Heterogeneous Catalysis

Heterogeneous catalysis is used to produce a great variety of chemical products including fertilizers, pharmaceutical chemicals, high-octane petrol, and margarine. The reactions in these processes take place in a thin layer on the surface of solids: this book describes the chemical basis of heterogeneous catalysis and the most important industrial purposes to which it is applied. It pays special attention to the physical forms of catalysts used in industry, and to the types of reactor in which they are employed; this information is not usually found in chemistry textbooks. Its application to environmental pollution control is also discussed. This second edition is a completely revised, updated, and expanded text, covering recent developments such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and applications of catalysis to problems of energy supply. A new introductory treatment of the band theory of solids is also included. The book attempts to dispel the aura of magic with which catalysis is often surrounded in students' minds. Catalysis must be regarded as essentially a chemical phenomenon which operates within, and indeed because of, well-established chemical principles.