Biography
Pfefferle studied chemical engineering at Drexel University. He took a doctorate in physical chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania.
From 1952 to 1956, he worked at Standard Oil of Indiana (now part of BP).
In 1956 he moved to Engelhard Industries, Iselin, NJ. While at Engelhard he invented "Magnaforming", a technique that now creates a large amount of the world's gasoline. He pioneered "permeation mediated catalysis" and developed phosphoric acid fuel cells.
Nicknamed the "father of catalytic combustion", Pfefferle invented the original catalytic combustor for gas turbine engines in the early 1970s. Gas turbines work by mixing fuel with compressed and heated air, which burns and generates energy to turn the turbines. Unfortunately, nitrogen oxide gases, which contribute to global warming, are emitted during this process. Pfefferle developed a process using a catalyst to allow combustion while forming minimal amounts of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.
In 1977, Pfefferle founded William C. Pfefferle Associates, which he continued until 1986. He worked on several projects included a heavy oil burning downhole steam system for Dresser Industries.
In 1986, Pfefferle co-founded Precision Combustion in North Haven, Connecticut. Pfefferle helped to develop clean and efficient catalytic combustion technologies for combustion engines. He also invented the "Microlith" catalytic reactor for automobiles and fuel processing, and the RCL catalytic combustor for ground-power gas turbine machines.
Pfefferle received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Gas Turbine Award in 2003. Also in 2003, he received the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Industrial Innovation Award. He was survived by his wife Eleanor, whom he married in 1950.
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