27-07-2021

hte tests different fibrous catalyst materials for Unifrax

hte — the high throughput experimentation company was chosen by Unifrax, a leading manufacturer of high-performance specialty materials, to test different catalytically functionalized high-temperature fibers. Unifrax prepared a catalyst on a novel, large-surface-area fiber support called FlexCat. The aim of the study was to compare the performance of fibrous materials to a standard catalyst support that is used in industrial catalysis in a model reaction under various process conditions.

Unifrax selected hte for testing different fibrous catalyst materials in a parallel 16-fold high throughput system under different operating conditions in a model reaction. hte’s most advanced high throughput reactor systems and online analytics allow for fast analysis and evaluation of the products. hte has developed a new workflow for reproducibly loading the fibrous materials comparable to conventional catalyst supports and testing in existing equipment. In addition to catalyst activity and selectivity, the correct treatment and handling of the samples was of great importance."

"Unifrax continues to pursue its mission to provide greener, cleaner, and safer solutions for its customers and partners," commented Chad Cannan, Senior Vice President of research and development at Unifrax. “FlexCat is a revolutionary step forward for industrial catalysis that delivers on those three pillars.”

“We are pleased to have been selected by Unifrax to test alternative catalyst supports,” says Wolfram Stichert, CEO at hte. "During this challenging project, hte has drawn on its wealth of experience and developed a new testing workflow, and we look forward to extending our collaboration with Unifrax in future R&D projects.”