Heterogeneous Catalysis in Industrial Processes

Deployed in over 85% of industrial processes, heterogeneous catalysis has become an essential component of the industrial landscape since its distant origins in the work of Berzelius almost two centuries ago. Heterogeneous catalysis is present in strategic energy fields such as fuel production, the chemistry of major intermediates and pollution control. Thanks to its fundamental principles, heterogeneous catalysis is able to reconcile the seemingly antagonistic constraints of the modern world in terms of ever-increasing demand for energy carriers and chemical compounds, environmental protection by minimizing non-recyclable by-products (toxic emissions or greenhouse gases – GHG –) and sparing use of natural resources. One of the main advantages of heterogeneous catalysis is that it involves a very small quantity of catalytic material in relation to the quantity of converted products (in contrast to so-called "stoichiometric" processes), and offers the possibility of selectively orienting reaction paths towards the desired products, thus reducing the formation of undesirable by-products and, consequently, separation operations. Today, it is a key player in respecting the principles of green and sustainable chemistry as defined by Paul Anastas [J1200] .

Today, heterogeneous catalysis accounts for two-thirds of all industrial catalytic processes, with homogeneous catalysis accounting for the remaining third and enzymatic catalysis for a minor share (2%). Among the major reaction families concerned, hydrogenations, oxidations and acid-base reactions, mainly implemented in liquid-phase processes, are almost equally distributed in number.

In this article, we take a look at the major families of modern industrial processes using heterogeneous catalysts to synthesize products that meet society's needs. Readers who are not specialists in the field will be able to appreciate the extraordinary importance and proliferation of this scientific discipline, whose prospects for meeting environmental and energy challenges are immense.