A NATIONAL HISTORIC

CHEMICAL LANDMARK

THE HOUDRY
PROCESS
FOR THE CATALYTIC CONVERSION OF CRUDE
PETROLEUM TO HIGH-OCTANE GASOLINE

SUN COMPANY
MARCUS HOOK, PENNSYLVANIA

T h e Office o f P u b l i c O u t r e a c h
The Houdry Process Corporation laboratory i n Linwood, Pa.

T his booklet commemorates the designation of

The Houdry Process for the Catalytic Conver-
sion of Crude Petroleum to High-Octane Gaso-
line as a National Historic Chemical Landmark. The
designation was conferred by the American Chemical
Society, a nonprofit scientific and educational organiza-
tion of 150,000 chemists and chemical engineers.
ACS plaques marking the designation were pre-
sented to the Sun Company on April 13, 1996, for
installation at the Marcus Hook Refinery and the
Houdry Laboratories site in Linwood, Pennsylvania.
The inscriptions read: "The first full-scale commercial
catalytic cracker for the selective conversion of crude
petroleum to gasoline went on stream at the Marcus
Hook Refinery. Pioneered by Eugene Jules Houdry
(1892-1962), the catalytic cracking of petroleum revolu-
tionized the industry. The Houdry process conserved
natural oil by doubling the amount of gasoline produced
by other processes. It also greatly improved the gasoline
octane rating, making possible today's efficient, high-
compression automobile engines. During World War II,
the high-octane fuel shipped from Houdry plants played
a critical role in the Allied victory. The Houdry labora-
tories in Linwood became the research and development
center for this and subsequent Houdry inventions."

Acknowledgments:
The American Chemical Society gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the
scientists and historians who helped us to prepare this booklet, including:
G. Alex Mills, ACS Division of Fuel Chemistry; James E. McEvoy, ACS
Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry; and James J. Bohning of the
American Chemical Society, the NHCLP Advisory Committee liaison.
This booklet was produced by the ACS Office of Public Outreach. Production
Supervisor: Vivian Powers. Layout: Dahlman/Middour Design. Photographs
courtesy of the Sun Company and G. Alex Mills.
Background: The catalytic cracking
unit at Marcus Hook, Pa., 1938. Copyright © 1996 American Chemical Society
TRANSFORMING CRUDE OIL
INTO GASOLINE

C ommercial production of petroleum began i n

Titusville, Pennsylvania, i n 1859. T h e
internal combustion engine was developed soon
after, and the first gasoline-fueled "horseless
carriages" appeared o n A m e r i c a n streets i n 1895.
But since only wealthy people could afford them,
there were probably no more than 8000 automo-
biles i n the U n i t e d States by the turn of the
century.
Crude petroleum is a complex mixture o f
hydrocarbon molecules, compounds containing
carbon and hydrogen atoms. Initially, crude
petroleum was separated by distillation into frac-
tions distinguished by differences i n their boiling
points. Some higher-boiling fractions were used for
lighting and some for lubrication, but for many years,
little use was found for the gasoline component.
As the number of automobiles, trucks, and
tractors increased, the demand for gasoline i n -
creased, and by 1910—when there were 500,000
automobiles—a gasoline shortage had developed.
I t occurred to a few perceptive inventors that i t
might be possible to produce additional gasoline
from the unused, higher-boiling petroleum frac-
tions. I n 1913, Dr. W i l l i a m Burton of Standard
O i l of Indiana introduced a thermal-cracking
procedure that used high tempera-
ture and pressure to break down the
larger, higher-boiling molecules
into the smaller, lower-boiling
molecules found i n gasoline.
I t was recognized that more
efficient engine performance could
be achieved from a fuel that had a
higher "octane rating," the measure
of a fuel's efficiency i n a standard
engine. The first significant
increase i n octane rating was
obtained i n 1923, when Standard O i l of Indiana,
using a discovery o f Thomas Midgley, Jr., o f
General Motors, added tetraethyl lead to gasoline.
I n the early 1920s, the French engineer
Eugene Jules Houdry began his search for a catalyst
to produce gasoline from lignite. A catalyst is a
substance that can increase the rate at w h i c h a
chemical reaction occurs, without itself being
changed. Because it has the potential to produce
very selective results, such as the cracking of high-
boiling petroleum fractions to gasoline, a catalyst
can give a particular process a competitive advan-
tage. I n the 1920s, the science of catalysis was still
i n its infancy, and the business applications were
limited to the hydrogenation of vegetable oils to
make butter substitutes, the conversion o f atmo-
spheric nitrogen to make ammonia for fertilizers
and explosives, and the conversion of carbon
monoxide to make methanol or hydrocarbons.
T h e G u l f O i l Corporation had tried to replace the
energy-intensive thermal cracking of the higher-
boiling petroleum fractions w i t h an aluminum
chloride catalyst, but the results were n o t economi-
cally successful because the cost was too high.

