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At the 14th European Congress on Catalysis, Dr. Thomas Jähnert, Advanced Powder Processing, will give a lecture on "APPtec® – a new generation of spray pyrolysis technology to produce advanced catalyic materials".

Catalysis is a key term in the chemical industry. The possibilities for use are almost limitless, as catalysts always function selectively and according to their specific application. It is for precisely this reason that it is such a great challenge to develop catalyst particles suitable for their intended application and, in particular, to get them ready for market quickly while also ensuring that quality is consistent. Until catalysts are implemented on an industrial scale, the techniques used up to now still require long development times. APPtec® is opening completely new avenues in this regard: The innovative spray calcination technique enables the powder manufacturing process for catalytic materials to be defined quickly and with specific aims and applications in mind for the very first time.

In a single process step, the chemical composition and size, as well as particle structure and surface, can be precisely configured. This allows the activity of the catalytic materials to be precisely configured by defining the surface properties based on the specific application, for example. Right from the start, how the material is to be used determines the approach taken, so as to achieve the activities of the catalytic powder material required for the application in question in the shortest-possible development time.

The unique thermodynamic conditions in the pulsating hot gas flow enable particular states of reaction to be achieved in a matter of seconds – leading to exceptional properties and allowing, for example, catalytic activity to be increased many times over. This is made possible thanks to pulsation, as the heat transfer from the gas to the particle is between five and ten times higher compared to a continuous flow. These special thermodynamic conditions can be harnessed in such a way that materials with amorphous structures and high lattice defects are formed. This in turn significantly increases their catalytic activity. Furthermore, APPtec® makes it possible to define the gas atmosphere as oxidizing or oxygen-free – an additional key parameter for the targeted synthesis of the required catalytic materials.

The homogeneity of the product is particularly important for catalytic development:
APPtec® enables the use of raw material solutions, which already contain all the components of the required material in an ideal mixture. This chemical homogeneity of the raw materials combined with identical, thermal treatment, guarantees outstanding quality.

The technique also enables the smallest of particles to be coated as well as core-shell particles and supported catalyst systems to be produced. Depending on the technique used, the coating is also extremely homogeneous and the coat thickness can be configured in wide ranges.