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Nano-structured grapite catalysts
FOCUS together with Masudeb Basu at North Bengal University in India, has come up with new catalyst materials for organic syntheses which are simple, cheap, and have a longer lifetime. As AlmQuest’s catalysts are relatively general rather than specific, they do not need to be changed as frequently, and they can be used in both small and large scale processes. AlmQuest and SeQuant are now in a partnership aimed at commercializing the catalyst technology. Kemivarlden Biotech med Kemisk Tidskrift, Nov 2007, (11), 10 (in Swedish)
Biofuel briefs: sugar cane conversion Syngenta and its technology transfer and commercialization unit, qutbluebox, will collaborate with the Queensland University of Technology and agrobiotech firm Farmacule BioIndustries of Brisbane, Australia to develop an inexpensive conversion process from sugarcane bagasse to biofuels. The collaboration will involve the delivery of plant-expressed enzymes. It will lead to the creation of the Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuel Development as well as a related biocommunities pilot facility at QUTs campus in Brisbane. The Queensland government will provide A$5.1 M ($4.6 M) funding. Chemistry and Industry (London), 12 Nov 2007, (21), 9
ENVIRONMENT BP begins AdBlue commercialisation On 1 Jul 2007, BP Espana began commercialising AdBlue, a synthetic product developed to reduce emissions from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The product is injected into the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system, setting off a chemical reaction that converts nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and steam. All HGVs with diesel engines manufactured since Oct 2006 must meet Euro 4 emission standards, which include maximum emission limits of 3.5 g/kWh of nitrogen oxides and 0.02 g/kWh of particulates. Oilgas, Sep 2007, 40 (462), 17 (in Spanish)
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Chinese to make biodiesel from waste Qinhuangdao Leading Science and Technology Development Co Ltd (LSTDC) is building a 100,000 tonne/y biodiesel unit at Qinhuangdao in Hebei province, China. The unit will use an enzyme-based process for the biological conversion of waste animal fat and vegetable oil. China Chemical Reporter, 26 Sep 2007, 18 (27), 13
Biofuels briefs: Furanic drives on The first engine tests for mixture of Furanic second generation biodiesel and conventional fuel has been concluded by Avantium at Intertek, Geleen, The Netherlands. The tests generated positive results, including the substantial reduction of fine particulates in the exhaust gases. The company hopes to develop chemical catalytic routes needed in Furanics production. As carbohydrate-based products, Furanics are useful in bioplastic production. Chemistry and Industry (London), 12 Nov 2007, (21), 9
PATENTS Nano-structured grapite catalysts Graphite has long been used as a catayst suport but not as a catalyst per se. But graphite in the form of sheets or fibres composed of nano particles, made using metallic catalysts as growth centres, does have interesting catalytic properties. Exemplified reactions include hydrogenation, oxidation, oxidative dehydrogenation, and dehydrogenation. US 7,307,195, Catalytic Materials LLC, Pittsboro, NC, USA, 11 Dec 2007
Additive for reducing NOx content of off-gases from fluid catalytic crackers The regeneration step in fluid catalytic cracking generates NOx originating in nitrogen compounds present in the feed. This NOx is eliminated by adding a complex particulate material to the circulating FCC catalyst. The material contains an acidic metal oxide (typically an alumina/silica), a metal oxide (typically magnesia), an
oxygen storage material (typically ceria), and a platinum group metal or alloy. US 7,307,038, WR Grace & Co, Columbia, MD, USA, 11 Dec 2007
Guard beds for protecting transalkylation catalysts Transalkylation processes are used for increasing the yields of xylenes and decreasing the yield of benzene in aromatic mixtures. Lifetimes of transalkylation catalysts are reduced by contaminants in the feed containing O, Cl, S, and N species. Such species are removed by a guard bed containing a high surface-area gamma alumina. US 7,307,034, UOP LLC, Des Plaines, IL, USA, 11 Dec 2007
Staged alkylation in microchannels There are several advantages in conducting alkylations in microchannels. This is the first description of the staged addition of an olefin to an alkane in a microchannel. The catalyst can be mixed with the reactants, or deposited on the channel walls. Although there are two schematic illustrations, there are no examples. US 7,304,198, Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, WA, USA, 4 Dec 2007
Aromatic alkylation catalyst An effective catalyst for alkylating aromatic hydrocarbons is made by phosphating a ZSM-5 zeolite with phosphoric acid and then treating it hydrothermally under defined conditions. US 7.304,194, Saudi Basic Industries Corp, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 4 Dec 2007
