Invent Now | Hall of Fame | Search





			Charles W. Tyson Born Mar 14 1905 - Died May 30 1977 Method of and Apparatus for Contacting Solids and Gases Catalytic Cracking Patent Number(s) 2,451,804 Inducted 1999 Charles "Wes" Tyson and his three co-inventors at Exxon Research & Engineering Co. (ER&E), called the Four Horsemen, were part of a team responsible for developing fluid catalytic cracking, the process that produces over half the world’s gasoline. They developed the process in 1942, and the first commercial fluid cat cracking facility went on-line on May 25, 1942. In the 1930s, ER&E was looking for a way to increase the yield of high-octane gasoline from crude oil. Researchers discovered that a finely powdered catalyst behaved like a fluid when mixed with oil in the form of vapor. During the cracking process, a catalyst will split hydrocarbon molecule chains into smaller pieces. These smaller, or cracked, molecules then go through a distillation process to retrieve the usable product. During the cracking process, the catalyst becomes covered with carbon; the carbon is then burned off and catalyst can be re-used. Invention Impact Process that produces over half the world’s gasoline Inventor Bio Tyson was born in Chicago, Illinois. In 1930, after receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from MIT, he joined ER&E. He served as director of the Petroleum Development Division before his appointment in 1961 as special assistant to the vice president of ER&E. At his retirement in 1962, Tyson held over 50 patents, mainly in the petroleum processing area.