CATALYSIS AT LONZA - FROM METALLIC GLASSES TO FINE CHEMICALS

At Lonza, a company which is backwards integrated to light virgin naph tha and liquefied petroleum gas, catalysis is used throughout the enti re scale of value added products, starting from bulk chemicals and int ermediates up to special fine chemicals. In addition, environmental ca talysts are used in order to fulfil the high standards of Lonza's wast e management concept. However, the need for the involvement of a dedic ated catalysis group is mainly seen at the upper end of the product tr ee: with increasing diversification the catalysts have to match the co mplexity of the products and the demand for tailor-made catalysts is i ncreasing. In this sense, also the potential of new catalytic material s is being examined at Lonza. In the following, two examples of a more fundamental approach (amorphous alloys and amorphous/nanocrystaIline oxides as catalyst precursors) are given. In addition, a new synthesis of beta-picoline is discussed as an example of a straightforward prod uct-oriented approach.