Fumed silica is a better binder for solid acid catalysts For a wide range of established solid acid catalysts for the isomerisation of alkanes, use of fumed silica as the binder provides better strength and catalytic performance than other types of silica. US 7,304,199, ABB Lummus Global Inc, Bloomfield, NJ, USA, 4 Dec 2007
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Biofuel briefs: sugar cane conversion Syngenta and its technology transfer and commercialization unit, qutbluebox, will collaborate with the Queensland University of Technology and agrobiotech firm Farmacule BioIndustries of Brisbane, Australia to develop an inexpensive conversion process from sugarcane bagasse to biofuels. The collaboration will involve the delivery of plant-expressed enzymes. It will lead to the creation of the Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuel Development as well as a related biocommunities pilot facility at QUTs campus in Brisbane. The Queensland government will provide A$5.1 M ($4.6 M) funding. Chemistry and Industry (London), 12 Nov 2007, (21), 9
ENVIRONMENT BP begins AdBlue commercialisation On 1 Jul 2007, BP Espana began commercialising AdBlue, a synthetic product developed to reduce emissions from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The product is injected into the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system, setting off a chemical reaction that converts nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and steam. All HGVs with diesel engines manufactured since Oct 2006 must meet Euro 4 emission standards, which include maximum emission limits of 3.5 g/kWh of nitrogen oxides and 0.02 g/kWh of particulates. Oilgas, Sep 2007, 40 (462), 17 (in Spanish)
JANUARY 2008
ON
C ATA LY S T S
Chinese to make biodiesel from waste Qinhuangdao Leading Science and Technology Development Co Ltd (LSTDC) is building a 100,000 tonne/y biodiesel unit at Qinhuangdao in Hebei province, China. The unit will use an enzyme-based process for the biological conversion of waste animal fat and vegetable oil. China Chemical Reporter, 26 Sep 2007, 18 (27), 13
Biofuels briefs: Furanic drives on The first engine tests for mixture of Furanic second generation biodiesel and conventional fuel has been concluded by Avantium at Intertek, Geleen, The Netherlands. The tests generated positive results, including the substantial reduction of fine particulates in the exhaust gases. The company hopes to develop chemical catalytic routes needed in Furanics production. As carbohydrate-based products, Furanics are useful in bioplastic production. Chemistry and Industry (London), 12 Nov 2007, (21), 9
PATENTS Nano-structured grapite catalysts Graphite has long been used as a catayst suport but not as a catalyst per se. But graphite in the form of sheets or fibres composed of nano particles, made using metallic catalysts as growth centres, does have interesting catalytic properties. Exemplified reactions include hydrogenation, oxidation, oxidative dehydrogenation, and dehydrogenation. US 7,307,195, Catalytic Materials LLC, Pittsboro, NC, USA, 11 Dec 2007
Additive for reducing NOx content of off-gases from fluid catalytic crackers The regeneration step in fluid catalytic cracking generates NOx originating in nitrogen compounds present in the feed. This NOx is eliminated by adding a complex particulate material to the circulating FCC catalyst. The material contains an acidic metal oxide (typically an alumina/silica), a metal oxide (typically magnesia), an
oxygen storage material (typically ceria), and a platinum group metal or alloy. US 7,307,038, WR Grace & Co, Columbia, MD, USA, 11 Dec 2007
Guard beds for protecting transalkylation catalysts Transalkylation processes are used for increasing the yields of xylenes and decreasing the yield of benzene in aromatic mixtures. Lifetimes of transalkylation catalysts are reduced by contaminants in the feed containing O, Cl, S, and N species. Such species are removed by a guard bed containing a high surface-area gamma alumina. US 7,307,034, UOP LLC, Des Plaines, IL, USA, 11 Dec 2007
Staged alkylation in microchannels There are several advantages in conducting alkylations in microchannels. This is the first description of the staged addition of an olefin to an alkane in a microchannel. The catalyst can be mixed with the reactants, or deposited on the channel walls. Although there are two schematic illustrations, there are no examples. US 7,304,198, Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, WA, USA, 4 Dec 2007
Aromatic alkylation catalyst An effective catalyst for alkylating aromatic hydrocarbons is made by phosphating a ZSM-5 zeolite with phosphoric acid and then treating it hydrothermally under defined conditions. US 7.304,194, Saudi Basic Industries Corp, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 4 Dec 2007
Fumed silica is a better binder for solid acid catalysts For a wide range of established solid acid catalysts for the isomerisation of alkanes, use of fumed silica as the binder provides better strength and catalytic performance than other types of silica. US 7,304,199, ABB Lummus Global Inc, Bloomfield, NJ, USA, 4 Dec 2007
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