Pier, Matthias

This article is affectionately dedicated to Professor Matthias Pier. Much of the work covered herein was conducted under the inspiring direction of Dr. Pier in the high-pressure department of the Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik at Ludwigshafen/Rhein, Germany. 

High pressure technology transfer and diversification took many avenues, though most new innovations continued to appear from BASF. First, in 1923, was methanol production at the Leuna ammonia factory, and based on the work of Matthias Pier. BASF had patented a high pressure methanol process in 1914, but no further studies were carried out until after G. Patart in France applied for a similar patent (1921). In this case the same equipment could be used to manufacture ammonia or methanol, according to demand. Synthesis gas, the mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, was used directly, without separation, to prepare methanol. In a similar way, isopropanol was manufactured under high pressures. 

Maria Horing and Ludwig Raichle, "Zur Technologic der Kohle und Olhy-drierung, Matthias Pier zum Gedachtnis," Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 38 3 (Mar 1966), 205-208. 

BASF (Alwin Mittasch, Matthias Pier, and Karl Winkler), German patent 415,686 (application 24 Jul 1923, awarded 27 Jul 1925). 

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. 

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