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Additionally, the dual-zeolite feature delivers increased naph- THE CATALYST GROUP RESOURCES
tha octane, higher LPG olefins yield, as well as ultra-high activ-
JOHN J. MURPHY is the president of The Catalyst
ity to help maintain unit heat balance. Group Resources (TCGR), the information services
The ACHIEVE series was developed as a tailor-made so- component of The Catalyst Group (TCG). TCGR
lution and optimized to meet specific refinery opportunities monitors and analyzes technical and commercial
developments in catalysis as applied to global
while not exceeding the refinerys constraints, said Schiller. refining, petrochemical, polymer, fine/specialty and
We are proud of our close customer partnerships and a broad environmental industries. Mr. Murphy develops,
product portfolio built on talent, technology and trust. We are manages and contributes to member-directed
ready to work with refiners to select the catalysts with the right programs and multi-client studies. He graduated
from Bowdion College with an AB degree in
balance of operational flexibility, product capability and over- chemistry and has an MBA from Lehigh University.
all value to meet their requirements.
GRACE CATALYSTS TECHNOLOGIES
Advances in hydroprocessing. Criterion Catalysts and Tech- ROSANN SCHILLER is marketing director
nologies is launching a series of new hydroprocessing catalysts for Grace Catalysts Technologies, based in
Columbia, Maryland. She has been with
based on its ASCENT technology platform. The results of an Grace for 16 years, and has held a variety of
extensive high-throughput experimental program indicate that roles in FCC technical service, sales, product
refiners can expect a 10%20% increase in activity. Signifi- management and marketing. Ms. Schiller holds
an MSE degree in chemical engineering.
cantly, the gains come without compromising other key features
of the catalysts: notably, their limited hydrogen consumption,
good physical properties, lower density and ease of regenera-
tionall of which make ASCENT technology an outstanding
system for many distillate hydrotreating and cracker feed pre- David Aldous, CEO of Rive Technology. With the recent
treatment applications. debottlenecking of our supply chain, we expect to see acceler-
Although highly active Type II catalysts have taken cen- ated commercial adoption of our technology within the indus-
ter stage recently, with Criterions class-leading CENTERA try in 2015.
technology being a prime example, mixed Type I/II catalysts
still have much to offer in terms of all-around performance, More refining news. Dewaxing technology that favors
said Safa George, Criterions vice president for catalyst R&D. isomerization over cracking to preserve diesel stream volume is
There are refiners with low- to medium-pressure units or that available from catalyst/process providers such as Haldor Topse,
are short of hydrogen, and they are just as keen to raise conver- Shell/Criterion and UOP/ExxonMobil. Clariant is also a sup-
sion, extend run lengths and process tougher feeds. This is why plier of dewaxing catalysts. All hydrocracking catalyst companies
ASCENT has remained a key part of our portfolio for 10 years. have focused on distillate selective grades for jet/kerosine and
The new catalysts represent third-generation technology. diesel. With the recent agreement between Advanced Refining
We started by optimizing the supports pore structure and then Technologies (ART) and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), all
turned to the balance between the metallic [cobalt (Co) and competitors have catalyst and process connections either in-
nickel (Ni)] and non-metallic promoters and the molybdenum house or via agreements and alliances.
(Mo) in the catalysts, said George. This latest advance is linked Slurry hydrocracking using nano catalysts offers a step
to improved dispersion of the active sites on the support and has change upward in resid conversion; in particular, the Eni Slurry
borrowed from manufacturing techniques used to make CEN- Technology (EST) process is operating at an industrial level
TERA catalysts. Over time, we have continually enhanced what at this time. Use of refinery-type processes based on FCC and
ASCENT technology has to offer. These latest products border hydrotreating technology to produce second-generation biofu-
on the activity normally associated with pure Type II catalysts. els remains a niche application.
The first catalysts offered to customers include CoMo (DC- The continuing global shift from gasoline to distillates and
2535) and NiMo (DN-3532) for distillate hydrotreating. The petrochemicals will encourage new products for all catalytic
latter is intended for tougher feeds. In a range of tests, NiMo processes. Expansion of hydraulic fracturing will result in the
(DN-3532) has shown a sharp increase of about 20% in rela- application of LTO catalysts and also to process improvements
tive volume desulfurization activity over its predecessor. Cri- in regions outside the US.
terion is also introducing a new hydrocracker feed pretreat-
ment catalyst, NiMo (DN-3552); it has at least 20% higher WHAT IS NEW IN PETROCHEMICALS?
desulfurization and denitrogenation activity than the previous According to TCGRs John Murphy, a number of new
benchmark product and does not consume any more hydrogen. process developments have been announced, including:
Hydroprocessing is a complex business: no two units are Aromatics. The main thrust has been to develop new
the same, and refiners business drivers also vary widely, said catalysts, adsorbents and process schemes aimed at
George. We have to maintain a strong portfolio of catalysts to improving the economics and energy efficiencies of
add value to individual applications. producing primarily p-xylene. Gevo is developing
a route to renewable p-xylene.
