Catalysis Today 353 (2020) 1–2
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Preface
International symposium on advances in hydroprocessing of oil fraction (ISAHOF 2019)
This special issue is a compilation of selected full manuscripts,
which were presented during the International Symposium on
Advances in Hydroprocessing of Oil Fractions (ISAHOF 2019). The
congress was held in Mazatlán, Mexico during June 2019. A total of 24
papers were accepted for publication.
Mazatlán is a Mexican city and beach on the Pacific coast, just
across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula. The
city was started in 1531. By the mid-1800s a large group of immigrants
had arrived from Germany. These new citizens made Mazatlán into a
successful commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby
gold and silver mines. They also influenced the music, “banda”, which
is a form of Bavarian folk music, and also started the Pacific Brewery on
March 14, 1900.
Mazatlán is the Mexico's largest commercial port. It is also a popular
tourist destination, with its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry
across the Gulf of California from Mazatlán to La Paz, Baja California Sur
exists. Mazatlán is served by General Rafael Buelna International Airport.
Set at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains on a peninsula that
extends into the Pacific Ocean, Mazatlán is one of the Mexican Riviera’s
premier resort areas. Its remarkable scenic beauty is complemented by
a delightful festive atmosphere and a wealth of exciting activities.
Although Mazatlán is one of Mexico’s most popular vacation destina-
tions, it has another identity as the largest port in Mexico, with a
bustling economy independent of the tourism industry.
The City is concentrated in two areas: In the north, there is the Zona
Dorada (Golden Zone) where the majority of hotels and restaurants are
located. In the south there is El Centro (downtown) where the heart of
the city is. These two centres are linked by Avenue Del Mar, also known
as the Malecón, which is a scenic beach-front avenue that bridges the
gap between the two areas.
Since the first ISAHOF held in the City of Oaxaca, México in 2004,
this symposium has become one of most the preferred event for the
international community to share new findings in the area of hydro-
processing of oil fractions. Not only because of the high technical
quality of the lectures presented at the symposium, but also by the
social activities that are organized, which include delicious Mexican
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food, music and environment, that allow all the participants for es-
tablishing friendly relationships, and discussing scientific collabora-
tions.
The following plenary lectures were delivered by experts in different
fields of catalytic hydroprocessing:
Muthanna Al-Dahhan, Missouri University of Science and
Technology, USA, "Catalyst utilization and hydrodynamics of hydro-
treating trickle beds packed with industrial catalyst shapes"
Jamal Chaouki, Polytechnique Montréal, Canada, “The develop-
ment of industrial (thermal and catalytic) processes in a context of
sustainability: application to heavy oil”
Jorge Ramírez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
MEXICO, “Interaction of different molecules with the hydrogenation
and desulfurization sites of NiMoS supported particles with different
morphology”
Abdulazim Marafi, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait,
“Gas oil hydrotreating for ULSD production: testing methodology and
potential approaches”
Eight oral sessions were organized, which were chaired by the fol-
lowing persons:
“Hydrotreating of petroleum fractions 1″, Yanet Villasana (Ecuador)
and Maxim Kazakov (Russia)
“Hydrotreating of petroleum fractions 2″, Ksenia Nadeina (Russia)
and Mohan S. Rana (Kuwait)
“Production of biofuels”, Jamal Chaouki (Canada) and Pablo Torres
(Mexico)
“Synthesis and characterization of catalysts”, Ekaterina V.
Parkhomchuk (Russia) and Jorge Ramírez (Mexico)
“Process aspects”, Nilesh Chandak (UAE) and Fernando Alonso
(Mexico)
“Kinetic and reactor modeling”, Abdulazim Marafi (Kuwait) and
Rafael Maya (Mexico)
“Miscelaneous topics 1″, Muthanna Al-Dahhan (USA) and Mauricio
J. Angeles (Mexico)
“Miscelaneous topics 2″, Arno de Klerk (Canada) and William
McCaffrey (Canada)
Preface Catalysis Today 353 (2020) 1–2

Two poster sessions were also organized, in which the participants
discussed face-to-face their recent research work, in a Mexican en-
vironment with snacks and drinks.
The guest editors would like to acknowledge all the contributors and
referees who carefully reviewed the manuscripts.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo for its finantial
support.
Jorge Ancheyta*
Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas 152, Col. San
Bartolo Atepehuacan, Mexico City 07730 Mexico
Muthanna Al-Dahhan
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Missouri University
of Science and Technology, 100 Bertelsmeyer Hall, 1101 N. State St. Rolla,
MO 65409-1230, United States
Vicente Sámano
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
E-mail address: ancheyta.jorge@gmail.com (J. Ancheyta),

⁎
Corresponding author.