Centre for catalysts
23 Nov 2004
German chemicals producer Degussa has opened a new catalyst development centre which brings together all the different forms of catalyst design - homogeneous, heterogeneous, and biological - under one roof.
'The combination is unique,' claims Degussa R&D chief Alfred Oberholz. 'We are the only company that has equal expertise in all three catalyst disciplines.'
The Catalyst Competence Centre, at Degussa's Hanau-Wolfgang site near Frankfurt, cost E9.5million. It has 12 laboratories and one pilot plant, where 85 staff work to develop both new catalysts and new processes.
Three operations are housed at the centre: the Biocatalysis Service Centre, the Exclusive Synthesis and Catalysts business unit, and a new internal start-up company, Degussa Homogeneous Catalysts.
These operations will handle the entire catalysts value chain, from screening for the best substance to catalyse a particular reaction, to supplying that catalyst commercially and developing the associated process. The centre will use Degussa's catalyst, ligand and gene libraries, with automated high-throughput screening and optimisation. Kilogramme-scale production facilities are also included.
Cooperation between the various disciplines is an important part of Degussa's development programme, and this will be emphasised at the centre.
'This is why our new centre is also a symbol of networking,' says Bernhard Hoffmann, head of the fine and industrial chemicals division. 'It not only combines catalyst disciplines, but it is a powerful mediator between the latest scientific findings and the needs and desires of our customers.'
Editor's note: Degussa has started up its new fumed silica plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The plant uses flame hydrolysis to produce the silica, sold under the name Aerosil, as a filler for silicone rubber and a component for coatings, adhesives and sealants.
The plant has a capacity of 'several thousand metric tonnes' per year, according to Carl Voigt, head of Degussa's coatings and advanced fillers division.
