Advancing catalyst technologies and a focus on plant optimization/efficiency

Lee Nichols, Vice President/Editor-in-Chief

For nearly 100 yr, catalysts have been used within the processing industries. These technologies have revolutionized the way refiners and petrochemical producers process hydrocarbons into the various products used in everyday life.

As such, Hydrocarbon Processing has followed the development and evolution of catalyst technology for decades. Hundreds of case studies have been published in the publication on this topic, each providing the latest advancements in optimizing plant operations.

The focus on catalyst technology is such an important topic within the refining and petrochemical industries that Hydrocarbon Processing has devoted an entire issue’s Special Focus section to this technology.

Catalyst technologies and testing. This issue’s Special Focus section provides several technical articles on catalyst technologies and services that are advancing the hydrocarbon processing industries:

1. Two technical articles focus on the topic of reforming. The first article, “Developments in reforming catalysts: A never-ending story,” details the initial work performed in the early 2000s to improve the manufacture of continuous catalytic reforming (CCR) catalysts. The article then details recent developments in the fixed-bed and CCR catalysts fields. In “Reliable naphtha reforming catalyst testing,” the authors provide a novel test design that enables refiners to compare the performance of various CCR catalysts.
2. A third technical article, “Development and commercialization of a novel olefins removal catalytic technology,” details the development of a new proprietary catalyst technology to remove olefins from aromatic-rich hydrocarbon streams. The commercialization of this catalyst technology is detailed in a case study conducted at one of Reliance Industries Ltd.’s aromatic plants.

These articles comprise a portion of this issue’s focus on optimizing plant efficiency and processing operations. Other topics include defossilizing fluid catalytic cracking by blending biogenic and/or residual oils into the unit’s feedstock, an analysis of cost-effective carbon capture and storage technologies, how advanced analytic solutions can be used in maintenance and reliability applications and the challenges of producing ultra-low-sulfur fuels and high-performance gasoline, among others. HP