- Email: [email protected]
Manufacture of ionic liquids
F O C U S
ON
C ATA LY S T S
resulting deodorised oils have virtually no taste or smell.
Clyvia Inc announces private placement
Preparation of catalysts containing gold and titanium
Oils and Fats International, Jan 2006, 22 (1), 3
Clyvia Inc has now completed the private placement financing originally announced on 16 Nov 2005. The proceeds of the private placement will be used to pay for the construction of the company’s pilot plant in Wegberg, Germany, and for general corporate purposes. Clyvia Inc is currently in the process of a developing a proprietary technology which uses catalytic depolymerization to make diesel fuel and heating oil from various forms of recyclable waste materials, including waste oils, plastics, and organics.
The titanium can initially be present in the support or supplied later. The gold is simply deposited by impregnation, together with a reducing agent. Such catalysts are effective for the epoxidation of olefins with oxygen and hydrogen.
New catalyst for fuel cells QuantumSphere Inc has developed a nickel-cobalt nanomaterial which could partially or fully replace platinum catalysts in battery and fuel cell applications. The material has been tested by the US manufacturer DoppStein Enterprises. Although the replacement of platinum by the nickel-cobalt material in the cathode does cut performance, this is offset by the cost savings. Almost 40% of the battery cost is for the catalyst. Exchanging all of the platinum brings down costs by 90% but reduces performance by 27%. If only half of the platinum is replaced, costs fall by 43% but performance drops by only 10%. QuantumSphere aims to improve the performance of the alloy to match or exceed the activity of platinum-catalyzed cathodes. Nickel (Nickel Development Institute), Nov 2005, 21 (1), 7 (The Nickel Institute, 55 University Avenue Suite 1801, Toronto, Canada M5J 2H7. Tel: +1 416 591 7999. Fax: +1 416 591 7987. Website: http://www.nickelinstitute.org)
ENVIRONMENT Scrap polyolefins to BTX Tokyo-based Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co (IHI) has come up with an alternative plastics recycling method which converts polyolefins to benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX). The method features the use of a gallium-containing MFItype (Ga-MFI) zeolite catalyst developed at the Department of Applied Chemistry, Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan. The method thermally decomposes and gasifies waste plastic in the first phase, then converts it into BTX at a certain temperature over the Ga-MFI catalyst. IHI is refining the new process in a 10 kg/hour pilot plant that yields about 60 kg of aromatic compounds from 100 kg of polyolefin waste. Chemical Engineering (New York), Nov 2005, 112 (12), 16, 18
FEBRUARY 2006
US 6,984,607, Dow Global Technologies, Midland, MI, USA, 10 Jan 2006
Oxidation catalysts made by physical or chemical vapour deposition
Press release from: Clyvia Technology GmbH, Friedrich Cunning avenue 10, D-41844, Wegberg, Wildenrath, Germany. Tel: +49 2432 893 626. Fax: +49 2432 893 629. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.clyvia-tec.com (16 Dec 2005)
A supported mixed metal oxide catalyst for the vapour phase oxidation of a hydrocarbon or for ammoxidation. The oxides are of Mo, V, Te, and one metal selected from a list of 20 named other metals. They are deposited in random order on a porous multi-dimensional support.
Degussa relaunches metal scavengers
US 6,984,750, Rohm and Haas Co, Philadelphia, PA. USA, 10 Jan 2006
Degussa reintroduced its Deloxan macroporous organofunctional polysiloxane metal scavengers in two ranges, Deloxan THP II and Deloxan MP, which are tailored to eliminate transition metals from APIs and chemical processing. Deloxan THP II carries thiourea as a functional group while Deloxan MP carries a thiol functionality. Both are useful in batch or tubular plug-flow modes. The company has also unveiled a new flow distributor that is available in cartridge-syringe form with both grades. The product provides savings in costs because it removes the filtration step in the batch mode. Speciality Chemicals, Nov 2005, 25 (9), 18
Manufacture of ionic liquids An economical two-step manufacturing process in which an alkylamine is contacted with a hydrogen halide, and the product is then contacted with a metal halide. The liquid product is a useful catalyst for oligomerizing alpha olefins. US 6,984,605, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co, The Woodlands, TX, USA, 10 Jan 2006
Selective oxychlorination of propane Using lanthanum oxychloride as the catalyst, propane is selectively converted to allyl chloride plus propylene, with only minor amounts of CO and CO2. US patent 6,984,763, Dow Global Technologies, Midland, MI, USA, 10 Jan 2006
PATENTS
Side-chain alkylation of alkylaromatics
Zeolites containing noble metals such as palladium are usually made by depositing the metal on the preformed zeolite. This patent teaches that equally useful catalysts can be made by including the noble metal precursor in the zeolite synthesis mixture.
Side-chain alkylation catalysed by an alkali metal is a known process but tends to produce unwanted polymers or tars. In this invention, sodium metal is supported on a potassium carbonate/ chloride mixture. The catalyst is mechanically separated from the products before distillation. Toluene reacted with propylene gave a 22% yield of isobutyl benzene.
US 6,984,606, Lyondell Chemical Technology, Greenville, DE, USA, 10 Jan 2006
US 6,984,766, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany, 10 Jan 2006
One-pot synthesis of noble zeolites
7
ON
C ATA LY S T S
resulting deodorised oils have virtually no taste or smell.
