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The Value of Catalysis
By Bob Weber

Value of Catalysis Catalysts accelerate the rates of chemical reactions without being consumed in the reaction. They permit the use of less intense reaction conditions, smaller and typically cheaper reactors, and a higher selectivity towards the desired products. Selectivity enhances the utilization of feedstocks and lessens the scale and complexity of downstream separations. The resulting combination of smaller capital costs and smaller operating costs makes the use of catalysts ubiquitous in the production of fuels, chemicals, materials such as polymers, and in pollution abatement (for example, the catalytic converters that treat tailpipe emissions on all modern vehicles and power plants). Read more.



Top Five Things Learned About Creating Catalysts to Store and Release Energy

Top five things

Since 2009, researchers at the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis (CME), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the DOE Office of Science Office of Basic Energy Sciences, have answered fundamental questions about what makes catalysts work. Their top five answers are… Read more


 

90 Seconds of Discovery:

Catalytic Choreography

90 seconds of DiscoveryRecent research by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Institute for Integrated Catalysis is uncovering some of the forces that thwart biofuel production, and these discoveries can lead to the design of more efficient processes to make renewable fuel. Watch this video and learn more.

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