The catalytic cracking unit at Marcus H o o k , 1938

THE HOUDRY PROCESS
A s an avid participant i n the sport of automo-
bile racing, Eugene Houdry was acutely aware
of the importance of high-performance fuels for
successful machine performance. A s a Frenchman,
Houdry was also aware of the growing need for
gasoline i n a country that was deficient i n its o w n
petroleum resources.
I n 1922, Houdry learned about an exceptional
gasoline derived from lignite that was being pro-
duced i n a catalytic procedure by E. A .
Prudhomme, a pharmacist i n Nice, France. Houdry
visited Prudhomme and persuaded h i m to move to
Beauchamp, near Paris, where Houdry and some of
his business associates financed and set up a labora-
tory. For the next few years, Houdry worked closely
w i t h Prudhomme and others to develop a workable
lignite-to-gasoline process.
Supported by the French government,
Houdry's syndicate built a demonstration plant that
processed 60 tons of lignite per day to produce o i l
and gasoline. T h e plant started operations i n June
1929, but the results were disappointing and the
process was n o t economically competitive. T h e
government subsidy was withdrawn, and the plant
was shut down i n that same year.
During the lignite-to-gasoline process, the
solid lignite was initially broken down by heat to
produce viscous hydrocarbon o i l and tars—then the
o i l was further converted by an added catalyst to
produce lower-boiling hydrocarbons similar to
the gasoline fraction derived from petroleum.
A l t h o u g h much emphasis had been placed by
others o n nickel-containing catalysts, Houdry
discovered that a clay mineral named Fuller's Earth,
a naturally occurring aluminosilicate, could convert
the o i l derived from lignite to a gasoline-like
product. W o r k i n g w i t h this knowledge, Houdry
focused his attention o n the application of catalysis
to petroleum processing.
I n 1930, H . F. Sheets of the Vacuum O i l
Company learned of Houdry's promising results
using a catalyst to convert vaporized petroleum to
gasoline, and invited h i m to come to the U n i t e d
States. After a successful trial run, Houdry moved
his laboratory and associates from France to
Paulsboro, N e w Jersey.
T h e Houdry Process Corporation was founded
i n 1931, a j o i n t venture of Houdry w i t h his associ-
ates at the Vacuum O i l
Company. T h a t same
year, Vacuum O i l merged
w i t h Standard O i l of N e w
York to form the Socony-
Vacuum O i l Company
(later M o b i l O i l Corpora-
t i o n ) . I n 1933, a 200-
barrel-per-day Houdry
u n i t was put i n operation.
Arthur Pew, Jr., in 1938 But the Great Depression
had weakened the o i l
business. Unable to finance Houdry's work any
further, Socony-Vaccuum gave h i m permission to
seek support from other petroleum companies.
I n late 1933, Houdry met w i t h Sun O i l C o m -
pany (later Sun Company) president J. Howard Pew
and vice president for refining A r t h u r Pew, Jr.
Shortly thereafter, Houdry, Socony-Vacuum, and
Sun signed a j o i n t development agreement. I n the
next few years, the Houdry process underwent
further changes, including an innovative method for
regenerating the catalyst after a short, ten-minute
usage time.
These results inspired Socony-Vacuum and
Sun to proceed to commercialization. I n A p r i l
1936, Socony-Vacuum converted an older
thermal-cracking unit i n Paulsboro into a
semi-works unit using the Houdry process.
I n March 1937, Sun's new, fully commercial
unit went into operation. Processing 15,000
barrels of petroleum per day, this u n i t
featured such innovations as a molten-salt
heat control technique and motor-operated
valves controlled by timers. A l m o s t 50
percent of the product was high-octane
gasoline, compared w i t h 25 percent from
the more conventional thermal processes.
W h e n Arthur Pew, Jr., presented the
details of the successful commercial process at
a 1938 meeting of the American Petroleum
Institute, the industry was astounded. A n
article i n Fortune magazine, entitled "Monsieur
Houdry's Invention," said Pew "had dropped a
bombshell." I n 1940, the first large-scale plant
for producing a synthetic silica-alumina
catalyst began operations i n Paulsboro.
IMPACT OF THE HOUDRY INVENTION
T he i n v e n t i o n and development of gasoline-
fueled motor vehicles has had a profound
influence o n human history—providing transport
for industrial products and employment for millions
and determining where and how we live, work, and
play. I n the U n i t e d States today, more than half of
the 300 m i l l i o n gallons of gasoline used each day to
fuel more than 150 m i l l i o n passenger cars is
produced by catalytic-cracking technology. H i g h -
octane gasoline paved the way to high compression-
ratio engines, higher engine performance, and
greater fuel economy.
T h e most dramatic benefit of the earliest
Houdry units was i n the production of 100-octane
aviation gasoline, just before the outbreak o f W o r l d
W a r I I . T h e Houdry plants provided a better
gasoline for blending w i t h scarce high-octane
components, as well as by-products that could be
converted by other processes to make more high-
octane fractions. T h e increased performance meant
that A l l i e d planes were better than A x i s planes by a
factor o f 15 petcent to 30 percent i n engine power
for take-off and climbing; 25 percent i n payload; 10
percent i n maximum speed, and 12 percent i n
operational altitude. I n the first six months of
1940, at the time of the Battle of Britain, 1.1
