Chemical spark plug

Dr. Waring, vice president of the Davison Chemical Co. in Baltimore, MD, defines a catalyst as a substance that when added to a chemical reaction either speeds it up or causes it to take place at a lower temperature. He offers the example of a sugar cube held in a flame, which will not burn unless potash from a cigarette ash is added. Commercial applications of catalysis include petroleum refining, converting distilled crude oil into transportation fuels and other petroleum-based products. Dr. Waring shows a model of the catalyst cracker and describes the cracking process in petroleum refining. An animated film shows what takes place in the reforming part of the process in which the molecular structure of the petroleum is changed to alter its combustion characteristics and thus alleviate knocking in automobile engines. Platinum is the catalyst in the reforming process. Dr. Waring notes that the silica gel developed and patented in 1919 by Johns Hopkins scientist D. Walter A. Patrick is the base for many catalytic materials. Other catalyst include vinyls which are used to make plastics.