Eugene Houdry

Enos, J. L. (1962). Petroleum Progress and Protits Allistoiy of Process Innovation. Cambridge, MA MIT Press. Mosely, C. G. (1984). Eugene Houdry, Catalytic Cracking and World War II Aviation Gasoline. Journal of Chemical Education 61 655—656. 

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. 

Eugene Houdry was born in Domont, France, near Paris, on April 18, 1892. His father owned a successful steel factory, and Eugene enrolled in mechanical engineering at the Ecole des Arts et Metiers in Paris to prepare totakeoverthefamily business. He graduated in 1911 with a gold medal for the best grades of any student in his class. 

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. 

The story begins in the early 1930s. Our researchers were trying to develop a catalytic cracking process, and they learned that Eugene Houdry was doing similar work in France. His work was further advanced and Houdry was persuaded to join our lab in Paulsboro, New Jersey. 

These conclusions, supported by numerous studies, provoked intensive research into methods of emission control. Notable contributors were Eugene Houdry who, in 1949, invented a form of the ceramic monolith now in almost universal use and the Inter Industries Emission Control Programme led by Ford and Mobil which, during the 1960 s, defined the emissions control system which would be required to meet severe regulations ... 

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. 

The Contributions of Eugene J. Houdry to the Development of Catalytic Cracking... 

Career Definition Eugene J. Houdry had developed a keen interest in the motor car. Many young men develop an early interest in automobiles, mainly for what the car can do for them, but this was not the entire reason for Houdry s interest. He was also interested in the automobile as a machine, particularly in the engine that powered it and the fueling of the engine. 

The announcement of the commercialization of the Houdry cracking process was made at the annual meeting of the American Petroleum Institute held in Chicago in November 1938. The paper was titled "Catalytic Processing by the Houdry Process," authored by Eugene J. Houdry of Houdry Process Corp., Wilmington,... 

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 ... 

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