Heterogeneous Catalysis

Lecturer – 4
Multiple length and time scales
Catalyst Shapes
Common Catalyst Particles
A selection of environmental challenges
 Atom Efficiency, E Factor and Environmental
Friendliness
• Atom Efficiency: Molecular weight of the desired product divided by the total
molecular weight of all the products.
For example the conventional oxidation of a secondary alcohol
3C6H5–CHOH–CH3 + 2CrO3 + 3H2SO4 3C6H5–CO–CH3 +
Cr2(SO4)3 + 6H2O
has an atom efficiency of 360/860 = 42%. By contrast, the catalytic route
C6H5–CHOH–CH3 + 1/2O2 C6H5–CO–CH3 + H2O
offers an atom efficiency of 120/138 = 87%, with water as the only
byproduct.
The reverse step, a catalytic hydrogenation, proceeds with 100% atom
efficiency:
C6H5–CO–CH3 + H2 C6H5–CHOH–CH3
as does the catalytic carbonylation of this molecule:
C6H5–CHOH–CH3 + CO C6H5–CH(CH3)COOH
• E Factor: the weight of waste or undesirable product divided by
the weight of the desired product.
 A selection of technological challenges
• Reformulated transport fuels (containing lower amounts of aromatics and
volatile components, and larger amounts of more completely combustible
additives)
• Development of (catalytic) automobiles operating on methanol dissociation
• Better catalysts for hydrodesulphurization, hydrodenitrification of light oils
and coals and hydrotreatment of heavy oils and tars
• Single-step synthesis of desirable products:
– acetaldehyde from ethane
– aromatics from ethane
– phenol from benzene
– acrolein from propane
– acrylonitrile from propane by ammoxidation
– acetic acid from methanol
– 2-methylpropylene from syn-gas
• Better methods for isomerizing linear alkanes into branched-chain ones
• Functionalization of light alkanes, especially methane (e.g., by use
ofheterogenized metalloporphyrins, P450s, or cytochromes)
• Efficient routes to cheaper feedstocks for the chemical and pharmaceutical
industries Development of robust, re-usable, chiral catalysts
• New shape-selective catalysts, e.g., for non thermodynamic ratios of mono-
and di-methylamines from methanol and ammonia
 A selection of technological challenges (Contd.)

• Development of processes using CO2 as reactant

• Cheaper and safer methods of generating hydrogen
• New catalytic membranes
• Better electrocatalysts for fuel-cell consumption of plentiful hydrocarbons
• Development of modified enzymes, organisms or transgenic plants for
'natural' production of polymers
• Families of solid catalysts for 'tunable' conversion of methanol to either
ethylene or propylene
• Fischer-Tropsch catalysts for sharply defined reaction products
• Efficient, safe methods of generating hydrogen peroxide (from H2 and O2)
• Designed solids capable of controlled release of structural elements such as
oxygen and hydrogen
• Uniform, molecular-sieve catalysts (of redox or Bronsted Type) possessing
well-defined large pores (40 – 100 A diameter)
• “Targetable” antibody catalysts as therapeutic products
• Engineered proteins for pharmaceutical use
 Home work due on October 16, 2020

• Find out the most recent version (from

internet) of Tables 1.3 – 1.4 and comment
on the major differences.