Clyvia Inc announces private placement
Preparation of catalysts containing gold and titanium
Oils and Fats International, Jan 2006, 22 (1), 3
Clyvia Inc has now completed the private placement financing originally announced on 16 Nov 2005. The proceeds of the private placement will be used to pay for the construction of the company’s pilot plant in Wegberg, Germany, and for general corporate purposes. Clyvia Inc is currently in the process of a developing a proprietary technology which uses catalytic depolymerization to make diesel fuel and heating oil from various forms of recyclable waste materials, including waste oils, plastics, and organics.
The titanium can initially be present in the support or supplied later. The gold is simply deposited by impregnation, together with a reducing agent. Such catalysts are effective for the epoxidation of olefins with oxygen and hydrogen.
New catalyst for fuel cells QuantumSphere Inc has developed a nickel-cobalt nanomaterial which could partially or fully replace platinum catalysts in battery and fuel cell applications. The material has been tested by the US manufacturer DoppStein Enterprises. Although the replacement of platinum by the nickel-cobalt material in the cathode does cut performance, this is offset by the cost savings. Almost 40% of the battery cost is for the catalyst. Exchanging all of the platinum brings down costs by 90% but reduces performance by 27%. If only half of the platinum is replaced, costs fall by 43% but performance drops by only 10%. QuantumSphere aims to improve the performance of the alloy to match or exceed the activity of platinum-catalyzed cathodes. Nickel (Nickel Development Institute), Nov 2005, 21 (1), 7 (The Nickel Institute, 55 University Avenue Suite 1801, Toronto, Canada M5J 2H7. Tel: +1 416 591 7999. Fax: +1 416 591 7987. Website: http://www.nickelinstitute.org)
ENVIRONMENT Scrap polyolefins to BTX Tokyo-based Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co (IHI) has come up with an alternative plastics recycling method which converts polyolefins to benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX). The method features the use of a gallium-containing MFItype (Ga-MFI) zeolite catalyst developed at the Department of Applied Chemistry, Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan. The method thermally decomposes and gasifies waste plastic in the first phase, then converts it into BTX at a certain temperature over the Ga-MFI catalyst. IHI is refining the new process in a 10 kg/hour pilot plant that yields about 60 kg of aromatic compounds from 100 kg of polyolefin waste. Chemical Engineering (New York), Nov 2005, 112 (12), 16, 18
FEBRUARY 2006
US 6,984,607, Dow Global Technologies, Midland, MI, USA, 10 Jan 2006
Oxidation catalysts made by physical or chemical vapour deposition
Press release from: Clyvia Technology GmbH, Friedrich Cunning avenue 10, D-41844, Wegberg, Wildenrath, Germany. Tel: +49 2432 893 626. Fax: +49 2432 893 629. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.clyvia-tec.com (16 Dec 2005)
A supported mixed metal oxide catalyst for the vapour phase oxidation of a hydrocarbon or for ammoxidation. The oxides are of Mo, V, Te, and one metal selected from a list of 20 named other metals. They are deposited in random order on a porous multi-dimensional support.
Degussa relaunches metal scavengers
US 6,984,750, Rohm and Haas Co, Philadelphia, PA. USA, 10 Jan 2006
Degussa reintroduced its Deloxan macroporous organofunctional polysiloxane metal scavengers in two ranges, Deloxan THP II and Deloxan MP, which are tailored to eliminate transition metals from APIs and chemical processing. Deloxan THP II carries thiourea as a functional group while Deloxan MP carries a thiol functionality. Both are useful in batch or tubular plug-flow modes. The company has also unveiled a new flow distributor that is available in cartridge-syringe form with both grades. The product provides savings in costs because it removes the filtration step in the batch mode. Speciality Chemicals, Nov 2005, 25 (9), 18
Manufacture of ionic liquids An economical two-step manufacturing process in which an alkylamine is contacted with a hydrogen halide, and the product is then contacted with a metal halide. The liquid product is a useful catalyst for oligomerizing alpha olefins. US 6,984,605, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co, The Woodlands, TX, USA, 10 Jan 2006
Selective oxychlorination of propane Using lanthanum oxychloride as the catalyst, propane is selectively converted to allyl chloride plus propylene, with only minor amounts of CO and CO2. US patent 6,984,763, Dow Global Technologies, Midland, MI, USA, 10 Jan 2006
PATENTS
Side-chain alkylation of alkylaromatics
Zeolites containing noble metals such as palladium are usually made by depositing the metal on the preformed zeolite. This patent teaches that equally useful catalysts can be made by including the noble metal precursor in the zeolite synthesis mixture.
Side-chain alkylation catalysed by an alkali metal is a known process but tends to produce unwanted polymers or tars. In this invention, sodium metal is supported on a potassium carbonate/ chloride mixture. The catalyst is mechanically separated from the products before distillation. Toluene reacted with propylene gave a 22% yield of isobutyl benzene.
US 6,984,606, Lyondell Chemical Technology, Greenville, DE, USA, 10 Jan 2006
US 6,984,766, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany, 10 Jan 2006
One-pot synthesis of noble zeolites
7