Sun Oil employees at a wartime rally.
IS.
World War I I billboard at the Marcus Hook Refinery.
m i l l i o n barrels per m o n t h of 100-octane aviation
gasoline was shipped to the Allies. Houdry plants
produced 90 percent of this catalytically cracked
gasoline during the first two years of the war.
T h e original Houdry process embodied several
innovative chemical and engineering concepts that
have had far-reaching consequences. For example,
the improvement of the octane rating w i t h catalytic
processes showed that the chemical composition o f
fuels was l i m i t i n g engine performance. Further,
aluminosilicate catalysts were shown to be efficient
i n improving the octane rating because they gener-
ated more highly branched isoparaffins and
aromatic hydrocarbons, w h i c h are responsible for
high octane ratings. From an economic standpoint,
the catalysts could be regenerated after a short usage
time, thus returning the catalyst to full activity
w i t h o u t having to add additional material.
T h e original fixed-bed Houdry Process units
have been outmoded by engineering advances that
transformed the fixed-bed to more economical
fluidized-bed systems and introduced the use of
crystalline aluminosilicate catalysts to provide
higher yields of gasoline. Yet i t is remarkable that,
seventy years after Houdry's discovery of the
catalytic properties of activated clay to convert
petroleum fractions to gasoline, the same funda-
mental principles that made the process a success
are still the primary basis for manufacturing gasoline
worldwide.
EUGENE JULES HOUDRY
B orn near Paris, France, on
A p r i l 18,1892, Eugene Jules
Houdry was the son of a wealthy
steel manufacturer. He studied
mechanical engineering at the Ecole
des Arts et Metiers i n Chalons-sur-
Marne, a Paris suburb. He graduated
in 1911, earning the French
government's gold medal for the
highest scholastic achievement i n his
class. He was captain of his school's
soccer team, which won the champi-
onship of France that same year.
Houdry joined his father's
business, but left for military training,
where he was at the outbreak of Eugene Houdry in
W o r l d War I . He served i n the
French army as a lieutenant i n the tank corps and i n
1917 was seriously wounded i n the battle of
Juvincourt, winning the Croix de Guerre for his
actions and later becoming a Chevalier of the Legion
of Honor.
After the war, Houdry rejoined his father at
Houdry et Fils, but by 1922 was making his way i n the
field of catalytic processes for the conversion of coal
and lignite to gasoline. His interest i n high-octane
gasoline was fueled by his avid interest i n automobile
engines and i n road racing, where he competed i n a
Bugatti racing car.
I n addition to the process for high-octane
gasoline, Houdry also invented a catalytic process for
the production of butadiene from the butane gas
derived from crude oil production. Butadiene became
an important resource during W o r l d War I I . I t was
one of the two components used i n the synthetic
rubber program initiated after natural rubber supplies
were eliminated by the war i n the Pacific.
Houdry was outspoken i n his opposition to
wartime collaboration w i t h the Germans by the
French V i c h y government of Marshall H e n r i
Petain. O n May 3, 1941, the Vichy government
declared that Houdry had lost his French citizen-
ship. He then became president of the U . S .
chapter of "France Forever"— an organization
dedicated to the support of General Charles de
Gaulle, the n o m i n a l head of the French govern-
ment i n exile—and i n January 1942, he became a
U n i t e d States citizen. His two sons, Jacques and
Pierre, served i n the U n i t e d States A r m y during
W o r l d W a r I I , and Houdry directed his efforts
towards industrial processes crucial to
the war effort.
After W o r l d War I I , Houdry formed
the Oxy-Catalyst Company and turned
his attention to reducing the health risks
associated w i t h the increasing amounts of
automobile and industrial air pollution.
His generic catalytic converter, which
greatly reduced the amount of carbon
monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons i n
automobile exhausts, was granted U.S.
Patent 2,742,437 i n 1956. Today,
catalytic converters made by various
companies are standard devices o n all
American cars.
1960 Houdry's colorful life was full of
great ambitions. His unusually productive
career was characterized by unique foresight, bold
imagination, creative leadership, persistence and, above
all, action. Houdry's contributions to catalytic technol-
ogy were recognized by numerous awards, including the
Potts Medal of the Franklin Institute i n 1948, the
Perkin Medal of the Society of Chemical Industry
(American Section) i n 1948, the E. V . Murphree
Award i n Industrial and Engineering Chemistry of the
American Chemical Society i n 1962, and posthumous
election to the National Inventors Hall of Fame i n
1990. He was awarded honorary Doctor of Science
degrees by Pennsylvania Military College i n 1940 and
by Grove City College i n 1943. I n 1967, the Catalysis
Society of N o r t h America established the Houdry
Award i n Applied Catalysis.
Houdry died on July 18, 1962, at the age of 70,
survived by his sons and his wife, Genevieve Quilleret.
A t that time he was actively working on creative ideas
for using catalytic processes to improve human health.
Eugene Houdry as a lieutenant in the tank corps of the French army
during World War I .
SUGGESTED READING

