Federal Research Center Boreskov Institute of Catalysis

The Institute of Catalysis was founded in 1958 as a part of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The founder and the first Director of the Institute till 1984 was Academician Georgii K. Boreskov, an eminent scientist and science manager, an expert in the field of catalysis and chemical technology. In 1992, the Institute was named after Academician G.K. Boreskov. Academician Kirill I. Zamaraev, an outstanding Russian physical chemist and a talented teacher, was the second Director of the Institute in 1984 to 1995. From 1995 till 2015 the Institute was headed by Academician Valentin N. Parmon. In 2015 Academician Valerii I. Bukhtiyarov was elected to be the Director of Boreskov Institute of Catalysis.

Federal Research Center Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (BIC) is now one of the largest research centers worldwide specialized in catalysis. BIC’s affiliations are in cities Omsk and Volgograd. The permanent staff consists of ca. 900 employee, among which ca. 400 are research scientists.

General activity focus:

• Scientific (research) activities to gain and apply new knowledge.
• Engineering activities to gain and apply new knowledge for solution of technological and engineering problems.
• Educational activities to train high-skilled researchers.
• Innovative activities to put new ideas, scientific knowledge, technologies and products into industrial practice.
• Informational, metrological, service etc. activities to support the research.

Research focus:

• Fundamentals of catalysis.
• Unified theory of homogeneous, heterogeneous and enzymatic catalysis; prediction of catalytic action.
• Theory and scientific basis of catalyst preparation.
• Kinetic studies of catalytic processes.
• Theoretical basis of chemical engineering.
• Catalysts and catalytic processes for innovative application areas.

The BIC’s R&D activities span the areas from fundamental problems of catalysis to development of new catalysts and catalytic technologies and to designing semicommercial plants for the catalysts manufacturing. The main fields of catalytic research at the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis are establishment of general physicochemical regularities of catalysis, development of scientific bases for molecular design of materials and implementation of catalytic processes; creation of new generation catalysts for chemical, refinery and petrochemical industries, as well as creation of catalysts and technologies for innovative application areas.

The primary aim of fundamental studies is the prediction of catalytic action in order to create engineering basis for production of catalysts, as well as to develop and optimize catalytic processes. The most important among the fundamental studies are:

• Studies of catalytic phenomena on the atomic and molecular levels.
• Studies of the nature of active centers of catalysts and the mechanisms of key catalytic reactions.
• Studies of the catalyst structures and mechanisms of their formation.
• Kinetic studies and mathematical modeling of catalytic processes.

Unique scientific facilities are available at BIC’s laboratories, which allow the thorough characterization of chemical composition and properties of catalysts, investigation of mechanisms of catalytic reactions and creation of new effective catalyst for various chemical industries.

The Boreskov Institute of Catalysis is engaged in the National Federal Programs to do applied research in practically important fields. It takes part international and national programs and cooperates with a great number of Russian and foreign companies and enterprises. More than 75 catalysts and catalytic technologies have been created by BIC and industrially implemented. BIC’s products often are awarded prizes and diplomas at prestigious international forums and exhibitions.

The history of the Institute lists numerous prizes and awards to honor outstanding scientific success. Among them are The Red Banner of Labour (1969) for the scientific advance and training of high-skilled scientists and the International Gold Mercury Prize (1980) for the contribution to international scientific cooperation. In 1994 the status of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation was granted to the Institute under the Russian Government Decree.