Jury member Detlef Kratz, president process research and chemical engineering at BASF SE, congratulates Nicole Schoedel, head of chemical development & services at Linde Engineering and Virginie Lanver, project leader for the development of the Synspire catalyst at BASF.
Linde’s Dryref syngas process in combination with BASF’s Synspire catalyst enable steam reforming of methane in dryer conditions and the use of CO2 as feedstock, according to the companies, which received the ICIS Award 2019 for Best Process Innovation for the technology. ICIS (Independent Commodity Information Service) is reportedly the world’s largest petrochemical market information provider and each year an expert jury selects the winners of the Innovation Awards.
"Finding the right balance between profitability, energy efficiency and cutting CO2 emissions is a challenging task in process development. Linde and BASF have collaborated to push the boundaries of chemistry to propose a ground-breaking new catalyst and steam-reforming process with higher efficiency, lower energy demand and a lower CO2 footprint,” says ICIS Chemical Business Deputy Editor Will Beacham, who chaired the award judging panel. “The judges were also impressed by the teamwork involved in a joint entry and were pleased to be able to give the award to a new process which could have a significant impact on the global chemical industry and CO2 emissions."
Detlef Ruff, senior vice president process catalysts at BASF, says, “The common achievement is the result of a long-term collaboration of both companies that required trust, openness, excellent technical skills, long-term vision and readiness to take some risks.”
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