Sustaining Economic Competitiveness for Industrial Catalyzed Processes

The commercialization of catalyzed processes which produce hundreds of millions of pounds of product(s) annually is the result of a significant number of years of catalyst research, process research, and optimization of plant design. Despite this considerable investment in technology development, catalyzed processes still represent a unique opportunity for optimization through improved catalysts, enhanced product selectivity, extended catalyst life, or the use of cheaper feedstocks. In fact, many catalyzed processes, even those which have existed for many years in the chemical industry, must be continuously improved to sustain economic competitiveness. Numerous companies today maintain a major R&D investment in the development of improved processes as evidenced by the filing of numerous patent applications on processes which have been commercialized for 30 years or more.

This talk will give a high level overview of two well established catalyzed technologies: hydroformylation, and epoxidation. Included in the discussion are the major product(s) formed from the process, the catalysts employed, proposed mechanisms, and opportunities for technology improvements.