In our second series of blogs we look at catalysis, a process critical in everything from digesting your food, to plastic production and making beer! Published weekly in 3 instalments, we will explain how catalysts could drive the clean energy revolution and much more.
In our first post, we explore what catalysts are and how they have been instrumental in human development; from world wars to pushing the frontiers of medicine.
By Aditya Sengar, Research Associate in the Department of Bioengineering.
Soma, the Elixir of Life, Chi, Manna, Prana, the Philosopher’s Stone, Shewbread and King Solomon’s gold. These are the many names alchemists of the past gave to a mysterious material with magical properties. Fans of Harry Potter and the Fullmetal Alchemist series would be familiar with the name of Nicolas Flamel, the French alchemist who was widely believed to have discovered the philosopher’s stone and achieved immortality. Had Flamel been born half a millennia later, he would have been surprised to witness the common use of the mystical arts in the everyday use of the common man. Yes, it is true. We have the Philosopher’s stone and it has been public knowledge for a long time. I will help you out if the title was not a giveaway. The magic is not in any material. It is in the process. I am talking about the science of catalysis. If you bear with me a bit longer, maybe by the end of my story, you will agree with me.
What is catalysis?
Catalysis helps a chemical reaction occur faster without participating itself in the reaction. Consider the biochemical reactions in the human body. The important metabolic reactions all require certain enzymes, the biological catalysts. Without enzymes, breaking down food and generating energy from it would take about 2 billion years. Yes, you read that right. What your body does in a matter of minutes and hours could take a very long time if not for catalysis. Am I getting your attention now? I hope so.
Dawn of industrial catalysis
Historical use of catalysts in one form or the other to produce wine, beer, soap, cheese, among many others was common. Let me ask you a question here. Can you guess the most important medicinal drug in human history? Not Penicillin, not insulin; but ether. Valerius Cordus in 1552 used sulphuric acid as a catalyst to produce ether that revolutionised medicinal world. Originally used to treat bacterial and viral infections, by the early 19th century ether started being used as the default general anaesthetic sometimes replacing practices like “hypnosis”. These times also saw the development of catalysis from empirics to science. In 1835, the term catalyst was first coined. The remaining part of the 19th century saw the exploitation of scientific knowledge for industrial applications and financial gain. An important event that sparked an interest in industrial catalysis was the dawn of the world wars.
Enter the world wars
Fritz Haber, a German chemist, in 1909 showed that ammonia could be produced by air using a metal catalyst. It allowed the mass production of fertilisers throughout the western world. Interestingly, the process is not primarily remembered for its ability to tackle world hunger. During the first world war, Allied Forces blocked the export of Chilean saltpetre to Germany. The mineral was used to prepare explosives until that time. Germany quickly started to produce ammonia via the Haber process on a mass scale, providing it fuel for their explosives.
The discovery of polyethylene (or polyethene) was another major event which was both an accident and a top-secret British government project. Scientists at Imperial Chemical Industries, ICI, accidentally produced a white and waxy substance in a series of high-pressure experiments in 1933. Soon large plants were set up to manufacture the waxy substance, named polyethylene, to be used as an insulating material for radar cables during the second world war with the process itself being a closely guarded secret. It wasn’t until in the 1950s that Zieglar and Natta developed a catalytic process to produce polyethylene at low pressure and temperature (the process was later reformed by Phillips Oil Company with the Philips catalyst) leading to an expansive growth in the plastic industry. The global polyethylene market is currently valued at $180 billion.
From alchemy to catalysis
The western world never accepted alchemy as a modern science and shunned the practitioners as occult scientists. Even Isaac Newton, one of the most influential scientists, practiced alchemy in secret. Before his time though, the differences between the two sciences were not as great. Abū Bakr (854–925 CE), a Persian scholar, was a pioneer alchemist and physician of his time. He was the discoverer of sulphuric acid, and his alchemical work is said to have laid the foundations of modern-day chemotherapy for cancer treatment. Alchemy, the theory of transmutation of one substance to another has come alive in the way of modern-day catalysis.
In the next couple of blogs, we will discover how catalysis has transformed and continues to transform the world of energy around us.