Press Releases

Research wins prestigious IChemE Award – University of Reading

Release Date : 12 October 2004

The University of Reading has won the distinguished iAc Award for Innovation in Applied Catalysis at this year's Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Gala Awards Dinner. The Reading team, led by the Department of Chemistry's Professor Edman Tsang, along with commercial collaborators Johnson Matthey Catalysts, won the Award for developing a new nanotechnology which makes separation of catalysts from product much easier. After receiving the Award from Michael Portillo MP at a ceremony held in Christ Church Spitalfields, London, on Tuesday 28 September, Professor Tsang explained the new technology. He said: "Soluble catalysts or small catalyst particles are well-known to be active in catalytic reactions, but establishing how to separate them from product has always been a big problem for industry. "But, with engineering support from Imperial college and technical advice from a number of UK chemical companies, we have developed a new class of magnetic catalyst. It is composed of a small, nanosize magnet carrying catalyst species on its surface. Thus, when a magnetic field is applied, the catalyst bodies are separated from product." End For any media enquiries, please contact Craig Hillsley, the University of Reading's press officer. Tel: 0118 378 7388 Email: c.hillsley@rdg.ac.uk