ABSTRACT
Catalysts are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from catalytic converters and fuel cells in cars to the production of the newest drugs. More than 90% of all chemical and environmental processes use catalysts in at least one step, and there is a trend to replace older stoichiometric processes by clean, catalytic ones. The current worldwide market for catalysts is about $10 billion annually [1], and although
over the last 100 years there has been significant progress in the understanding of catalysis and catalytic processes, many aspects of catalyst manufacturing are still poorly understood. Thus, there is a lack of a scientific basis for catalyst manufacture, and the process design often relies on empiricism and trial and error. Clearly, advances and improvements of many key catalyst manufacturing steps could potentially have a large impact on the entire $500 billion chemical industry [2]. The Rutgers Catalyst Manufacturing Science and Engineering Consortium, consisting of several catalyst companies and academic members, addresses exactly these issues: There is a focused effort to get a better scientific basis for catalyst manufacture. This chapter addresses one aspect of catalyst manufacturing: the drying of impregnation catalysts.
