Bergius—Pier process

IG IG-Farbcnindustric in Germany developed many processes before World War n, but the one most associated with its name is probably the Aldol process for making butadiene for synthetic rubber. The name has been used also for the Bergius-Pier process. 

Route A represents the direct conversion of coal into synthetic crude oil by hydrogenation, that is, mainly by hydrogen addition (Bergius-Pier process). 

The fourth and at that time most important process was high-pressure hydrogenation, also called the Bergius-Pier process (see also Section 5.1.5.2), named after Friedrich Bergius and Matthias Pier (see box), which changes coal directly into liquid fuels like gasoline (first plant in 1927). 

Matthias Pier (1882-1965), a German chemist, worked with Emil Fischer and Walter Nernst during his studies. After WWI, he joined BASF and worked on ammonia and methanol synthesis. After BASF had purchased the patent on coal liquefaction from Bergius in 1925, he developed this process further. He found better and sulfur-resistant catalysts and increased the yield of fuels by arranging the process in two steps, liquid-phase hydrogenation and gas-phase hydrotreating of the intermediate product. Thus, the process is therefore mostly known as the Bergius-Pier process. 

Domestic production of liquid fuels ftom coal in Germany Hydrogenation of coal (Bergius-Pier process) 3.5 (13 plants) 40... 

Bergius-Pier An improved version of the Bergius (1) process in which the activity of the catalyst was increased by treatment with hydrofluoric acid. Invented by H. Pier and others in the 1930s and used in Germany during World War II. 

Figure6.11.8 Development of production capacity of liquid fuels from coal in Germany by the Bergius-Pier and Fischer-Tropsch processes, [data from Haul (1985) Stranges, (2003)].

Mannheim between 1921 and 1927. The first commercial plant was built at Leuna in 1927. Twelve plants of this type provided much of the aviation fuel used by Germany in World War II. After the war, the process was further developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The process is essentially one of hydrogenation at high pressures and temperatures, catalyzed by an iron oxide catalyst. In Germany, the catalyst was the red mud waste from the Bayer aluminum process. See also Bergius-Pier. 

Veba-Combi Cracking Also called VCC. A Bergius-Pier high-pressure thermal hydrotreating process. The catalyst is usually a promoted iron oxide, operated in a slurry, but an added catalyst may not be necessary. 

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