Eugene Houdry, W i l b u r F. Burt, A . E. Pew, Jr., and W . A . Harold F. W i l l i a m s o n , A r n o l d R. Daum, Ralph L .

Peters, Jr. "The Houdry Process." O i l and Gas Journal,
Engineering and Operating Section 37 ( N o v . 24, 1938):
40-45.
"Monsieur Houdry's I n v e n t i o n . " Fortune (1938/1939):
56.
Eugene J. Houdry. "Practical Catalysis and Its Impact o n
Our Generation." I n Advances in Catalysis, V o l . I X , ed. by
Adalbert Farkas (New York: Academic Press, Inc., 1957):
499-509.
Andreano, and Gilbert C. Klose. The American Petroleum
Industry. Vol.11. The Age of Energy, 1899-1959
(Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1963):
612-626.
A l e x O b lad. "The Contributions of Eugene J. Houdry to
the Development of Catalyic Cracking." I n Heterogenous
Catalysis: Selected American Histories, ed. by Burtron H .
Davis and W i l l i a m P. Hettinger (Washington, D C :
A m e r i c a n Chemical Society, 1983): 61-75.

"Houdry — Round-the-Clock Researcher." Chemical &
Engineering News (Jan. 12, 1959): cover, 76, 79.
Eugene Houdry. "Developpements et Tendances de la
Catalyse Industrielle." I n Actes du Deuxieme Congres
International de Catalyse (Paris: Technip, 1960): 149-158.
Charles G . Moseley. "Eugene Houdry, Catalytic Crack-
ing, and W o r l d W a r I I A v i a t i o n Gasoline." Journal of
Chemical Education 61 ( A u g . 1984): 65-66.
G . A l e x M i l l s . "Catalysis: T h e Craft A c c o r d i n g to
Houdry." C H E M T E C H 16 (Feb. 1986): 72-75.

"Eugene J. Houdry." Chemical & Engineering News Peter H . Spitz. Petrochemicals: The Rise of an Industry
( M a r c h 26, 1962): 90. (New York: John W i l e y & Sons, 1988): 123-127.

W . F. Faragher. "Eugene Jules Houdry." Chemistry and James E. McEvoy. "Citizen Houdry." C H E M T E C H 26
Industry (Oct. 27, 1962): 1870. (Feb. 1996): 6-10.

THE NATIONAL HISTORIC CHEMICAL LANDMARKS

PROGRAM OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

NATIONAL HISTORIC
CHEMICAL LANDMARK
T h e A C S N a t i o n a l Historic Chemical Landmarks Program recognizes our
scientific and technical heritage and encourages the preservation of historically THE HOUDRY PROCESS
important achievements and artifacts i n chemistry, chemical engineering, and the Sun Company
Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
chemical process industries. I t provides an annotated roster to remind chemists, 1937
chemical engineers, students, educators, historians, and travelers o f an inspiring The first fufi-scale commercial catalytic i
for the selective conversion of crude petrol
heritage that illuminates b o t h where we have been and where we might go when gasoline went on stream at the Marcus Hook R
Pioneered by Eugene Jules Houdry (1892-19621, the
catalytic cracking of petroleum revolutionized the
traveling the diverse paths to discovery. industry. The Houdry process cons
oil by doubting the amount of gasoline produced
by other processes. It also greatly improved the
A C S Historic Chemical Landmarks represent or are closely l i n k e d to seminal gasoline octane rating, making possible today's
efficient, high-compression automobile engines.
achievements i n the chemical sciences and technologies. A site designation marks During World War It, the high-octane fuel shipped
from Houdry plants played a critical role in
the Allied victory. The Houdry laboratories in
the location of an artifact, event, or other development of clear historical impor- linwood became the research and development
center for this and subsequent Houdry inventions.

