Page 100 - Academic Press Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology 3rd Chemical Engineering

P1: GKD Revised Pages
Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology EN002C-86 May 17, 2001 20:36

498 Catalysis, Industrial

B. Finding a Competitive Advantage ucts or accommodating major feedstock, catalyst, or reac-
tor changes. Major areas of future interest are environmen-
Technical information is a valuable asset to a company.
tal protection and the conversion of paraffin’s and agricul-
A patent gives the owner the right to prevent others from
tural commodity feedstocks to industrial chemicals.
making, using, or selling an invention for a period of time.
Patents often describe cost savings in processing that can
be translated into greater profit margins or a new profitable
D. Basic Catalysis
product. Patents can also be licensed or sold as a source
of revenue. Some industrial catalysis research is theoretical and some
As an example, 28% of the world’s gasoline owes its is at the frontiers of science. Often a process is selected
existence to an idea to use synthetic zeolites to make more for commercialization before a commitment is made to
gasoline from crude oil. It has saved consumers billions the basic research. The open technical literature is not a
of dollars a year and it has greatly extended oil reserves. good indication of the quantity or quality of basic cata-
Some information is vitally important in the operation lyst research work done in industry. Many of the results
of a business, but either it cannot be patented, or if patented of industrial catalysis research are patented or kept se-
the patent would be difficult to enforce. Such information cret. Publications usually follow patents and may repre-
is held as a “trade secret.” Catalyst preparation techniques sent research completed 3–5 years previously or work on
are good examples of proprietary information that a com- a project that was not commercialized for economic or
pany may choose not to patent. technical reasons that are not obvious.
Catalyst performance must continually improve to keep As noted, industry is partnering with government for
a product technically superior. Successful catalyst re- high risk and enabling technologies. Four particular areas
search programs coupled with production cost minimiza- of interest were identified by industry for future research:
tion may allow a plant to be run at capacity while its
competitor shuts down or operates at a lower capacity
1. Major yield and selectivity improvements to reduce
and reduced profit margin. In many instances, finding the
waste and energy consumption, minimize feedstock
competitive advantage is essential to business survival.
costs, or enable market entry of new
Finding or making the most cost-effective catalyst is a
feedstocks
strong incentive for catalysis research.
2. Clearer structure/function relationships to better
predict and/or control catalyst structures linked to
performance metrics, and reduce the time to market
C. Solving Plant Problems
for higher performance products and processes at
Catalyst performance is monitored in a commercial unit lower cost
from start-up to change-out. Typically this is done using 3. New catalyst uses and fabrication methods to
statistically designed experimentation. This results in pro- minimize emission abatement costs
jections of new catalyst demand and information on how 4. Innovative reactor configurations that enable better
process variables affect catalyst performance. integration of transport processes with catalytic
Companies seek to make their plants more efficient performance for reduced capital and operating
and cost competitive. New catalysts are screened, alterna- costs
tive feedstocks tested, and changes in process equipment
evaluated to improve product quality and production eco- A growing area of research is biocatalysis. The chal-
nomics. The risk of making changes in a plant without lab- lenge is to use renewable agricultural products as feed-
oratory or pilot plant work is usually too great, although stock and convert these feedstocks cleanly and selectively
here are exceptions. to chemicals using enzymes. Catalysis, bioengineering,
Bench scale or pilot plant research is valuable to de- and chemical engineering will be involved in development
termine corrective measures to take when unexpected cir- of new technologies.
cumstances occur. Operational mistakes made in plants Catalysis clubs have been organized in a number of
and resulting in down-time are expensive. Operational countries. The internet is a good source of current infor-
problems can arise because of feedstock changes, instru- mation, for example, the North American Catalysis So-
ment errors, leaking valves, etc. It is useful to know the ciety web page can be located at www.dupont.com/nacs.
effect of all potential poisons in a process and corrective This web site contains a link to the International Congress
measures to take in unit operation. on Catalysis, which meets every four years. Awards and
Future process development is another large area of local meetings for catalysis scientists are also advertised
catalysis research. This can entail the search for new prod- on the internet web page.