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Centre of Excellence in Catalysis Research

C*CHANGE is hosted by the Catalysis Institute in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town. Academics and researchers at 10 partnering universities nationwide concentrate on three specific research areas of highest interest to the South African economy and society – synthesis gas conversion, paraffin activation and value addition to unique olefinic feedstocks. In addition to its scientific focus on chemical transformations, the Centre will serve as an agent of change for the development of a new generation of research leaders incorporating the full diversity of South Africa’s rich scientific potential.

Catalysis itself is about chemical transformation, the agents which cause it, the science underlying it, and the engineering of processes to practice it on an industrial scale. c*change, however, is about more than Science, Engineering and Technology development in catalysis. Although, fundamentally about excellence, it is also about a new and different approach to academic scientific practice in South Africa and, inter-alia, about a transformation of the body of South African researchers in terms of the age, gender and cultural profile of the country.
Currently the Centre comprises a team of around 50-60 postgraduate students (more than half of whom are female and black), over 15 postdoctoral researchers, and some 26 academics from 14 research groups. Besides local academic and industrial partners, c*change has also set up several scientific networks and collaborations with institutions in the UK, the Netherlands, China and Germany.
Based in South Africa it is important to the Centre to be engaged not only with the scientific community but also with the society at large and to identify possibilities to contribute beyond its research endeavors. To this end c*change has developed resource materials for high school physical science teachers throughout South Africa aligned with the new Further Education and Training school syllabus and held associated workshops for teachers. The ongoing Science Engagement project aims at identifying further interaction possibilities for the Centre.

Research Areas: 

synthesis gas conversion, paraffin activation and value addition to unique olefinic feedstocks

Facilities/Resources: 

UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO
Catalyst synthesis
 1 L Parr Reactor
 300 mL Home-built autoclave
 MARS 500 Microwave Reactor
Catalytic Reaction Test Units
 1 Methanol conversion test unit
Chromatography / Mass spectrometry
 1 Shimadzu GC 2010 (with FID)
Characterisation Infrastructure
 1 Quantachrome 1000 series
 1 Cary 600 FTIR Spectrophotometer
 1 Flame AAS Spectrometer
On-site access to…
 1 Philips XRD (Geology Dept)
 1 Bruker 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer

UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND
Catalyst Synthesis
 3 Catalyst Synthesis Autoclaves
 1 Microwave oven (Parr)
 1 Glove box
 Catalyst Screening / Sieves
 Drying, Calcination & Reduction Equipment
 3 Rotary Evaporators
Catalyst testing
 3 Plug Flow Reactor Test Units
Characterization Infrastructure
 3 Thermo-Gravimetric Balances (TGA); one connected to QMS
 1Temperature Programmed Analysis (TPO/TPR/TPRx) + 1 H2/ CO Chemisorption
 1 N2 Adsorption (BET) Analysis
 3 Infra-Red Spectrometers
 1 Raman spectrometer
 1 Powder X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD)
in situ Characterization Infrastructure
 Access to 1 In-Situ X-Ray Diffractometer
 DRIFTS
Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy
 1 Gas Chromatograph –TCD/FID off-line
 4 Gas Chromatograph –TCD/FID on-line
 1 Mobile Mass Spectrometer (see TGA)

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
 Multiple TPR/TPD/TPO instruments
 Multiple fixed bed reactors
 Multiple slurry phase reactors

NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY
Catalyst synthesis
 1 MBraun Glove box
 2 high vacuum Buchi RotaVAPS
 1 SRS Stanford QCM200 quartz crystal microbalance
 1 Buchi melting point instrument
Catalyst testing
 BTRS (Autoclave)
 8 Batch mini-reactors (Autoclave)
Characterisation Infrastructure
 1 Bruker ALPHA P FTIR with ATR
 1 Bruker VERTEX 80 FTIR with stopped-flow
 1 Mercury porosity meter (Micromeretics)
Chromatography / Mass Spectroscopy
 4 Agilent 6890 GC-FID
 2 Agilent 6850 GC-FID
 1 Agilent 7890 FastHRGC-FID
 1 Agilent 6890 GC-MSD
 1 Agilent 1100 HPLC SEC-MALLS
On-site access to…
 1 Bruker Avance III 600 NMR
 1 Bruker MicroTOF-QII MS
 1 Bruker Autoflex speed III TOF-TOF MS
 1 Bruker SMART X2S single crystal XRD
 1 TA instruments DSC
 1 LECO 2D GC-TOFMS
 1 Nikon Eclipse 600 microscope with hot stage
 1 FEI Quanta 250 FEG SEM with Oxford EDS
 1 FEI Tecnai G2 200kV HR TEM with Oxford X-Light EDS

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
Chemistry
 2 x Parr reactors
 4 x 40 mL reactors
 Glove box
 Fischer titrator
 Microwave reactor
 UV spectrometer
 Centrifuge
Physics
 LEED
 UPS
 ARPES
 XPS
 TPD/TPRS (s = spectroscopy)

