Nitrogen-doped titania responds to visible light

FOCUS Jilin constructs large FCC catalyst project Almost RMB Yuan 200 M is to be invested by Jilin Jingtai Chemical Industrial Co Ltd and Hunan Xingchang Group to produce FCC catalysts in Jilin Economic & Technological Development Zone. RMB Yuan 196 M will be invested in the first phase, which will produce 30,000 tonne/y FCC catalyst. On completion of the second phase capacity will be expanded to 45,000 tonne/y. China Chemical Reporter, 6 Nov 2004, 15 (31), 8

First coal direct liquefaction unit constructed in China In Inner Mongolia Erdos, Shenhua coal direct liquefaction project has been launched. It is the world’s first coal direct liquefaction project. It utilises catalyst synthesis technology developed by Shenhua Group. Total capacity is 5 M tonne/y of oil products. Total investment in the first phase is RMB 24.5 bn. 9.7 M tonne/y of coal will be used to produce 3.2 M tonnes of various oil products, including 500,000 tonnes of gasoline, 2.15 M tonnes of diesel, 310,000 tonnes of liquefied gas and 240,000 tonnes of benzene and mixed xylenes. In Jul 2007, the first production line will be completed and the second production line will be completed about 2010. China Chemical Reporter, 16 Oct 2004, 15 (29), 12

NEW TECHNOLOGY World’s strongest acid The world’s strongest isolable acid has just been created at the University of California in Riverside. It is the carborane H(CHB11Cl11), which is a million times stronger than concentrated sulfuric acid. Its catalytic properties have not yet been reported.

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Catalysis has been announced, They are: • Cardiff, IC, and JM: Gold catalyst for direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide; • JM: ultra-durable 3-way auto catalysts; • Reading and JM: magnetic nanocatalysts; • AstraZeneca, Avecia, Cambridge and Syngenta: micro-encapsulated homogeneous catalysts. The Chemical Engineer, Sep 2004, (759), 64

Heteropolyacid decomposes fluorinated compounds In Japan, a heteropolyacid photocatalyst system for the total degradation of perfluorocarbonates has been developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology. Perfluorocarbonates are persistent organic pollutants in the environment. There is discussion of the process and its applications. Japan Chemical Week, 11 Nov 2004, 45 (2294), 1,4

Catalyst technology wins again for Avecia partnership Avecia’s EnCat catalyst technology for pharmaceutical and fine chemical production has won its second major industry award for 2004. A collaboration between Cambridge University, Syngenta, AstraZeneca, and Avecia, EnCat has received the Institute of Applied Catalysis’ Innovation Award. In its latest form, Pd EnCat palladium catalyst, the technology is a key to faster and cleaner chemistry in supported reagents and catalysts. It gives higher throughput from process automation, with additional benefits from reduced metal contamination, solvent reduction, catalyst recovery and recycling at scale. In Jul 2004, Avecia announced a worldwide distribution for Pd EnCat with SigmaAldrich. The companies are also working to develop and commercialise additional Pd EnCat products.

Nature, 16 Nov 2004 & Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2004, (34), 5352-5355

Press release from: Avecia, UK. Website: http://www.avecia.com (13 Oct 2004) & Chemical & Engineering News, 22 Nov 2004, 82 (47), 23-26

Innovation in applied catalysis

Magnetic catalysts look attractive

The shortlist of candidates for the iAc Award for Innovation in Applied

Researchers at the University of Reading and Imperial College, in

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conjunction with Johnson Matthey, have developed a system for making precious metal catalysts magnetic, allowing them to be readily recovered. A magnetic iron core was covered with graphite and topped with a coating of the nanoscale precious metal catalyst. The nanoparticles give a greater surface area thus boosting catalytic activity. In tests, the catalysts reduced by half the standard catalysts’ reaction time to convert nitrobenzene to aniline. Chemical Week, 24 Nov 2004, 166 (39) & New Scientist – UK Edition, 13 Nov 2004, 184 (2473), 27

Nitrogen-doped titania responds to visible light The National Institute for Materials Science has developed a form of titania which responds to visible light. The product is synthesised from a titanium alkoxide which forms sheets of anatase separated by isostearate groups. Heating with ammonia removes the isostearate, leaving sheets of nitrogen-doped anatase. The product is a more effective photocatalyst than commercial anatase. Japan Chemical Week, 28 Nov 2004, 45 (2292), 1,3

Solid-acid catalyst alkylation process is cleaner by design Exelus Inc of Livingston, NJ, has formulated an alkylation method that uses a solid acid catalyst to convert light hydrocarbons into alkylate, a high-octane gasoline blend comprising mainly of iso-octane. The new process is claimed to be practical and a viable substitute to traditional sulfuric and hydrofluoric acidcatalyzed methods. It yields alkylate with octane rating of over 95 RON over an extensive range of operating temperatures of 50-100oC, olefin space velocities of 0.1-1.0 1/h as well as paraffin-to-olefin ratios. Chemical Engineering Progress, Oct 2004, 100 (10), 13-14 & TCE (formerly The Chemical Engineer), Nov 2004, (761), 14

Methanol liquid phase oxidation: US award supports UOP $2 M of the $5 M investment in development of technology for selective liquid phase oxidation of

JANUARY 2005