QuantumSphere, Inc. (QSI), a leading supplier of nanocatalyst technologies for industrial chemical processes, today announced the completion of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the production of the company’s proprietary FeNIX™ nano iron catalyst product.
FeNIX nanocatalysts were developed to address costly production inefficiencies within the several hundred ammonia plants in operation worldwide. QSI’s high surface area FeNIX nanocatalysts, applied as a coating to existing commercial ammonia catalysts, provide a “turbo-charging” effect to catalytic activity – increasing conversion efficiency and overall production output in the nearly $100 billion USD global ammonia industry. Earlier this year, FeNIX nanocatalysts demonstrated an increase in production rate by 10 to 15 percent in a commercial reactor which could translate to more than $100 million USD in additional revenue for a typical, medium-sized ammonia plant over the life of the catalyst – with no plant modifications or additional capital expenditure.
Matthew Griffith, Vice President of Operations, stated, “We are excited to report that we have successfully scaled and tested all aspects of our multi-step FeNIX manufacturing process, including a patented, automated gas-phase-condensation (GPC) process to tightly control nano-particle size and distribution, and a secondary passivation process allowing the highly active material to be safely handled and transported. In addition, we have completed our proprietary physisorption coating equipment which is used to adhere the FeNIX nanocatalysts onto base commercial pre-reduced ammonia catalysts on-site at an ammonia production facility.”
Kevin Maloney, President and CEO, added, “Our ability to deliver FeNIX and other nanocatalysts in commercial quantities, combined with our industrial-scale validation results and Joint Development Agreement with Casale, strongly positions QSI to become an important value-added technology provider in the large and growing global ammonia market.”
QSI announced in May its multi-year Joint Development Agreement with Swiss-based Casale, S.A. (“Casale”), a global leader in production technologies for ammonia, urea, melamine, methanol, syngas, nitrates and phosphates. Casale’s reactor production technologies are utilized in approximately 38 percent of global ammonia production and 39 percent of global methanol production, which are key target markets for QSI.
Casale and QSI have agreed to collaborate on the development of commercial technologies for ammonia, methanol, and other industrial chemicals which collectively account for several hundred billion USD in annual global production. Casale also agreed to utilize QSI as its exclusive provider of nanocatalysts for its chemical synthesis processes during the term of the agreement due to QSI’s products’ demonstrated increase in catalytic activity and patented high volume manufacturing process.
Ammonia is one of the planet’s most critical chemicals. Nearly $100 billion USD of ammonia is produced annually on a global basis, consuming 1-2 percent of the world’s energy supply. More than 80 percent of ammonia output is used as agricultural fertilizer for global food production, supplying 50 percent of all protein consumed by humans.
Source: http://qsinano.com/