A Linde and BASF cooperation is the overall winner and the winner of the category Best Process Innovation of the Independent Chemical Information Service (ICIS) award. ICIS is the world’s largest petrochemical market information provider. Each year an expert jury selects the winners of these prestigious innovation awards.
The companies were awarded for the application of Linde’s DryrefTM syngas process in combination with BASF’s SynspireTM. The Dryref syngas process optimizes steam reforming, cuts CO2 emissions, and allows to recycle surplus CO2. The Synnspire catalyst reduces costs and the carbon footprint of the syngas unit. It has a high resistance to deactivation by steam, which usually occurs due to carbon accumulation and coke formation.
The technology was developed with academic partners from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Technical University of Munich, University of Leipzig, and DECHEMA Institute, Frankfurt, Germany.
Other Categories
The winner of the Best Product Innovation category was Croda, UK, with its Star Polymer. This is a new bio-based polyol which uses steric stabilization to improve the performance of surfactants.
The winner of the category Best Innovation by a Small or Medium-Sized Enterprise was Sironix Renewables, USA, with its Eosix Surfactants. This bi-functional detergent molecule serves as a surfactant and chelating agent in laundry detergents. It is synthesized from natural oils and sugar derivatives. It reduces costs and improves performance in hard water.
The jury jointly selected Carbon Cycle, UK, with its Phosphogypsum Remediation and INEOS Styrolution, Germany, with its Polystyrene (PS) – Made for Recycling the winners of the category Innovation with Nest Benefit to Environment and Sustainability. INEOS demonstrated a chemical recycling loop by polymerizing styrene from depolymerized polystyrene. At approx. 380 °C the polymer chains decay into styrene monomers which can be extracted in high yields.
Carbon Cycle reacts gypsum with a solution of ammonium sulfate. A double salt is formed and the contaminants that are then easily separated are released. The double salt is decomposed by hydration to gypsum. Ammonium sulfate can be recycled.
- BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany
- Linde AG, Munich, Germany
- ICIS Award
