Valencia (EFE).- The scientist from Castellón Avelino Corma will receive the European Inventor award next Tuesday in Valencia for his entire career for discoveries that are used in numerous industries, including energy, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, among others.
The co-founder of the Institute of Chemical Technology, a joint center of the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), has dedicated his entire life to developing more sustainable chemical processes and catalysts, and therefore the European Patent Office ( OEP) will award him the 2023 European Inventor Award for All Professional Career.
It is a recognition of his “extraordinary” career in the world of chemistry, which has lasted for more than three decades and which will be presented to him during a ceremony that will take place at the Palacio de las Comunicaciones in Valencia at 12 noon. Tuesday.
synthesized zeolites
Among their contributions to science, from the EPO they have highlighted the development of synthesized zeolites, crystalline materials composed of silicon, aluminum and oxygen that act “like a sponge with very small holes that trap small molecules so that a specific chemical reaction can take place”. .
In this way, although some zeolites occur naturally, selective catalysts for molecules of a certain size can be created.
Although it is theoretically possible to synthesize millions of zeolite structures, only about 300 have been developed to date and approximately one fifth of these have been developed by Corma and his ITQ team.
In fact, Corma’s first synthetic zeolite was developed in 1989, and thanks to it, it was possible to produce fuels with better mileage, lower carbon emissions in hotter climates, and greater ability to withstand compression in an engine.
Since then, the work of Avelino Corma and his team has been used, for example, in the generation of energy from biomass or in the elimination of nitrogen oxides to alleviate air pollution.
A more sustainable chemical legacy
To date, Corma has submitted almost 200 European patent applications and more than 50 of its patents have been licensed to international companies.
The researcher began his studies in Chemistry at the Universitat de València in 1967 and continued them for more than a decade, including a post-doctorate at Queen’s University in Canada.
In 1979 he began working as a researcher at the CSIC and in 1987 he became a research professor; since then, Corma has conducted research on Heterogeneous Catalysis in academia and in the private sector in collaboration with various companies.
In this sense, he has worked on fundamental aspects of acid-base and redox catalysis to understand the nature of the active centers and reaction mechanisms.
Based on this knowledge, he developed a series of catalysts that are currently being used in various industrial processes, such as reducing polluting emissions from vehicles and factories, improving food, purifying water, oil refining processes, the production of medicines and, in general, in the development of a more sustainable chemical industry.
Corma is the author of several books, including ‘Catalytic Cracking’ and ‘Introduction to Zeolite Molecular Sieves’, as well as more than 1,200 publications.
European Inventor Awards
This year is the seventeenth edition of this award, which recognizes the contribution of inventors and research teams to scientific and technological progress, and to which twelve international proposals aspire.
The award is organized by the European Patent Office (EPO), based in Munich (Germany) -in this edition with the collaboration of the Generalitat Valenciana-, and it is the second time that Spain hosts this ceremony, after the edition 2010 held in Madrid.
The finalists revealed so far come from countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy and the United States and work in areas such as sustainability, energy efficiency, medical advances, optimization resources or mobility solutions.
The industry finalists are: the Finnish team made up of Pía Bergström, Annika Malm, Jukka Myllyoja, Jukka-Pekka Pasanen and Blanka Toukoniitty, for making it possible to transform waste into renewable fuels; Belgian scientists Michiel Dusselier and Bert Sels, for simplifying the production of bioplastics with a cheaper and more ecological method; and the Austrian physicist Josef Faderl and his team, for developing a stronger and lighter steel that improves road safety.
Inventors from around the world
Of the non-EPO countries, Chinese inventor Kai Wu and his team have been selected for reducing the risk of overheating and explosions in electric vehicles; Kripa Varanasi and David Smith from India and the United States for creating non-stick packaging; and Australian researchers Thomas Oxley and Nicholas Opie, for developing a brain implant for device communication.
In research, the German Harald Haas is a finalist, for making it possible to transmit high-speed Internet through LED lights; the French team of Patricia de Rango, Daniel Fruchart, Albin Chaise, Michel Jehan and Nataliya Skryabina, for developing a safe and efficient method for hydrogen storage; and Icelandic scientists Thorsteinn Loftsson and Einar Stefánsson, for developing non-invasive eye drops that replace needles in some eye treatments.
In the area of SMEs, the Frenchman Antoine Hubert and his team opted for the award for developing vertical insect farms for the production of food and fertilizers; Italian astrophysicist Luca Rossettini, for his space debris cleanup technologies; and Irish physicists Rhona Togher and Eimear O’Carroll, for their material that helps reduce noise pollution. EFE