Catalytic processes have a vital role to play in the production of more than 90 percent of products in the chemical, petrochemical, and refinery industries. Catalysis is therefore of huge economic importance – and the need for research is correspondingly high.
Catalysts are tested for many different reasons:
The aim here is typically to optimize the profitability of catalytic processes by selecting the right catalyst in combination with a suitable process window and the available quality of input materials. In many cases, the data required for this cannot be generated adequately or even at all at production facilities. This is because neither the flexibility to freely set process conditions nor the necessary analytics to evaluate experiments in a meaningful way are available. Accordingly, catalyst testing is typically carried out on a laboratory scale.
At hte, we are the world’s leading provider of solutions for lab-scale R&D workflows. These workflows comprise reactor systems, precise analytics, software solutions, and in-depth application expertise. They enable us to accelerate the innovation projects of companies and research institutions, while also helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals. With our expertise, we are able to scale down commercial processes to the laboratory environment and quickly generate results with high data quality and commercial relevance.
hte has over 25 years of valuable experience in testing solid catalysts in various reactor systems. Either powder materials or shaped bodies are used for this. Our customers often provide the catalysts for testing themselves or send us commercial materials. Alternatively, we can also produce catalysts ourselves in quantities ranging from grams to kilograms.
We distinguish between “lab scale” and “bench scale” projects based on the diameter of the reactor and the volume of the catalyst.
Besides classic tube reactor projects, other more specialized reactor systems are also used. These include batch autoclaves, which also allow homogeneously catalyzed reactions to be performed where the reactants and catalyst are both present in the liquid. In addition, we also use our entrained flow reactors (MDU – mirco downflow unit) for applications in the field of FCC catalysts.
Contract research projects at hte typically compromise the following steps:
… include the following:
Producers in the refinery and chemical sectors often ask themselves how the performance of various commercial catalysts can be compared in the most reliable way under relevant process conditions and with specific raw materials. At hte, we support this with independent benchmarking tests. We validate and compare various commercial catalysts. We evaluate their performance in catalytic tests under representative conditions and with real feedstocks. The confidentiality of the information plays a major role for all stakeholders here, both for the user of the catalysts and for the catalyst manufacturers involved in projects of this kind.
Customers throughout the world rely on our unique, lab-scale R&D workflow for catalyst testing.
hte not only offers flexible laboratory systems for customers operating in the field of electrolysis and fuel cells to use in their own research. We also provide process development and material research services, as well as advising R&D teams on the steps of their research journey. With their specialized knowledge, our experts help bring research projects to completion quickly and efficiently.
