Developing catalysts to drive innovation

As we approach the end of 2024, it looks set to have been the hottest year on record. For the first time, the world breached the benchmark of 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial times.

Many organisations, industries and countries have pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions over the coming decades to stem rising temperatures. These ambitious aims will need to be supported by technological advances that deliver greater efficiency and sustainability in industrial processes.

The petrochemical industry, which generates chemical products from oil or natural gas, will be a key player in this transition. According to ING Research and the International Energy Agency, carbon dioxide emissions from the sector increased by 41% in the ten years to 2020.¹ However, industry emissions in 2030 will need to be 12% lower than 2020, followed by even faster reductions to meet 2050 net-zero targets.¹

To keep delivering high-value chemicals, ammonia and methanol, the petrochemical industry will need to continue innovating to achieve these goals. The research firm BloombergNEF estimated that the sector would require an extra $759 billion investment for petrochemical emissions to reach net zero by 2050.² Investment in developing and optimising catalyst technology will play a vital role in reducing emissions for a wide range of processes.

Uses of catalysts in petrochemicals

Of course, using catalysts to improve industrial processes is nothing new. For instance, fluid catalytic cracking uses zeolite catalysts to extract refined products from heavy oil. This process is responsible for producing most of the world’s gasoline and many petrochemical raw materials.³ Improved catalysts can help lower the temperatures needed to break down heavy hydrocarbons, reducing energy use, costs and emissions.

As we progress in the energy transition away from fossil fuel reliance, catalysts will become ever more important in developing new methods of meeting our energy needs. Catalysts are vital in efficiently converting simple starting materials into synthetic fuels and biofuels, like converting vegetable oils into biodiesel.

Beyond using fewer fossil fuel resources, catalysts can also contribute to carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). This process involves sequestering the remaining emissions and potentially even converting them into useful products. This will have an increasingly significant role in the journey to net zero – the UK’s National Audit Office has described CCUS as ‘critical’ to the UK meeting its legally binding climate ambitions.⁴

This approach could even create economic incentives for carbon capture. Catalysts for these processes can produce chemicals like methanol, creating a closed carbon loop that is sustainable. Research into this area has identified nanoparticle organic hybrid materials that can capture and convert CO₂.⁵ By turning emissions into valuable products, these catalysts offer potential revenue streams as well as contributing to sustainability, further strengthening the case for investment in this technology.

Improving catalyst performance through R&D

The value of catalysts in advancing petrochemical sustainability means that an in-depth understanding and analysis of these materials is indispensable. Developing catalysts requires careful fine-tuning to ensure that the composition, structure and integrity are optimal for long-term performance. This helps to maximise the use of the catalyst and minimise the energy requirements of production.

Among the techniques needed for such analysis, FTIR (Fourier Transform InfraRed) spectroscopy offers an unparalleled insight into the reactions taking place. By probing the molecular vibrations of a sample, researchers can effectively watch reactions happen in real-time. With the right set-up, this can be done in conditions that are as close to the real world as possible.

For example, in the case of nanoparticle organic hybrid materials research, the team at Columbia University used FTIR to monitor changes in the bonds formed and the structure of the material over time.⁵ These valuable insights allowed the researchers to identify the best-performing materials under different conditions and ensure that the catalyst does not degrade after a few cycles of capture and conversion.

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Infrared spectroscopy’s role in catalyst improvements

These studies can take the form of transmission FTIR or diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS).

Transmission IR is one of the most widely used techniques for infrared studies as it is relatively simple to analyse. However, it requires highly compressed samples, which limits the surface area for solid-gas interactions, whereas DRIFTS allows users to study powdered catalysts with high surface areas.

The wider applicability of DRIFTS means that it requires less sample preparation, working directly with any powder sample. It more closely mimics the design of fixed-bed reactors, with the gas flowing over the heated catalyst sample. This makes it ideally suited for petrochemical R&D.

DRIFTS is enabling advanced research into catalysis in exciting areas such as non-thermal plasma.⁶This potentially provides a way to electrify the production of valuable chemicals by energising electrons to enable otherwise thermodynamically unfavourable reactions. Techniques like DRIFTS offer an opportunity to understand the complex ways that the plasma and heterogeneous catalysts interact. With further development, this could help to improve the cost and energy efficiency of these processes, helping to decarbonise certain industrial sectors.

Precision equipment for DRIFTS experiments

DRIFTS spectra are produced by an intricate interaction of light with the sample. This makes the analysis more complex than for transmission mode, but the right equipment can make this simpler to handle.

Powdered catalyst materials scatter the incoming infrared light in all directions, and this diffuse reflectance contains critical information about the chemical bonds being formed. However, this diffuse scattering can be overwhelmed by a mirror-like specular reflection of light, making it difficult to interpret the spectra.

The Praying Mantis™ accessory uses a sophisticated optical design with off-axis collection geometry to optimise the collection of diffuse reflected light. This produces higher-quality data that is easier to analyse. In addition, larger ellipsoidal mirrors provide higher illumination and collection of radiation, yielding the highest optical efficiency and sensitivity available.

Researchers have used the Praying Mantis in a study of innovative catalysts called supported catalytically active liquid metal solutions, which could allow more efficient production of light olefins through dehydrogenation.⁷The Praying Mantis allowed the team to use CO as a probe molecule to study the behaviour of the active platinum species in the conversion of propane. This yielded valuable insights into the structure of the atoms and how the catalyst is poisoned, which is critical to designing higher efficiency and lifespan catalysts to help lower the environmental footprint of industrial chemical processes.

These experiments can be carried out in a specialised reaction chamber that allows careful examination of in situ catalyst activity even in extreme conditions. Reaction chambers can control the temperature from -150°C to 910°C and pressures up to 34 bar.

This high-pressure/high-temperature reaction cell has been recently used in research to understand the chemical intermediates formed during the catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂.⁸ This could help to improve this important process that utilises captured CO₂ and produces lower olefins and higher hydrocarbons, enabling a more sustainable approach to meet industrial demand, while reducing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.

Characterising catalysts to drive innovation and sustainability

The drive towards net zero will require many efficiency improvements and ground-breaking developments in the petrochemical industry. Advances in catalysis have played a vital role in industrial processes for decades, but in the coming era, this innovation in R&D will be turbo-charged.

Catalyst characterisation technologies like DRIFTS can help researchers develop a much better understanding of the activity, structure and durability of novel catalysts. With that understanding will come greater R&D productivity, leading to more cost-effective and sustainable methods.

Discover how the Praying Mantis™ can drive breakthroughs in petrochemical R&D and support global sustainability initiatives.

Specac’s in-situ analysis solutions for Heterogeneous Catalysis studies

FTIR spectroscopy of gases for waste process treatments

Carbon capture and utilization with ATR spectroscopy

Operando FTIR spectroscopy of heterogeneous catalysts