The chemical industry in Germany observed a turnover volume of 186.5 billions Euro in 2011. Catalysis in general plays a significant role in the generation of added value in the chemical industry. Of all chemical products, about 80% rely on catalytic processes, which enormously reduce the ressources and energy needed in their production. The economic success of companies in the chemical industry is thus highly dependent on innovative approaches of process-optimization.
Blog
16.01.2012
Due to the upcoming change in the types of energy sources, the percentage of those energy sources with fluctuating power, such as solar and wind energy, will constantly increase. For the year 2020, an estimated storage capacity of 40 TWh electricity will be needed. With a storage capacity currently being at 0.05 TWh, exess electricity worth 40 million Euro had to be wasted by down-regulation in 2011. Acknowledging the amount of electricity and the variety of technical realizations, chemical storage of electric power presents the most attractive way to solve the issue of the missing storage capacities.
14.01.2012
The synthesis of a variety of chemical compounds can be achieved by using basic reactants such as Ethane, Ethylene, Propane, Propene, Propylene, C4-Olefins, Benzene, Toluene and Xylene. The use of such basic compounds in the direct chemical synthesis is, however, challenging since the activation of C-H bonds is required. There are plenty of opportunities for the development of new and innovative catalysts. These would be able to efficiently activate basic chemical compounds for further functionalization. Such new catalysts would greatly enhance the productivity, economicity and the competitive capability of companies that produce standard chemical compounds.
13.01.2012
The recovery of CO2 offers an excellent option for synthesizing basic chemical compounds without relying on crude oil or gas. However, recycling of CO2 is not able to reduce the atmospheric content of this gas. In addition, only small market opportunities for the use of CO2 in production processes exist. Based on innovative catalysts and improved production efficiency involving CO2 as reactant, future market opportunities can improve significantly.
10.01.2012
