and $34.393 M during 1H 2008 ($30.635 M in 1H 2007). Albemarle 2Q and 1H 2008 financials, 21 Jul 2008 (Albemarle Corp, 451, Florida Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, USA. Tel: +1 225 388 7402. Fax: +1 225 388 7848. Website: http://www.albemarle.com)
Albemarle lands catalysts deal with Neste Oil Albemarle will supply catalysts to Neste Oil’s new-generation NExBTL renewable diesel process from 20082010. A NExBTL plant is being operated by Neste at Porvoo, Finland. The company is also building several other NExBTL facilities, including a second plant at Porvoo, and two 800,000 tonne/y biodiesel plants. One is located at Varkaus, Finland, scheduled to start up in 2010, and one at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, scheduled to start up in 2011. Chemical Week, 28 Jul 2008, 170 (23), 8 & Press release from: Albemarle Corp, 330, South Fourth Street, PO Box 1335, Richmond, VA 23210, USA. Tel: +1 804 788 6000. Fax: +1 804 388 7686. Website: http://www.albemarle.com (23 Jul 2008)
Avantium steps ahead with its biofuels programme Avantium, a technology firm specializing in advanced R&D in the field of energy, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals sectors, is developing a next generation biofuel,
focusing on the conversion of carbohydrates such as glucose into ‘furanics.’ The firm’s furanics biofuels scheme is based on three major fields of improvement, namely, energy, economics, and emissions. The biobased furanics are also potential chemical building blocks for various substitutes for oil-based products, including plastics. The advantages of furanics over ethanol and fossil-based fuels include better fuel energy density, easier and cheaper processing, and better emission profiles due to its being free of sulfur. The company is also developing a catalytic process for the conversion of sugars into furanics that can compete with fossil-based fuels. The initial engine tests conducted by the company using furanics show a reduction in sulfur oxide and particulate emissions and enhanced cetane number of diesel. Chimica Oggi/Chemistry Today, May-Jun 2008, 26 (3), 64-65
BP, Verenium in partnership for cellulosic ethanol BP is to pay Verenium $90 M over the next 18 months in return for rights to Verenium’s current and future technology for making ethanol from cellulosic materials. Verenium was formed in 2007 from Diversa and Celunol. Chemical and Engineering News, 11 Aug 2008, 86 (32), 21 & Chemical Week, 11 Aug 2008, 170 (25), 9
Danisco to invest $70 M in bioethanol production Danisco, which is the world’s second largest producer of enzymes for bioethanol, is to spend $70 M on producing alternative fuel for cars. The Danish firm had already announced in May that, in a jv with DuPont, it would develop a production system for making biofuel from crops which would be cheaper than petrol. If the jv develops positively Danisco will invest substantial amounts in the project over the next 5 years; this could be significantly more than $70 M. Dagbladet Borsen, 18 Jul 2008 (Website: http://www.borsen.dk) (in Danish)
SEPTEMBER 2008
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND USE OF CATALYSTS ISSN 1351–4180
SEPTEMBER 2008
LET US NOW PRAISE THE OTHERS
In this issue
MARKETS AND BUSINESS
1-2
EU debating nanotech at last
COMPANY NEWS
2-5
Avantium focusing on furanics BP buys Verenium’s cellulosic ethanol technology Dow and DOE to develop cellulosic ethanol Perstorp enters biotech Verenium and Marubeni to collaborate on cellulosic ethanol
NEW PLANTS
5-6
Albemarle redesigns its organometallics plant in TX Diesel from wood in Saxony
NEW TECHNOLOGY
6-7
Non-catalytic esterification uses microwaves Gasoline from sugar Ethanol from municipal waste Algae-to-chemicals
ENVIRONMENT
7
HF-free alkylation in France
PATENTS BOOKSHELF EVENTS
7-8 8
In my July editorial I reminded readers that (despite what the Royal Society of Chemistry wrote in its Annual Review) Geoffrey Wilkinson did not invent the catalytic converter. That raises the obvious question – who did invent it? A quick search of Wikipedia gave no simple answer – many technologies are incorporated in this complex device, each of which had its own inventor or inventors, so there was probably no single inventor. With multi-facetted devices it would be invidious to name individuals as inventors. Wikipedia does name the three Corning inventors of the ceramic substrate, who are honoured in the National Inventors Hall of Fame (Rodney Bagley, Irwin Lachman, and Ron Lewis), but not the inventor(s) of the whole device. Perhaps Eugene Houdry, who (among many other things) founded the Oxy-Catalyst company which manufactured devices for removing CO from engine exhausts, deserves some of the credit. He was ahead of his time because his platinum-containing device needed unleaded petrol, unavailable then. Robert Stempel of General Motors was GM’s engineering manager for these products during this time and he too deserves credit. Carl Keith and John Mooney of Engelhard received the Walter Ahlstrom prize in 2001 for the invention of the three-way catalytic converter. By coincidence, the 30 June issue of Chemical & Engineering News carried an obituary of Gunther Cohn. You guessed it – he too invented the
catalytic converter! He also invented Selective Catalytic Reduction, now used in diesel trucks as well as in power stations in Germany and Japan. Incidentally, BASF, the company which engineered SCR, acquired Englehard in 2006, so the consolidation of the global chemicals industry continues. Cohn had been Englehard’s research director since 1957 and he did receive the International Precious Metals Industry’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1987, but he was largely unrecognised outside his industry. Cohn and his several predecessors were largely responsible for the improvement in air quality we all enjoy today, yet they are largely unrecognised. A definitive history of the development of vehicle exhaust gas treatment is a book waiting to be written. Let us now praise those men (and women) who should have been famous but weren’t. Alan E. Comyns A potted history of the three-way catalytic converter is given in Tim Palucka’s article “Doing the Impossible” on the American Heritage website: http://www.americanheritage.com
