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Biographical Memoirs Volume 88 (2006) / Chapter Skim
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Vladimir Haensel
Pages 174-187

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From page 175...
... in 1928, the Haensel family lived briefly in Germany, France, and Austria. They came to the United States in 1930 when Haensel's father accepted a teaching position at Northwestern University.
From page 176...
... In the early 1950s it was established that the deadly photochemical smog frequently experienced in locales such as the Los Angeles basin was produced when nitrogen oxides and unburned or partially burned fuel hydrocarbons in auto exhaust reacted in bright sunlight. Haensel, at United Oil Products from 1956 to 1974, played a key role in establishing research and development programs that eventually culminated in the automotive catalytic converters that were first used on almost all U.S.
From page 177...
... He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering and was recognized with awards that included the National Medal of Science, the Perkin Medal, the first National Academy of Sciences Award for Chemistry in Service to Society, the Professional Progress Award (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) , the Draper Prize, and the Chancellor's Outstanding Teacher Award (University of Massachusetts)
From page 178...
... It was not generally understood that the clay catalysts used by Eugène Houdry were in reality solid acids and that the chemistry of catalytic isomerization and catalytic cracking of straight hydrocarbons was thus akin to that of the liquid-acid catalyzed alkylation invented by Ipatieff and Pines. In 1947 Haensel began exploring the possibility of using platinum catalysts for upgrading petroleum.
From page 179...
... Even more important was his proposal that platinum on alumina was a dual-functional catalyst, ideally suited to the catalytic reforming chemistry. Platinum is an excellent hydrogenation and dehydrogenation catalyst, but acid-base chemistry is required to go from saturated alkane chains to aromatic rings.
From page 180...
... In addition to cleaner, cheaper fuel this process generated a higher yield of aromatic hydrocarbons -- the raw materials used in the manufacture of plastics. This created the base for the modern plastics industry, which previously relied on the processing of coal tar, a very environmentally unfriendly process.
From page 181...
... Indeed, the Platforming process has reduced the United States' reliance on foreign oil, has broadened the longterm energy outlook for the world, and has saved billions of dollars in transportation costs. At the time of this writing the United States had over 190 million cars, trucks, and buses that consumed nearly 132.9 billion gallons of gasoline each year.
From page 182...
... His style was Socratic, often aided and abetted by his wife, Hertha Skala Haensel, former director of physical chemistry and surface science at UOP. Following preparative study, the students launched into spirited discussion, punctuated by anecdotes, stories, and occasional apples from the teacher in recognition of new insights.
From page 183...
... In 1997 Haensel was selected by the National Academy of Engineering to receive the Charles Stark Draper Prize. Haensel is survived by his wife, Hertha Skala Haensel, who lives in Amherst.
From page 184...
... Selective demethylation of paraffin hydrocarbons.
From page 185...
... In Abstracts of Papers, American Chemical Society 165th National Meeting, Dallas, TX, p.
From page 186...
... 186 B I O G R A P H I C A L M E M O I R S 1993 Transportation costs and the national debt. Letter to the editor.


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