Unifying Concepts in Catalysis

Since methane is worthless in chemical terms, today it is exclusively used as fuel. Methane is odorless and colorless, a troublesome greenhouse gas and oftentimes even an undesired byproduct of oil production. But can we somehow use it is a sensible way? Answering this question is the work of Unifying Concepts in Catalysis (UniCat), the only Cluster of Excellence in the natural sciences in Berlin and Brandenburg supported by the Excellence Initiative of Germany’s federal and state governemnts.

The research establishment’s supporting organizations are the Freie Universität Berlin, the Max Planck Society’s Fritz-Haber-Institut, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, the Technische Universität Berlin and the University of Potsdam. The reason for this interest in methane is that it is a principal ingrediant in natural gas and that large amounts of it are simply burned away in crude oil production because there is often no sensible use for it nearby.

250 Scientists Researching Catalysis

Given these circumstances, UniCat aims to convert methane into value-added substances, such as ethene, a valuable raw material that the chemical industry uses to manufacture polymers employed, for example, as foils and base materials for medications. As UniCat spokesman Dr. Martin Penno puts it: “If the researchers succeed in finding a way to convert methane, it would be a significant contribution toward securing the supply of energy and raw materials as well as a significant step forward on the path to oil independence.” Catalytic converters play a decisive role in this effort, and UniCat is the only Cluster of Excellence focusing its activities on catalysis. More than 250 chemists, physicists, biologists and engineers are involved in the UniCat research network.

Companies in the Energy and Raw-Materials Sector Derive Uses out of UniCat Research

In December 2009, in order to test whether methane can be converted into ethene in an economically sensible way, UniCat put into operation a so-called miniplant in the former power station of the Technische Hochschule Berlin on its campus in Charlottenburg. The miniplant is a testing facility that has all the components of a complete chemical factory – only in smaller dimensions. The researchers intend to use this to build a bridge between experiments in the laboratory and production in the chemicals industry. Companies involved in measurement, instrumentation and control technologies were involved in the construction of the chemical miniplant. Prof. Dr. Günter Wozny, the director of the miniplant project, says: “The results of our research are primarily of interest to companies in the energy and raw-materials sector. We have already forged partnerships with German chemistry companies. But this research is also important to foreign companies, such as Russia’s Gazprom and Saudi Arabia’s Sabic.”

According to UniCat spokesman Martin Penno, UniCat’s location is also important: “With its universities and many other research establishments, Greater Berlin is an ideal location for pooling research focused on a specific future-oriented topic.” What’s more, Berlin has been famous for a long time for the catalysis-related work performed here. Since this is where Nobel Prize laureates Fritz Haber and Gerhard Ertl conducted research, UniCat is stepping in big footprints.