Yttrium:
Although I chose to research Yttrium based on my lack of knowledge about it, as it turns out, it's more pervasive in our culture than I had known. This transition metal has a silvery white luster, but is possibly most commonly experienced in its application for making the red components of cathode ray tube television displays.Besides bringing 1/3 of TV images to the planet, uses of Yttrium range from cancer treatment, to laser and LED production, to the creation of synthetic garnet (which happens to be my birthstone) and use in semiconductors.
Yttrium is not present in a pure state on Earth, but does appear with great frequency in rare metals, and with greater abundance in samples from the Moon than in our terrestrial surface.
The element is named for the town nearest the locus of its first discovery, Ytterby, Sweden where it was first found in 1787.
Catalyst(s)!
In researching catalysts, I came upon a topic that interested me right away - natural gas production. It turns out that several petro-fuel alternatives are produced through a process named for two scientists: Fischer and Tropsch. Several catalysts are used in the process, including Cobalt, Ruthenium, and Iron. Nickel is used when the desired gas is methane.
The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis names both the combustion of hydrocarbons, and the gasification of natural gas, coal or other biomass. The synthetic fuel produced by the Fischer-Tropsch process can be used to power diesel vehicles.
This site is a compendium of links if you'd like to learn more about the bio-fuel synthesis process
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