Newcomer to catalyst development. Rive Technology, a Organic syntheses. The most significant development
developer of innovative materials-based solutions for catalytic in this area is a new BP process to produce acetic acid
and separations processes in the petroleum refining and chemi- from syngas that eliminates methanol as an intermediate
cals industries, is commercializing the molecular highway zeo- and avoids the need for corrosive iodides. A novel
lite technology for FCC in collaboration with Grace Catalysts business/technology development is the production
Technologies. The molecular highway technology improves of ethanol from acetic acid, commercialized in China
the mass transfer into and within the zeolite crystals of catalysts by Celanese, and intended to essentially produce fuel
and adsorbents through a series of larger mesopores within ethanol from coal.
the zeolite. In FCCUs, the mesopores, or molecular highways, Oxidation. There have been several developments in
significantly improve diffusion into and out of the zeolite crys- this category, dealing with productions that are made via
tals of the FCC catalyst, leading to improved coke selectivity, oxidation but with processes utilizing different routes.
enhanced bottoms upgrading, decreased dry gas production, A startup company, Novomer, is developing a route
and enhanced C3= and C4= yields. to react carbon monoxide (CO) with ethylene oxide
Rive Technology is also working with Zeolyst and Crite- to produce acrylic acid; it is in the early stage of work.
rion to develop and commercialize hydrocracking catalysts Eastman Chemical Co. and Johnson Matthey Davy
incorporating molecular highway technology. Initial work Technologies have announced a process to produce
for middle distillate applications has shown significantly en- ethylene glycol from syngas (but not passing through
hanced diesel selectivity. The companies anticipate product oxalates as an intermediate, as is being practiced in
availability in 2016. Additionally, Rive continues to work with China), starting from coal.
several leading oil and chemical companies, as well as technol- Syngas and derivatives. Haldor-Topse A/S has
ogy providers to those industries, on additional high-value announced several improvements in reforming and
applications of molecular highway technology. low-temperature shift catalysts. For methanol, the news
Rive continues to demonstrate value to refiners through is the resurgence of methanol production in
application of molecular highway technology in FCC, said North America, thanks to low-cost shale gas methane,
with plants being moved by Methanex from South feedstock; and the other, a Chinese technology
America, mothballed plants being started up, and based on corn as a feedstock.
new plants being constructed. o Several technologies are being developed, with plants
Hydrogenation. There have been noteworthy announced to produce bio-butadieneone via
developments in higher-efficiency catalysts for acetylene bio-butanol by Cobalt Technologies, and several
hydrogenation and the hydrogenation of edible oils involving Genomatica via bio-butanediol.
and fatty acids. o In bio-butanol, two organizations are developing
Dehydrogenation and olefins. Several technologies technology to produce isobutanolGevo, with an
are now under development in Japan and China operating plant that was converted from ethanol
to dehydrogenate butenes to butadiene. A novel production; and Butamax, a JV between BP and
development by INVISTA and LanzaTech, in New DuPont, with a similar technology and business plan.
Zealand, is intended to produce butadiene from o Several projects are under development, utilizing
waste CO via 2,3-butandiol. In ethylene, Braskem, licenses of Genomaticas one-step process to convert
is supporting a demonstration plant by the startup sugars to bio-1,3-butanediol, with BASF and
company Siluria, which has announced the development Novamont both building plants. Other organizations
of methane-coupling technology to produce ethylene. including Myriant and BioAmber, are developing
Also, ExxonMobil has announced that its new ethylene routes to biobutanediol, based on converting
plant in Singapore can crack crude oil, thus eliminating renewable feedstocks to succinic acid, which is then
the need to first produce naphtha for feedstock purposes. hydrogenated using Davy Process Technology, which
Chemicals from biomass. Many developments are also produce co-products tetrahydrofuran (THF)
occurring in the area of chemical process technology and gamma butyrolactone (GBL).
based on sugars and other biomass feedstocks. The most In 2015, it is important to focus on market and value cre-
important developments involve current or planned ation, said McGinley. This will require new products, new
production plants for bio-ethylene, bio-butadiene, bio- geographic markets and new processes/technology using cost-
butanol and bio-1,3-butanediol: advantaged feedstocks. This is not for the faint-hearted; it re-
o Bio-ethylene is being produced by at least two quires creativity and risk, as well as investment. But some posi-
organizationsone based on glycerin, a renewable tive signs are finally emerging that justify these changes.
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