Research & Development Council of New Jersey recognises BASF at annual awards event

The Research and Development Council of New Jersey awarded a team of BASF inventors with the prestigious 2014 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for outstanding environmental contributions.  Additionally, a retired scientist and inventor from Engelhard Corporation, which BASF acquired in 2006, was recognised with the organisation’s highest honor – the Science and Technology Medal – for his groundbreaking work on the three-way mobile emissions catalyst. The awards were presented at a ceremony held at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, on the 6th November.  

The Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for 2014 was presented to BASF inventors Xiaolin D. Yang, Pascaline H. Tran and Lawrence Shore. The team was recognised for inventing a brominated mineral sorbent that controls mercury emissions from coal-fired electric generating units. Their patented solution – Mercury Sorbent HX™ – was designed to address and exceed mercury removal requirements associated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS).

“It is a great honour for BASF and our inventors to be recognised for this important environmental innovation,” said Mikhail Rodkin, Vice President, Chemicals, Polymerization and Refining Catalysis Research at BASF. “As the global leader in catalysis, BASF has unsurpassed expertise in developing innovative emissions control technologies for a wide range of applications that help our customers deliver clean air for a healthier, sustainable future.”

In addition to the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award, John Mooney, one of the inventors of the three-way catalytic converter, was presented with a Science and Technology Medal.

“I am very pleased to see John Mooney’s work acknowledged with this prestigious honor," said Klaus Harth, Vice President, Environmental Catalysis Research at BASF. "The technology John helped develop has been acknowledged as one of the 10 most important automobile innovations, and current generations of the emissions control catalyst continue to make dramatic contributions to the effort to reduce harmful automotive emissions and improve air quality.”

Additional information on BASF’s Mercury Sorbent HX emission control solution can be found here, while information regarding BASF’s mobile emissions catalysts solutions can be found here.