UNIVERSITY OF FREE STATE
Catalyst synthesis and testing
 Stirred tank bioreactors:
 2 x Sartorius Biostat Bplus Bioreactors (2 L & 5 L)
 2 x Electrolab Bioreactors (1 L)
 1 x Labfors Bioreactor (2 L)
 Sixfors Multireactor (6 x 300 mL)
 Cell disruption:
 One shot cell disruptor Constant Systems
 TS Series Benchtop Continuous cell disruptor Constant Systems
 Centrifugation:
 Several high speed centrifuges
 Ultra centrifuge
 Protein purification:
 AKTA prime FPLC
Characterization Infrastructure
 Spectramax M2 Microtiter Plate Reader (Molecular Devices Corporation)
 Oryx-Nano crystallization robot
Chromatography / Mass Spectroscopy
 3 x GC-FID (Shimadzu GC-2010)
 Finnigan Trace GC-MS
 4000 Q TRAP LC/MS/MS
On-site access to…
 Centre for Microscopy:
 JSM-7800F Extreme-resolution Analytical Field Emission SEM
 Shimadzu SSX550 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM/ESEM)
 Philips CM100 Analytical Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
 Nikon E-2000 Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM)
 Nikon AZ100 Stereo microscope
 Physics:
 X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometers (XPS & XPS Versaprobe)
 Scanning Auger Microscopes (SAM 600 & SAM nanoprobe)
 Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (Tof SIMS)
 Chemistry:
 Bruker 600 mHz NMR
 Bruker X8 Apex II 4K Kappe CCD single crystal diffractometerAri

UNIVERSITY OF KWA ZULU NATAL
Catalyst synthesis
 Schlenk Lines
 Rotary evaporators
 Edwards high vacuum pumps
 Furnace (combustion synthesis)
Catalyst testing
 Continuous flow fixed bed reactors for heterogenous catalysis (alkane oxidation, preferential oxidation, hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis)
 PAR reactor
 Autoclave reactor
Characterization infrastructure
 Powder and in situ X-ray diffractometer (XRD)
 BET for surface analyses
 AutoChem (chemisorption and temperature-programmed studies)
 ASAP (gas chemisorption)
 Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DSC)
 Karl Fischer (water content)
Chromatography / Mass spectroscopy
 ~10 x gas chromatographs with FID,TCD and MS
On-site access to…
 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS)
 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
 Electrochemistry equipment
 Single crystal X-ray diffractometer

UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
 Preparation facilities for nanoparticle synthesis
 Transmission electron microscopes with EDX
 Scanning electron microscopes

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
Centre for Catalysis Research
Catalyst Synthesis
 1 Automated Precipitator
 5 Catalyst Synthesis Autoclaves
 1 Catalyst Pelletizer
 Catalyst Screening / Sieves
 1 Catalyst Spray Drier
 7 Drying, Calcination & Reduction Equipment
 3 Rotary Evaporators
Catalytic Reaction Test Units
 18 Plug Flow Reactor Test Units
 7 Slurry Reactor Test Units
 3 Berty Reactors
Chromatography / Mass spectrometry
 8 Gas Chromatograph –TCD/FID off-line
 8 Gas Chromatograph –TCD/FID on-line
 5 Micro Gas Chromatograph –TCD on-line
 2 GC-Mass Spectrometers
 1 Mobile Mass Spectrometer
 1 GC x GC -TOF-MS
Temperature Programmed & Absorption Analysis
 1 Adsorption Balance
 1 Thermo-Gravimetric Balance (TG/DTA)
 2 Temperature Programmed Analysis (TPO / TPR / TPRx)
 2 Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD)
 1 H2/ CO Chemisorption
 2 N2 Adsorption (BET) Analysis
Characterisation Infrastructure
 1 Infra-Red / Raman Spectrometer
 1 in situ Raman spectrometer
 1 powder X-ray Diffractometer
 1 in situ X-Ray Diffractometer
 1 in situ Magnetometer
On-site access to…
 1 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS)
 1 Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
 1 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)
 1 Powder X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD)
 3 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
 2 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
 1 Mercury Porosimeter

