Catalysis Eugene Houdry

Serious research in catalytic reduction of automotive exhaust was begun in 1949 by Eugene Houdry, who developed mufflers for fork lift trucks used in confined spaces such as mines and warehouses (18). One of the supports used was the monolith—porcelain rods covered with films of alumina, on which platinum was deposited. California enacted laws in 1959 and 1960 on air quality and motor vehicle emission standards, which would be operative when at least two devices were developed that could meet the requirements. This gave the impetus for a greater effort in automotive catalysis research (19). Catalyst developments and fleet tests involved the partnership of catalyst manufacturers and muffler manufacturers. Three of these teams were certified by the California Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board in 1964-65 American Cyanamid and Walker, W. R. Grace and Norris-Thermador, and Universal Oil Products and Arvin. At the same time, Detroit announced that engine modifications by lean carburation and secondary air injection enabled them to meet the California standard without the use of catalysts. This then delayed the use of catalysts in automobiles. 

Historians sometimes point to Earth Day 1970 as the beginning of the modern environmental movement. And in some important ways, they are correct. But many people were worried about the dangers posed by polluted air decades before that event. One such individual was the French-born American chemist Eugene Houdry. Houdry spent much of his professional career studying the nature of catalysis, the process by which the rate of a chemical reaction is changed by the addition of a nonreactive substance. 

The application of catalysis to the production of motor fuel by cracking of less volatile petroleum oils was first investigated in France by Eugene J. Houdry in the period 1927 to 1930. The results from these investigations clearly established the superiority of catalytically cracked gasoline over that made by the thermal processes the economic possibilities were also indicated. 

The scope and depth of his work is reflected by the numerous awards he received, among them the Eugene H. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis, the Chemical Pioneer Award, and the following American Chemical Society awards The Fritzsche Award for his contributions to terpene chemistry, the Petroleum Chemistry Award, and the E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 

Twenty years ago, the first catalytic cracking unit, the brainchild of Eugene J. Houdry, went on stream in this country. Catalytic polymerization was also adopted by the industry at about this time. In the subsequent twenty years, the application of catalysis in the xietroleum industry has gone on at a fantastic rate, until today there are 42 different catalytic processes in use. Almost all of these processes have been invented in this country, and they make upwards of one billion lb. of products a day. 

Backed by the enthusiastic interest of the American chemical and petroleum industry, the International Congress on Catalysis, held under the honorary chairmanship of Sir Hugh Taylor, Sir Eric Rideal, and Mr. Eugene J. Houdry in Philadelphia in September 1956, succeeded in attracting more than seven himdred participants from some twenty different countries. 

A sketch of Herman Pines would not be complete without reviewing some of his awards After the A. C. S Fritzsche Award, Herman Pines received the Midwest Award of the St. Louis Section of the American Chemical Society in 1963. In 1981 he received the American Chemical Society Award in Petroleum Chemistry In 1981 he also received the Eugene J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis of the Catalysis Society At its recent meeting in Las Vegas, he received the 1982 Chemical Pioneer Award of the American Institute of Chemists Space limitations prevent elaboration of all of his honors ... 

In 1967, the Catalysis Society of North America proposed the establishment of two prestigious awards to be given once every two years. A committee comprised of A. H. Weiss and Heinz Heinemann obtained sponsorship for the "Paul H. Emmett Award in fundamental catalysis and the "Eugene J. Houdry Award in applied catalysis—the former to carry a 2,000 prize, and the latter a 2,500 prize. Emmett Award has been sponsored since its inception by the Davison Division of . R. Grace Company the Houdry Award was originally sponsored by the Houdry Process Corporation, Sun Oil Company, Oxycat Corporation, and the Houdry family. More recently. Air Products and Chemicals Corporation has taken over the sponsorship. Award winners for the first ten years were ... 

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