CATALYST SUPPLIERS FURTHER CONSOLIDATE BUSINESS UNITS

Anne K. Rhodes Refining/Petrochemical Editor The petroleum-refining catalyst industry sustained significant reorganization in 1993. A joint venture between two previous competitors and the consolidation of two sister companies reflect general trends in the global marketplace. The journal's latest survey lists more than 820 unique catalysts. This reduction of some 220 catalysts since the last complete catalyst compilation (OGJ, Oct. 14, 1991, p. 43) is partially the result of the deletion

Oct. 11, 1993

4 min read

Anne K. Rhodes
Refining/Petrochemical Editor

The petroleum-refining catalyst industry sustained significant reorganization in 1993. A joint venture between two previous competitors and the consolidation of two sister companies reflect general trends in the global marketplace.

The journal's latest survey lists more than 820 unique catalysts.

This reduction of some 220 catalysts since the last complete catalyst compilation (OGJ, Oct. 14, 1991, p. 43) is partially the result of the deletion of some of the more specialized catalysts from this year's survey.

Other factors contributing to this decrease include industry rationalization and the listing of catalyst families instead of individual products--especially in the fluid catalytic cracking category.

REORGANIZATION

Of the changes characterizing the petroleum-refining catalyst industry in 1993, perhaps the biggest was the formation of a joint-venture company-Acreon Catalysts. Former competitors Engelhard Corp., Iselin, N.J., and Procatalyse, Rueil Malmaison, France, formed a 50/50 partnership to produce and market hydroprocessing catalysts (OGJ, Aug. 2, p. 76).

Acreon markets the Enpro line of hydroprocessing catalysts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and Procatalyse markets and sells the product line outside North America.

Former sister companies Shell International Chemical Co., London, and Zeolyst Enterprises, Houston, have formed a single company, Zeolyst International.

The U.K.'s Crosfield Catalysts has exited the fluid catalytic cracking catalyst business. According to a Crosfield spokesperson, the company had been unable to achieve adequate returns in a competitive market that entails high development costs.

Another influential factor in the catalyst industry picture is the effects of environmental pressures on refining processes. Refiners increasingly are looking to catalyst producers for solutions to meeting stringent regulatory demands.

These pressures have resulted, in much tighter supply/demand situations for hydroprocessing catalysts.

In March of this year, Akzo Chemicals Inc., Houston, sent letters to its customers explaining that pending low-sulfur diesel specifications had greatly increased the demand for its hydrotreating catalysts. As a result, said Jim Enters, general manager of hydroprocessing catalysts, customers were advised to order catalyst early to ensure supply.

Enters estimated that the new diesel standards had caused an additional hydrotreating catalyst demand of 16-18 million lb. In anticipation of this increase, Akzo built up inventory of one of its more popular hydrotreating catalysts. But by March, the inventory had been depleted, causing the company to fill orders from current production.

More recently, Acreon notified refiners that it had completed a new inventory of cobalt/molybdenum hydrotreating catalyst in response to market shortages.

SURVEY

The Journal's international refining-catalyst compilation lists catalysts manufactured for all major catalytic refinery processes by essentially all the world's petroleum catalyst pro-ducers and suppliers.

The objective of the survey is twofold: first, to list each catalyst by its specific designation or supplier identification in its process application category (for instance, hydrocracking); and second, to differentiate each catalyst from the others in that category. These differentiations can be made in terms of either the catalyst's application (for example, feedstock characteristics) or its physical characteristics (for instance, particle size or activity).

Many catalysts, particularly those in the fluid catalytic cracking category, are listed as "families." Survey respondents were asked to point out the difference of each family in terms of the other families, where more than one exist. Suppliers who list several catalysts in a single family were asked to differentiate between each member of that family in terms of the other members.

In the interest of simplifying this year's catalyst compilation, respondents were asked to omit specialty or custom catalysts produced for only one operating company. To the same end, catalysts for the more esoteric processes, such as arsenic removal, were eliminated. The goal of these changes was to list only those catalysts commercially used in major refining processes.

The information in the survey represents the suppliers' best efforts to meet the survey objectives. The listings of suppliers that did not respond this year were not updated.

Blanks (-) throughout the compilation indicate the lack of a response on the part of the supplier. Another symbol seen frequently in the table is "P," which signifies some proprietary aspect of the catalyst that the supplier chooses not to divulge.

Two symbols are used as an indication of commercial availability. Catalysts for unrestricted sale are denoted by an "x" in the far right column and those available only through license are denoted by an "L."

A table of frequently used abbreviations precedes the compilation. The liberal use of these abbreviations allows the presentation of as much information as possible in limited space.

The compilation is designed to provide a ready reference for both refiners and catalyst manufacturers. In the process, it may also help sort out the sometimes confusing nomenclature used to describe these catalysts.