MARKETS AND BUSINESS Europe opens up debate on nanotechnology The European Commission has begun a consultation with the
CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS CATALYSTS
F O C US nanotechnology sector and EU member states to bring a better understanding of nanomaterials and to provide adequate ways of protecting humans and the environment. The nanotechnology sector is covered by existing legislation such as Reach and specific sector regulations for food, cosmetic and drug sectors. Analysts forecast that the world market for nanotechnology products could be worth $750-2000 bn over 10 years. Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 23 Jun 2008, (428), 4 (in French)
Nanoparticulate titanias as photocatalysts for industry The commercial development of nanocrystalline photocatalytic materials is a potentially huge area of nanomaterials development. Titanium dioxide (titania) nanoparticles, like all nanomaterials, exhibit unique physical and chemical properties that are currently being used in a raft of applications. Industrial utilisation of the photocatalytic effect of nanoscale titania has already found its way into various applications, especially for self-cleaning and anti-fogging purposes like self-cleaning tiles, selfcleaning windows by CVD processes or self-cleaning textiles, anti-fogging car mirrors, and the anti-microbial effect also has been demonstrated. The commercial potential for such coatings is massive. Applications include medical, architectural (particularly cultural heritage purposes, facade paints, indoor, wall paper, tiles, consumer goods, etc), automotive and food industries (cleaner technologies, non-fogging glass and mirrors, product safety), textile and glass industry, and environmental protection (water and air purification and disinfection). The report looks at the photocatalytic process, investigates global commercialization of nanoparticulate titania, and details the leading suppliers and application developers. Price: £400. Press release from: Nanoposts.com, c/o Technology Transfer Centre (TTC), 6 The Alpha Centre, University of Stirling Innovation Park, Stirling, FK9 4NF, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1786 474768. Fax: +44 (0)1786447530. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.nanoposts.com (Jun 2008)
2
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COMPANY NEWS Albemarle reports 2Q 2008 results Albemarle Corp reported 2Q ended Jun 2008 net income of $61.7 M, or 67 cts/share (net income of $53.9 M, or 55 cts/share for 2Q ended Jun 2007). The company reported net sales in 2Q 2008 totalling $621 M ($564 M in 2Q 2007). Net income for 1H ended Jun 2008 was $124.9 M or $1.34/share (net income of $112 M or $1.15/share for 1H ended Jun 2007). Net sales for 1H 2008 were $1.29 bn ($1.15 bn for 1H 2007), an increase of 12%. During 2Q 2008: Catalysts generated net sales of $208.4 M; and Fine Chemicals net sales were $151.9 M, a 15% increase. R&D expenses were $17.593 M during 2Q 2008 ($14.924 M in 2Q 2007) and $34.393 M during 1H 2008 ($30.635 M in 1H 2007). Albemarle 2Q and 1H 2008 financials, 21 Jul 2008 (Albemarle Corp, 451, Florida Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, USA. Tel: +1 225 388 7402. Fax: +1 225 388 7848. Website: http://www.albemarle.com)
Albemarle lands catalysts deal with Neste Oil Albemarle will supply catalysts to Neste Oil’s new-generation NExBTL renewable diesel process from 20082010. A NExBTL plant is being operated by Neste at Porvoo, Finland. The company is also building several other NExBTL facilities, including a second plant at Porvoo, and two 800,000 tonne/y biodiesel plants. One is located at Varkaus, Finland, scheduled to start up in 2010, and one at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, scheduled to start up in 2011. Chemical Week, 28 Jul 2008, 170 (23), 8 & Press release from: Albemarle Corp, 330, South Fourth Street, PO Box 1335, Richmond, VA 23210, USA. Tel: +1 804 788 6000. Fax: +1 804 388 7686. Website: http://www.albemarle.com (23 Jul 2008)
Avantium steps ahead with its biofuels programme Avantium, a technology firm specializing in advanced R&D in the field of energy, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals sectors, is developing a next generation biofuel,
focusing on the conversion of carbohydrates such as glucose into ‘furanics.’ The firm’s furanics biofuels scheme is based on three major fields of improvement, namely, energy, economics, and emissions. The biobased furanics are also potential chemical building blocks for various substitutes for oil-based products, including plastics. The advantages of furanics over ethanol and fossil-based fuels include better fuel energy density, easier and cheaper processing, and better emission profiles due to its being free of sulfur. The company is also developing a catalytic process for the conversion of sugars into furanics that can compete with fossil-based fuels. The initial engine tests conducted by the company using furanics show a reduction in sulfur oxide and particulate emissions and enhanced cetane number of diesel. Chimica Oggi/Chemistry Today, May-Jun 2008, 26 (3), 64-65
BP, Verenium in partnership for cellulosic ethanol BP is to pay Verenium $90 M over the next 18 months in return for rights to Verenium’s current and future technology for making ethanol from cellulosic materials. Verenium was formed in 2007 from Diversa and Celunol. Chemical and Engineering News, 11 Aug 2008, 86 (32), 21 & Chemical Week, 11 Aug 2008, 170 (25), 9
Danisco to invest $70 M in bioethanol production Danisco, which is the world’s second largest producer of enzymes for bioethanol, is to spend $70 M on producing alternative fuel for cars. The Danish firm had already announced in May that, in a jv with DuPont, it would develop a production system for making biofuel from crops which would be cheaper than petrol. If the jv develops positively Danisco will invest substantial amounts in the project over the next 5 years; this could be significantly more than $70 M. Dagbladet Borsen, 18 Jul 2008 (Website: http://www.borsen.dk) (in Danish)
SEPTEMBER 2008