The US market for petrochemical and refining catalysts is currently about $2.7 billion and will increase to about $3.2 billion at a growth of 3.0%/year (Table 1), according to a technical market research report “Petrochemical (Petroleum and Chemical) Catalysts” from Business Communications Company Inc., Norwalk, Conn.
The report classifies petrochemical catalysts as chemical process catalysts and refinery catalysts, which are used in petroleum refineries for the express purpose of producing fuel products.
The report estimates the current chemical catalyst market at about $1.9 billion, growing at 3.2%/year to $2.2 billion in 2010. This includes six major categories: hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, organic syntheses, oxidation, polymerization, and syngas processes.
Most of the market for chemical catalysts comes from polymerization, which in 2005 accounted for $846.5 million or nearly 45% of the total market, according to the report. It will continue to dominate the market through 2010; demand for polymerization catalysts will grow about 4.5%/year through 2010.
The report divides the segments in refining based on major petroleum refining catalytic processes-alkylation, FCC, hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, isomerization, and catalytic reforming.
Refining catalysts comprise a smaller market than chemical catalysts. The report estimates refining catalyst sales of $851.4 million in 2005, which will grow at 3.2%/year to about $999 million in 2010. Since BCC’s last report, this market is smaller due to less growth in refinery catalysts, fierce competition, and price-cutting.
Increased demand for reformulated and other less-polluting gasolines mandated by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 have spurred the growth in petroleum catalysts, according to the study.
Importance of catalysts
According to the report, about one third of the entire US gross domestic product involves catalysts somewhere along the manufacturing chain. Applications that require catalysts range from high-octane fuel, plastics, pharmaceutical products, and fertilized food.
Although this report examines the chemical market from a national standpoint, its global aspects are important. The greatest growth in catalyst sales is occurring in Pacific countries, specifically Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
The global need to outsource and find inexpensive production has made China and India economic hotspots; many US companies are closing domestic factories and building new ones in China, creating sharp growth in the use of chemicals, polymers, and petrochemical feedstocks.
Recent studies have estimated that catalysts are responsible for close to $4 trillion/year in goods and services worldwide, and the total global catalyst market is more than $10 billion, according to the report.
Some catalyst markets are considered mature and most continue to grow at moderate rates in keeping with chemical and refining process technology and in general. But, as has always been the case in innovative industries, some, such as the single-site/metallocene polymerization catalysts, have become a major growth area.
