Professor Michael Claeys
Director: c*change
Centre for Catalysis Research
Department of Chemical Engineering
Building No 54, Cnr Ring Road and South Lane
Upper Campus, University of Cape Town
Private Bag X3
7701 Rondebosch
South Africa
Tel: + 27 21 650 4440
Fax: + 27 21 650 5501
Email: michael.claeys@uct.ac.za
Qualification
1997 Doctorate Chemical Engineering (Dr.-Ing.), mark: “Mit Auszeichnung bestanden” (“passed with distinction”), University of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany; supervisor: Prof. H. Schulz
1992 MSc Chemical Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) University of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany; supervisor: Prof. H. Schulz
Employment History
Oct 2004 to present
Director of DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Catalysis, c*change (since Jan 2008), host institution: Centre for Catalysis Research, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town
Programme management (synthesis gas programme) in DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Catalysis (c*change)
Focus: synthesis gas conversion, “methanol” mediated and Fischer-Tropsch based, with emphasis on their potential for formation of different products (selectivity); fundamental understanding and process, catalyst and selectivity model development
Structure: collaboration of 4 national and 1 international institution; 5 projects (8 sub projects), currently: 8 MSc, 8 PhD students, 2 Post-Doc’s, and 9 academic collaborators.
Jan 2001 to present
Full Professor (since Jan. 2010) / Associate Professor (since Jan. 2007) / Honorary Senior Lecturer (since Jan. 2003) / Senior Research Officer, University of Cape Town, Department of Chemical Engineering, Catalysis Research Unit
Jan 1998 to Dec 2000
Post-doctoral research, Centre for Catalysis Research, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town
April 1993 to Dec. 1997
Scientific assistant, University of Karlsruhe, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Engler-Bunte-Institute, Chemistry & Technology of Natural Gas, Petroleum and Coal (Prof. H. Schulz)
Oct 1992 to Dec 1992
Participation in an international exchange programme (“Project related exchange of scientists with Great Britain”, ARC-Project, financed by DAAD) between University of Karlsruhe (Prof. H. Schulz) and Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London (Prof. D. Chadwick)
Publications
Selected Publications
M. Claeys
“Cobalt gets in shape”
Nature 538 (2016) 44
Fischer, E. van Steen, M. Claeys
“Preparation of supported nano-sized cobalt oxide and fcc cobalt crystallites”
Submitted for publication in Topics in Catalysis
Claeys, E. van Steen, S. Kelly, K. Visagie, J. van de Loosdrecht, I. Krylov
“Development of a magnetometer for operando catalysts characerisation”
Submitted for publication in Topics in Catalysis
E.I. Mabaso, E. van Steen, M. Claeys
“Novel preparation method for nano-sized iron oxide crystallites”
Submitted for publication
E.I. Mabaso, E. van Steen, M. Claeys
“Effect of crystallite size in iron-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis”
Submitted for publication
van Steen, E.L. Viljoen, J. van de Loosdrecht, M. Claeys
“Exploring the enhanced intrinsic activity of cobalt supported on vanadium-modified alumina Fischer-Tropsch catalysts” Submitted for publication
L.D. Biquiza, M. Claeys, E. van Steen
“Thermodynamic and experimental aspects of ‘supercritical’ Fischer–Tropsch synthesis”
Fuel Processing Technology 91 (2010) 1250–1255
Grobler, M. Claeys, E. van Steen, M.J. Janse van Vuuren
“GCxGC: a novel technique for investigating selectivity in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis”
Catalysis Communications, 10 (2009) 1674-1680
van Steen, M. Claeys
“Fischer-Tropsch catalysts for the biomass-to-liquid process”
Chemical Engineering and Technology31, 5 (2008) 655-666
Welker, N.S. Phala, J.R. Moss, M. Claeys*, E. van Steen
“Theoretical Feasibility of CO-Activation and Fischer-Tropsch Chain Growth on Mono- and Diatomic Ru Complexes”
Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical288, 1-2 (2008) 75-82
van Steen, E.L. Viljoen, J. van de Loosdrecht, M. Claeys
“Evaluation of molybdenum-modified alumina support materials for Co-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts”
Appl. Catal. A: Gen, 355 (2008) 56-63
Bungane, C. Welker, E. van Steen, J.R. Moss, M. Claeys
“Fischer-Tropsch CO-Hydrogenation on SiO2-supported Osmium Complexes”
Z. Naturforsch.63b (2008) 1-4
van Steen, E.L. Viljoen, M. Claeys
“A DFT-study on the acidity of Mo–O–Al-clusters”
Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 266 (1-2) (2007) 254-259
N.S. Govender, M. Janse van Vuuren, M. Claeys, E. van Steen
“Importance of the Usage Ratio in Iron-Based Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis with Recycle”
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 45(25) (2006) 8629-8633
Barkhuizen, E.I. Mabaso, E. Viljoen, C. Welker, M. Claeys, E. van Steen, J.C.Q. Fletcher
“Experimental approaches to the preparation of supported metal nano-particles”
Pure & Applied Chemistry78/9 (2006) 1759-1769
Y.Q. Zhuang, M. Claeys, E. van Steen
“Novel synthesis route for egg-shell, egg-white and egg-yolk type of cobalt on silica catalysts”
Applied Catalysis A: General 301 (2006) 138-142
