BATON ROUGE, La., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Twelve scientists from specialty chemical maker Albemarle Corporation and ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company were honored by the American Chemical Society (ACS) in a special ceremony Sunday night as "Heroes of Chemistry" for their work in the development of NEBULA(R) catalyst, a unique and more environmentally sustainable catalyst for the production of cleaner diesel fuels.
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The 2008 Heroes of Chemistry honored in Philadelphia during the 236th National Meeting of the ACS, the world's largest scientific society, were:
-- Ir. Rinus Cerfontain, Ph.D.; Sonja Eijsbouts, Ph.D.; Ir. Hans Homan Free, M.S.c.; Bob Leliveld, Ph.D.; Ing. Bob Oogjen; and Frans Plantenga, Ph.D., of Albemarle.
-- Michael Kerby, Ph.D.; Ernie Lewis, Ph.D.; Stephen McCarthy; Sabato Miseo; Kenneth Riley, Ph.D., and Stuart Soled, Ph.D., of ExxonMobil.
Albemarle President, CEO and Chairman Mark Rohr said, "We in the chemical industry are in the business of improving lives through innovation, and the NEBULA catalyst development program is a prime example of what is best about our trade. These practicing scientists from different organizations have spent years working together and overcoming technical and economic obstacles to bring a unique and important invention not only to life, but also to global, commercial success. Their work has helped Albemarle and its customers meet the rising global call for cleaner energy solutions."
NEBULA catalyst is a breakthrough hydroprocessing catalyst that is two to three times as active as previous generation catalysts, allowing refiners to achieve the stringent low sulfur levels required for cleaner-burning, ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuels, some of the world's most in-demand fuels, without adding capital expense.
Refiners around the world have saved tens of millions of dollars over the last 10 years by using NEBULA catalyst in their existing high-pressure ULSD units instead of buying, installing, operating and maintaining new units that would otherwise have been needed to produce diesel fuel at the required low-sulfur levels.
In addition to helping refiners produce cleaner diesel fuels, NEBULA catalyst itself is a cleaner product than previous generations because it is made with a more efficient and effective production process, and is designed to be fully recyclable and re-used at the end of its life cycle.
"We are proud of these scientists and of all of our employees who have worked with the NEBULA catalyst over the years, living out our principles of sustainability in our offices, labs and manufacturing sites across the globe," Rohr said. "We are honored by ACS to be a part of this award."
The ACS Heroes of Chemistry program recognizes industrial chemical scientists whose work in various fields of chemistry and chemical engineering has led to the successful innovation and development of commercial, chemistry-based products that improve human welfare.
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics; petroleum and petrochemical processing; transportation and industrial products; pharmaceuticals; agricultural products; and construction and packaging materials. The Company operates in three business segments -- Polymer Additives, Catalysts and Fine Chemicals -- and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Learn more about Albemarle at http://www.albemarle.com/.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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