Applied Chemistry
At the laboratories…

Development of high-performance catalysts for the sustainable
society in the field of energy and environment
Applied Chemistry Hydrocarbon Chemistry（Tomishige Laboratory）

In our everyday lives we are
surrounded by petroleum products,from the gasoline our cars need to thepolyesters used to produce the materials
for our clothes. Catalysts are used toreduce the activation energy required forchemical reactions and speed up thesereactions, while at the same time opening
up a variety of new routes. Thus,
catalysts play a vital role in theproduction of chemical products from oil.
Functional catalysts can also help toreduce the environmental impact ofCatalysts for the conversion of renewable and fossil resources

production processes. Our mission is todevelop new and more powerful catalysts for promoting material conversion processes for the purposeof efficient energy production and environmental harm minimization.
At the moment our research is focused on creating solid catalysts for converting biomass resources. For
instance, environmentally friendly hydrocarbon resources such as rice straw and wood scrap are readily
Professor of Applied Chemistry atthe Graduate School of Engineering
Doctor of ScienceKeiichi Tomishige
Graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan
Institute Fuji Senior High School in 1984.
Started a doctorate of chemistry at theGraduate School of Science, Universityof Tokyo in 1992 and left mid-way
through but eventually completed thecourse in 1997 (Doctorate of Science,Graduate School of Science, Universityof Tokyo). Served as Lecturer in Applied
Chemistry at the Graduate School ofEngineering, University of Tokyo,
followed by Associate Professor at theGraduate School of Pure and Applied
Sciences, University of Tsukuba, before
assuming current role in 2010. Motto ofthe Tomishige Laboratory: Persist until
you accomplish what you set out toachieve.

available and easily recycled, and could play a major role in the production of renewable chemicals andalternative fuels as oil reserves become exhausted. Likewise, natural gas harbors considerable potential
as a liquid fuel if efficient conversion processes can be developed. However it is currently much easier toconvert oil, so the aim therefore is to improve conversion efficiency. To this end, we are continuallydesigning, testing and analyzing new catalysts in a bid to find the optimum solution for each process.
In the future, we will see further advances in technology for conversion of non-petroleum basematerials used to make liquid fuels and chemicals, which could pave the way for the so-called hydrogenbased society. If we can develop processes for making hydrogen from a variety of renewable resources,
this would make a very significant contribution to solving the problem of global warming. Thus, one of
our key challenges is the development of viable hydrogen production technology.
Research into catalysts requires a very broad scope of scientific knowledge but also provides awide range of experiences. I believe that catalyst research embodies the very essence of what it is
to be a scientist.

Main research themes● Making solid catalysts for converting resources (design)● Elucidating the reaction mechanisms over solid catalysts● Developing catalysts for making hydrogen and synthesis gases from natural gas
and biomass● Developing catalytic reaction processes for producing biomass-derived chemicals● Developing catalysts for converting carbon dioxide into useful chemical products