CENTRE FOR BIOPROCESS ENGINEERING
Research Bioreactors
 3 New Brunswick stirred tank reactors (7L, 14L)
 3 Chemap stirred tank reactors
 1 Braun stirred tank reactor (20L)
 Sixfors reactor system (6 X 300 mL)
Protein/DNA Analysis
 PCR machine
 DGGE system
 SDS PAGE system
 Syngene GBox imaging system
 UV/VIS Nanodrop Spectrophotometer
Biocatalysis Activity
 5 Spectrophotometers (UV/Vis)
 1 Microtitre plate reader
 1 Microcalorimeter
 Microscope with image analysis software
Downstream Processing
 1 Sonicator
 1 High pressure homogeniser
 1 Rotary Evaporator
 1 Freeze-drier
 3 Ultra centrifuges
 Expanded bed adsorption chromatography
Substrate/Metabolite/Product Analyses
 2 Gas Chromatograph (GC) –TCD/FID off-line
 3 High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC) -UV/Vis/Refractive index/Conductivity
 1 Ion Chromatograph (IC)
 1 Off-gas analyser
On-site access to…
 1 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS)
 1 Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
 1 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)
 2 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
 1 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
 1 Mercury Porosimeter
 2 GC-Mass Spectrometers
 1 Mobile Mass Spectrometer
 1 GC x GC -TOF-MS
 XRay diffractometer
 Protein cystallisation system
Department of Chemistry
 Bruker Ultrashield Plus 400 MHz, 300 MHz NMR
 Bruker Ascend 600 MHz NMR
 FT-IR spectrophotometer (Perkin Elmer Spectrum 100)
 Elemental Analyser CHNS-O Thermo Flash EA
 JEOL JMS-GCMS-GSMAT II GC-MS system
 Perkin Elmer Clarus 580 GC
 Mettler Toledo TGA Q500
 Perkin Elmer Thermal Analysis System DSC Q200
 Huber Imaging Plate Guinier Camera 670 – PXRD
 Nonius Kappa CCD Single Crystal diffractometer
 Bruker Kappa Apex II DUO CCD PXRD
 Glove Box

STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY
Bioreactors
 2 Brunswick BioFlo stirred tank bioreactors (5 liter volume)
 Measurment of dissolved oxygen 2 Brunswick BioFlo controllers and 2 Mettler Toledo InPro 6800 polarographic DO probes
 1 bubble column bioreactor (1:4 aspect ratio
 Measurment of dissolved oxygen 1 M300 DO transmitter and 1 Mettler Toledo InPro 6800 polarographic DO probes
High speed Photography and Image Analysis
 2 optical distortion elimination containers for the bioreactor vessels
 Matrix-Vision mvBlue-FOX 124G compact industrial CCD camera
 Fujifilm CCTV lens
 Bespoke Matlab image analysis routines
Catalyst synthesis
 Stirring hotplate and thermocouples.
 Schlenk lines and tubes
 Microwave reactor (CEM)
 Glovebox (Braun MB10 compact)
 Mass balance
 Flash chromatography (Biotage Isolera one)
Catalyst testing
 Radleys carousel 12 Parallel batch reactor
 Berghoff reactor (Batch)
 Parr flow reactor (Parr 4842)
Characterisation Infrastructure
 Infrared spectrometer with ATR attachment
 Melting point apparatus
 Magnetic susceptibility balance
 UV-Vis Spectroscopy
 Conductivity meter
 pH meters
Chromatography / Mass Spectroscopy
 GC-FID detector and polar column
 GC-FID with non polar column
On-site access to…
 NMR Spectroscopy
 Solid state NMR
 EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy)
 Mass spectrometry (direct injections)
 GC-MS and LC-MS
 ICP-MS
 Gel permeation chromatography
 CD spectrometry
 SEM
 BET
 TGA (thermo gravimetric analysis)
 Powder x-ray diffraction
 X-ray diffraction
 Differential scanning calorimetry

NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
 XRF & XRD
 CHNS
 TGA/DSC
 GC-MS
 FTIR with ATR accessory
 ICP-OES
 ICP-MS (iCAP Q MS)
 Zwick Material Tester- with long range extensometer (Tensile, Elongation, Compression, Flexural Strengths etc.)
 Memmert Climatic Chamber (Weathering and exposure
 GC-FID
 HPLC-UV
 IC
 Leco Bomb Calorimeter
 Grabner Miniscan
 Grabner MiniDIS
 Grabner Flash point apparatus
 Anton Paar Viscometer
 Phase Technology Freezing point/Cloud point
 SIMDIS
 GC X GC – FID (online with PiloDist HRS500C)
 Shortpath Distillation (PiloDist, 5L/h)
 2 X 100mm dia distillation columns (QVF – random glass packing, SS – structured packing)
 150mm dia distillation column (under construction, QVF – random glass packing)
 2 X Buchi Chemreactors (50L/30L)
 6Bar GL batch reactor (Lampart)
 Filter press (Macslab, 10L)
 Peeler Centrifuge (Krauss-Maffei, 2.5L basket vol.)
 Pyrolysis rig (EC Combustion/QVF 0.5-1kg batch size)
 Twin screw extruder (CFAM TX-32, 100kg/h)
 Buchi Interclave (Glass), 1L, 6 Bar
 Parr Reactor (SS) 2L, 100 Bar
 HEL Reaction Calorimeter
 4 X plug flow reactors
 CEM Microwave reactor
 Buchi Rotary evaporator

Partner Organizations: 

Stellenbosch University
University of the Western Cape
University of the Witwatersrand
University of KwaZulu-Natal
University of Limpopo
University of South Africa
University of the Free State
University of Johannesburg
University of Cape Town
North West University

Last Modified Date: 
Friday, April 17, 2020

 

Notice: Please contact international@erc-assoc.org if you represent this Research Institution and have identified any required additions or modifications to the above information.