9. CATALYSIS
About 90 percent of chemical manufacturing processes and
more than 20 percent of all industrial products in the
Grant applications
must address the potential public benefits that the proposed technology would
provide from: (1) reduced energy consumption; and (2)
the reduction in materials consumption, water consumption, and/or toxicity/pollutant
dispersion. Grant applications also
should include a plan for introducing the new technology into the
Grant applications are sought only in the following
subtopics:
a. Heterogeneous Catalysis—Catalytic reforming, catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, alkylation, isomerization, and the conversion of methanol into olefins are some of the most important industrial applications of heterogeneous catalysis, in chemical manufacturing and petroleum refining. For example, the synthesis of oxygenated compounds from hydrocarbons involves heterogeneous oxidation catalysis, the cracking of paraffins to olefins, and the subsequent direct or indirect addition of oxygen. In such processes, the direct addition of oxygen to olefins is exothermic, and, therefore, increased selectivity would provide energy savings from reduced hydrocarbon feedstock requirements. Indeed, the enhancement of oxidation selectivity represents the largest potential improvement of energy efficiency in the chemical industry (Parshall, 1994). Grant applications are sought for the research and development of technologies for improving the efficiency of industrial catalytic oxidations, reductions, and acid-base catalysis. Areas of particular interest are: (1) selective oxidation of petroleum feedstocks for commodity chemicals, thereby enhancing efficiency by reducing over-oxidation; (2) alkane activation for direct oxidation with molecular oxygen, e.g., in the conversion of methane to methanol; (3) heat integration of catalytic oxidations with other processes; (4) improvements in the syntheses or use of reactive intermediates; (5) new catalysts for commodity chemical reductions including ammonia synthesis from elemental gases, fuel and gas reforming catalysts, and cathodic catalysts for fuel cells – new ideas for fuel cell catalysts for oxygen activation are of particular interest; and (6) new and improved catalysts for petroleum cracking in a fluidized bed, as well as new heterogeneous catalysts for alkene/alkane alkylation.
Questions –
contact Charles Russomanno (Charles.Russomanno@ee.doe.gov)
b. Homogeneous Catalysis—Isomerizations, hydrogenations, oxidations, polymerizations, and
esterifications are just a few of the many commercial applications of
homogeneous catalysis. The DOE has a
long and respected history of support for the development of homogeneous catalysts
used for polymer syntheses, as well as homogenous catalysts used for chemical
synthesis from synthesis gas. Grant
applications are sought for the development of new homogeneous catalysts for
these applications, especially homogeneous catalysts that avoid the use of
precious metals such as rhodium.
Questions –
contact Charles Russomanno (Charles.Russomanno@ee.doe.gov)
c. Reactive Separations—The integration of catalysts with separation technologies – for example,
reactive distillations and catalytic membranes – could lead to improvements in
energy efficiency. However, the tendency
of homogeneous catalysts to dissolve in reaction media limits catalyst
stability (and therefore their use) when the homogeneous catalysts are fixed to
a membrane. Grant applications are
sought for research and development that will overcome the technical barriers
to the use of catalysts in reactive separations technology.
Questions –
contact Charles Russomanno (Charles.Russomanno@ee.doe.gov)
1. Technology Vision 2020: The U. S. Chemical Industry,
Washington, DC: American Chemical
Society (
2. Vision
2020 Catalysis [Workshop] Report, 1997. (Full Report available at: http://www.ccrhq.org/vision/index/roadmaps/catrep.html)
3.
Vision 2020
Reaction Engineering Roadmap, 2001. (Full text available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/chemicals/pdfs/reaction_roadmap.pdf)
4.
Vision
2020: Chemical Industry of the
Future: Technology Roadmap for Materials, August 2000. (Full text
available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/chemicals/pdfs/materials_tech_roadmap.pdf)
5.
Vision
2020: Workshop Report on Alternative
Media, Conditions and Raw Materials,
July 1999. (Full text available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/chemicals/pdfs/alternative_roadmap.pdf)
6. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 2000, Chemical Industry of the Future, Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Chemical Industry, Office of Industrial Technologies, Washington, D.C., May 2000. (Full text available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/chemicals/pdfs/profile_chap1.pdf. To access any segment of document, click on “+” next to “Table of Contents” on “Bookmarks” section of page. Then click on title of segment of interest.)
7.
Energy and
Environmental Profile of the U.S. Petroleum Refining Industry, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Industrial
Technologies, December 1998. (Full text
available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/petroleum_refining/pdfs/profile.pdf)
8.
Biobased
Industrial Products: Research and
Commercialization Priorities, National Research Council Commission on Life
Sciences, 2000. (Full text available at: http://books.nap.edu/books/0309053927/html/2.html#pagetop)
9.
Vision for Bioenergy and Biobased Products
in the United States, U.S. Biomass Research and Development Advisory
Committee, October 2002. (Full text available at: http://www.climatevision.gov/sectors/electricpower/pdfs/bioenergy_vision.pdf).
10. Roadmap for Biomass Technologies in the United
States, U.S. Biomass Research and Development Advisory Committee, December
2002. (Full text available at: http://www.brdisolutions.com/pdfs/FinalBiomassRoadmap.pdf)
11. Developing and Promoting Biobased
Products and Bioenergy: Report to the President of the United States
in Response to Executive Order 13134, U.S. DOE and U.S. Department of
Agriculture,