Catalysis - ACS Publications

---

The Tuesday Afternoon Lecture

Catalysis: Significance in Industry and Relevance in Vladimir Haensel Consultant Universal Oil Products Professor of Chemical Engineering University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Abstract The industrial use of catalysis is very extensive, as witnessed by nearly 20% of the U S . gross national product (GNP) being generated through the use of catalysis. The recent trends in energy conversion systems toward so-called synfuels and extensive use of catalysis for emissions control have created further challenges for catalysis. Despite this extensive applic;irion. fen acadrmic inc~itutionaut'fw rt.yulur ctmr,ri in CHtillysis at the r r ; ~ d u a ~level e and rntal~iinis hardly mmtioned ru undcrgraduxei or secund;uy school studcnrs. The prohlern with teaching catalysis i? its highly inrerdisriplinsrv nature, involving most branches of chemistry, some aspects of chemical physics, material science, and considerable input from chemical eneineerine. This makes it difficult to organize general courses in ~ a t a l v ~ iHowever, s. in recent yt:i#ri,some univcriities .zi well as the ACS and the AlChE hove ipnnsurcd r jpccid short cuurics in variou3 pha,rs d car3lgsis f < ~huth industrial and academic ~~nniciparion. It ijaw:lrc.nt [hilt the .. combination of good academic training in chemistry, "onthe-job" training in industry, and periodic exposure to continuation courses have made industrial catalysis what it is today. The real question is whether or not this evolutionary orocess is sufficient for our future needs: or. bv shanine . chemistry curricula, can we further enhance the preparation of the future workers in industrial catalvsis? Furthermore. what is the importance of a general knowledge about catalysis for those chemists who will not work in industrial catalysis, or for those going into chemistry-related careers? This presentation discusses the issues, and offers a number of observations and suggestions. ~~

Selected Paragraphs Industrial catalysis is a flourishing technological giant. I t is widely nsed in the petroleum, petrochemical, and chemical industries. I t is now widely nsed for automotive emission

96

Journal of Chemical Education

control. It is entering the food area. As we become more and more energy conscious, the more we tend to turn to catalysis to do things more selectively and more economically. This did not happen overnight. Catalysis has been growing rapidly over the last 50 years. Why have we not included catalysis in our curricula? Is it because we make up our notes from books written by people who made it up from notes and hooks from years ago? Or is it because, in our attempts to instill fundamentals, we fail to mention applied chemistry? Even worse, do we look with disdain upon industrial chemistry as being something impure and uninteresting or merely a collection of pots and pans where some new chemical is cauldroned out to the public? T o include the world of industrial chemistrv into the wry diiteaching ,I! the underyraduate level is und~>ubtrdly iicult. 11 is difficulr for two reaiuni: 11 d w i n~gtr~.nllvfit into the well-established curricula for chemistry majorsand, because of time constraints, it willinterfere with trying to instill into the young minds the fundamentals of inorganic, organic, physical, and analytical chemistry. In addition, industrial ;hfmistrg can he c&idered as a r;nhw d1111iutqtct. It iiui he e ~i~lrecitntiim oi processes ior making dull when ir ia ~ ~ r e s m tas sulfuric acid, nitric acid, ammonia, etc. However, it can also be presented as a very exciting challenge to the young minds when it is presented on the hasis of why chemicals of all kinds are made in this way and not in another, not just from the standpoint of economics and supply of raw materials, hut from a chemical and technical viewpoint as well as from an evolutionary viewpoint.

What I am drivingat is the cuncept