The Saudi team used the technology to obtain Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK), whose applications are used in industrial, medical and petroleum fields. The team also designed a project to produce MIBK.
Head of the team at KACST Petrochemical Research Unit, Abdulaziz Bagbas, said the idea of this scientific innovation dates back four years when the industrial catalyst was developed to convert acetone and hydrogen into MIBK.
He said MIBK is used in a variety of areas such as solvent for paints, extraction of antibiotics, improvement of the combustion efficiency of gasoline and aircraft fuel.
He noted the USPTO awarded the first patent in 2011 for the team’s improvement of MIBK in gaseous state using a catalyst. The second patent came in the beginning of 2012 for producing MIBK by using another catalyst (acetone and hydrogen). The third, in 2012 as well, was awarded for their role in designing the project to produce MIBK, whose price is estimated at $2000 per ton.
The Saudi team included, along with Bagbas, Abdulrahman Al-Rabiah of King Saud University, Mohamed Mustafa of King Abdulaziz University, and Waqif Ahmadov of Baku University in Azerbaijan.