tance to chemists and chemical engineers. A n historic collection designation marks

American Chemical Socii April 13, 19%
the contributions of a number of objects w i t h special significance to the historical
development of chemistry and chemical engineering.
This program began i n 1992, when the Division of the History of Chemistry
of the A C S formed an international Advisory Committee. T h e committee, composed of chemists, chemical engineers,
and historians of science and technology, works w i t h the A C S Office of Public Outreach and is assisted by the Chemical
Heritage Foundation. Together, these organizations provide a public service by examining, noting, recording, and
acknowledging particularly significant achievements i n chemistry and chemical engineering. For further information,
please contact the A C S Office of Public Outreach, 1155 Sixteenth Street, N . W . , Washington, D . C . 20036;
1-800-227-5558, Ext. 6293.
The American Chemical Society
R o n a l d Breslow, President
Paul S. A n d e r s o n , President-Elect
Joan E. Shields, Board C h a i r m a n
J o h n K C r u m , Executive D i r e c t o r
A n n B . Messmore, D i r e c t o r , Public O u t r e a c h
A C S Division of the History of Chemistry
Joseph B . Lambert, C h a i r m a n
Harold Goldwhite, Chairman-Elect
V e r a V . M a i n z , Secretary-Treasurer
A C S Division of Industrial and Engineering
Chemistry
R a l p h C . Gatrone, C h a i r m a n
Dale L . Perry, C h a i r m a n - E l e c t
N a n c y B . Jackson, Secretary
D o n a l d R. Beuerman, Treasurer
James E. M c E v o y , C h a i t m a n ,
Public O u t r e a c h C o m m i t t e e
A C S Division of Fuel Chemistry
D o n a l d C . Cronauer, C h a i r m a n
Jerald H u f f m a n , C h a i r m a n - E l e c t
Larry L . A n d e r s o n , Secretary
A n t h o n y V . C u g i n i , Treasurer
A C S Division of Petroleum Chemistry
James F. Brazdil, C h a i r m a n
N o r m a n W . Standish, C h a i t m a n - E l e c t
M i c h a e l W . Potter, Secretary
Lisa J. N a s h , Treasurer
American Chemical Society
1155 S i x t e e n t h Street, N . W .
W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . 20036
Sun Company
Robert H . Campbell, C h a i r m a n , C E O and
President
S h e l d o n L . T h o m p s o n , Seniot V i c e President
and C h i e f A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Officer
J o h n A . Rossi, Marcus H o o k Refinery Manager
Historical Site Planning Committee
S h a n n o n G . Breuer, S u n C o m p a n y
T h e o d o r e A . Burtis, S u n C o m p a n y
Beverly M . D o t t a r , S u n C o m p a n y
Eileen A . I m p r i a n o , S u n C o m p a n y
James E. Lyons, S u n C o m p a n y
James E. M c E v o y , A C S D i v i s i o n o f I n d u s t r i a l
and Engineering C h e m i s t r y
G . A l e x M i l l s , A C S D i v i s i o n o f Fuel C h e m i s t r y
S o n i O . O y e k a n , A I C h E , Fuels and
Petrochemicals D i v i s i o n
A C S Advisory Committee on
National Historic Chemical Landmarks
Chairman: Ned D . Heindel, Lehigh University
James J. B o h n i n g , A m e r i c a n C h e m i c a l Society
Jon B . E k l u n d , N a t i o n a l M u s e u m o f
American History
Yasu Furukawa, T o k y o D e n k i U n i v e r s i t y
L e o n G o r t l e r , B r o o k l y n College
Paul R. Jones, U n i v e r s i t y o f N e w H a m p s h i r e
James W . L o n g , U n i v e r s i t y o f O r e g o n
Peter J. T . M o r r i s , N a t i o n a l M u s e u m o f Science
and Industry, L o n d o n
M a r y Jo N y e , O r e g o n State U n i v e r s i t y
Stanley I . Proctor, Jr., Proctor C o n s u l t i n g
Services
D a v i d J. Rhees, B a k k e n Library and M u s e u m
Jeffrey L . S t u r c h i o , M e r c k & C o . , I n c .
A n n C . H i g g i n s , A C S Staff L i a i s o n