More time for discussions

We've been in close contact for two years, so I wasn't breaking new ground, if that's what you mean. The main difference for me is that I now have more dedicated, focused time for discussions and regular exchanges. So our relationship is now built on a more solid foundation. 

What do you expect from your time as a Fellow? 

Let me elaborate further: For me as an industrial researcher, the cooperation with the many different partners on the CARE-O-SENE project is a fascinating experience. These many multidisciplinary perspectives. Our aim at Sasol is to develop and scale-up a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst that can be used to produce synthetic fuel very efficiently. Our colleagues at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, for example, have developed x-ray techniques that allow us to observe this catalyst during operation at realistic conditions – and at the HZB at BESSY II, they have developed a multitude of techniques that makes high-end analysis of the catalysts possible.  

The Fischer-Tropsch process, with which sustainable kerosene is to be produced, is nothing new to you. 

That is true. But in our traditional industrial research, we normally use a catalyst, let the reaction take place and then analyze the catalyst afterwards - so called post-mortem. Here, thanks to the synchrotron, we have the opportunity to observe the catalyst during the reaction. That is one fundamental difference. Additionally, the approach we are taking is very integrated, as it involves theoretical modelling, various model catalysts, detailed characterisation, but also various forms of testing, techno-economics and life-cycle analysis, with HZB involved across most of these areas. 

What is the biggest benefit for you from the fellowship program? 

Personally, I enjoy spending a lot of time with the doctoral and post-doctoral students involved. For example, when one of them carries out an experiment with a model catalyst, we discuss how close the experiment is to the realistic conditions that have to be met later in production. The young people have a precisely defined area in the project for which they are responsible. I then help them to put together the bigger picture - in other words, to understand where their piece of the puzzle plays an important role. And I explain to them how our industrial processes work. An added benefit for me is that I am now exposed to and can interact with researchers at HZB, beyond CARE-O-SENE, who are experts at (electro)chemical energy conversion and storage, solar fuels and thin film catalysis. 

In the CARE-O-SENE project, you lead the work-package team that is to scale up the processes - in other words, take the step from a catalyst on laboratory scale to one that can produce many thousands of litres of sustainable kerosene daily in a commercial plant. What are the sticking points here? 

If you look at the catalyst under a microscope, you will see that the active particles are tiny, we are talking about six to ten nanometers. If you work with them at gram scale in glass equipment and micro-scale reactors in the laboratory, it's completely different to large scale catalyst production in an industrial facility, where the reactors are suddenly 20 or even 50 meters high. So how do these tiny particles behave in an environment in which tons of material react and in which the pressure conditions and gas profiles alone are completely different? As you scale-up, issues such as hydrodynamics (patterns of flow of liquids) and heat removal (Fischer-Tropsch is a very exothermic reaction that generates heat) become very important and can impact catalyst performance. These issues and others such as materials handling are different depending whether the reaction takes place in a laboratory environment or in a large reactor. 

How do you go about scaling up to larger quantities? 

We shift the scales step by step. Put simply, in each step we use equipment, and catalyst quantities that becomes more and more similar to industrial scale, with the process conditions also becoming more relevant, along the way. Each of these steps involves a different risk, because it is not always a linear process. In this way, we are moving towards the larger scales, in a risk-mitigated way. 

At CARE-O-SENE, the ultimate goal is production on a semi-commercial scale. How difficult is the final step from there - the transfer to real industrial production? 

We also call the semi-commercial scale the demonstration level. The reactor is almost identical in term of hydrodynamics and heat removal, and the equipment for preparing the catalyst is also similar. Of course, there is still a risk that something will not work when you take the final step towards industrial production - but it is much smaller than when we are scaling up from a few grams in the laboratory.. 

How far along are you at the moment?

At CARE-O-SENE, we have our sights set on four catalysts. Some are already usable, while others promise even greater efficiency but still need to be developed further. For one of these catalysts, we have just completed the path to production on a semi-commercial scale (tonnes) and produced product that can satisfy our 80% jet fuel yield target, which paves the way for commercialization in the next year. So things are progressing well. 

Let's come back to your fellowship. Will there be another exchange after the end of the program? 

Well, for now, the CARE-O-SENE project will run until the end of 2026, but I am convinced that we will assess opportunities to extend the partnership after that. There are a whole range of topics where I can imagine that both sides could potentially benefit from a similar fellowship program. 

Is there anything that surprised you about the role change? 

Definitely: the teamwork and camaraderie at HZB, this “pulling together”. I had no previous experience of program-oriented funding (POF) initiatives, for which even huge projects have to be planned down to the smallest detail. I was really impressed by how people with very different backgrounds come together for this and how concerted this planning is. 

About the person: 

Denzil Moodley has a PhD in chemistry and has worked in the Research and Technologydepartment at the South African chemical giant Sasol for close to 25 years. He specializes in the Fischer-Tropsch process and is one of the scientists responsible for the international cooperation project CARE-O-SENE. He is currently working closely with the HZB as an Industrial Research Fellow. 

About the project: 

The CARE-O-SENE project is co-led by Sasol and HZB and funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research. Within CARE-O-SENE, catalysts are to be developed that produce synthetic fuel for aviation from sustainable feedstocks. This process requires catalysts that work much more efficiently than the materials known to date, especially in terms of jet fuel yield. The development of such a catalyst is therefore one of the key tasks of the project; in a further step, production is to be scaled up to a semi-industrial scale. Seven companies and research institutions from Germany and South Africa) are involved in CARE-O-SENE. The project will run until the end of 2026.