The Institute for Environmental Catalysis was established in 1998 through a $7.9 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. The state of Illinois and Northwestern University will provide $4.8 million over five years in cost-sharing and matching funds.

The mission of the Institute for Environmental Catalysis was to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment through improved understanding and better application of catalytic oxidation.

The IEC was established based on the recognition that advances in the efficiency and selectivity of catalysis will lead to:

• reduced pollution;
• more effective waste clean-up;
• improved emissions treatment;
• more efficient use of energy.

Further research in catalysis and its relation to energy processes is currently being studied at the Institute for Catalysis in Energy Processes.

Catalysis is a chemical transformation brought about by the presence of a catalyst. A catalyst activates and directs chemical reactions without being changed itself. It permits reactions to take place more effectively under conditions than would otherwise be possible. Small quantities of a catalyst can convert thousands or millions of times their own weight of chemicals.

 

Catalysis, while perhaps a lesser known phenomena in the non-science world, has played a major role in the history of U.S. postwar economic expansion. From tupperware to perfurme, to high-octaine fuel to Oreo cookies, breakthroughs in catalysis have played a signifcant role across industries. Catalysis is the essential process technology for chemical and materials manufacturing, food processing, pollution control, energy conversion systems, and more.

Acknowledgment: This research is supported by the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division,
Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER15457.

Last modified: 03/17/08
Updated by: J. Tucker