- Leonid Andrussow
Leonid Andrussow (*28. November 1896 in
Riga ; †15. December 1988 nearParis ) was a German chemical engineer. He developed the process for the production ofhydrogen cyanide based on the oxidation of ammonia and methane, which is named after himAndrussow oxidation .Biography
Leonid Andrussow was born in Riga, Latvia. His father Woldemar Georg, who earned his law degree at the University of St. Petersburg, was general counsel for the Russian Railroads in Riga. He was of Swedish and Baltic ancestry, the original family name being Andersohn. Leonid Andrussow was graduated in chemical engineering from the University of Riga. During the Russian Revolution, he served as a White cavalry officer, and in 1920 was captured by the
Bolshevik s in Turkestan. He was imprisoned on an island nearBaku , and then transferred to the infamous Cheka prison, Lubianka in Moscow. He was released after only three months, when it became apparent that he had malaria. He moved to Berlin, where he attended the Friedrich Wilhelms University, earning his doctorate in chemistry in 1926 under Walter Nernst. His thesis title was "Über die katalytische Ammoniakoxydation." In 1926, he married Irmgard Von Bredow, with whom he had six children. In 1927, he began his research in rocket fuels, working atBASF , then I.G. Farben, inLudwigshafen . According to Leon Green, Jr., of the Air Force Systems Command, Andrussow was probably the first person, in 1937, to conceive of the idea of a rocket propellant consisting of both liquid and solid components. See External link (p. I.6). He continued his work in catalytical processes, registering many patents for I.G. Farben, including that which became known as the "Andrussow Process." From 1946 on, he lived in Grenoble, and later in Paris. He became a member of the French Academy of Sciences, and in 1969, edited Bd. II, Eigenschaften der Materie in ihren Aggregatzuständen. Teil 5a, Transportphänomene I (Viskosität und Diffusion) of the Landolt-Börnstein Zahlenwerte und Funktionen. He died in Paris at the age of 92 years.Work
* Based on the theory of fast running catalytical processes, which was developed in 1927, the oxidative synthesis of hydrogen cyanide from ammonia and methane was found in 1930 and developed to an industrial stage. This process, which is known as the “Andrussow Process”, is the most important method for the industrial production of hydrogen cyanide as a preliminary product for the synthesis of polyamide 66 (
nylon ) and foracrylic glass (polymethyl methacrylate).
* 1932 Work on the catalytical alkylation with ether for the industrial production of purest dimethylaniline.
* Conversion of tetrachlorethane to methylene chloride and trichlorethylene.
* Numerous works on rocket fuels, among others the introduction of the system nitric acid and amines or other fuels. Collaboration during the development of theV-2 rocket in Stromberg. Addition of laughing gas for the substantial increase of flying velocity at high altitudes.
* Advisory function in France coupled to the further development of the theory of catalytical processes: Sulphuric acid anhydride, formaldehyde, synthesis of ammonia.
* Numerous studies on the transport properties of gases and liquids, inclusive macromolecules.
* Author of Transportphänomene I (Viskosität und Diffusion), Bd. II, Teil 5a (1969) ofLandolt-Börnstein Zahlenwerte und Funktionen aus Physik, Chemie, Astronomie, Geophysik und Technik. 6. Aufl.In 1927 he demonstrated that
methane andammonia react in the presence ofoxygen at about 1200 °C over aplatinum catalyst: [cite journal
title = Über die schnell verlaufenden katalytischen Prozesse in strömenden Gasen und die Ammoniak-Oxydation (V)
author =Leonid Andrussow
journal = Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft
volume = 60
issue = 8
pages = 2005–2018
year = 1927
url =
doi = 10.1002/cber.19270600857 ] [cite journal
title = Über die katalytische Oxydation von Ammoniak-Methan-Gemischen zu Blausäure (The catalytic oxidation of ammonia-methane-mixtures to hydrogen cyanide)
author = L. Andrussow
journal =Angewandte Chemie
volume = 48
issue = 37
pages = 593–595
year = 1935
url =
doi = 10.1002/ange.19350483702 ]
CH4 + NH3 + 1.5O2 → HCN + 3H2O
The energy needed for the reaction is provided by the part oxidation of methane and ammonia.References
External links
* [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19960050012_1996067009.pdf] , p. I.6.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.