June
2016
HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
82
Q&A
q
Explain why catalysts are so crucial to refining and
petrochemical operations.
The many different catalysts used in refining and
petrochemical operations are tailor-made to produce the
required products in a safe, energy efficient and cost
competitive manner. Catalysis plays a key role in today’s
society, as catalysts are involved in 90% of all industrial
processes. Without catalysts, the chemical processes would
react very slowly or maybe not all – and the thousands of
products produced by these industries would be very costly,
resulting in a significant increase of the cost of the numerous
consumer products derived from the petrochemical and
refining sector.
q
To what extent has the downstream catalyst market
grown over the past 10 years, and what have been
the driving factors?
In 2006, the US implemented 10 wtppm ultra low sulfur diesel
(ULSD), which resulted in a significant growth in the catalyst
market of approximately 35%. Similar regulations have been
implemented in other parts of the world, resulting in increased
catalyst demand. On a global scale, demand for
hydroprocessing increases 3 - 4% annually. The increased
demand for hydroprocessing catalyst is partly due to
population growth, resulting in an increase in transportation
fuel consumption, but also due to tighter environmental
regulations across the globe. In addition more heavy and
diverse feedstocks are utilised, which have increased the
requirements for high activity and robust catalyst.
q
How have catalysts changed since your company
began operating in the industry?
Haldor Topsoe has been an active player in the refining
business for many years. The company has seen numerous
environmental regulations put into place in various regions of
the world, resulting in a demand for more specialised catalysts
with higher desulfurisation activity, denitrification activity, as
well as aromatic saturation capabilities to meet the increasing
demand for producing cleaner and cleaner fuels from heavier
crudes. The heavier crudes contain more sulfur, nitrogen and
heavy metal contaminants, which all have to be catalytically
removed to meet today’s fuel specifications. Today’s catalysts
are significantly more active than those used 20 - 30 years ago.
q
How are new catalysts or catalyst technologies tested,
and how long does the development process tend to be?
Haldor Topsoe currently operates a large number of
hydroprocessing pilot plant test units at its research and
development (R&D) facilities in Denmark. These test units are
used in the development of new catalysts for all hydrotreating
services, as well as hydrocracking applications. The catalysts
are tested on a variety of feeds and operating conditions to
ensure that they perform as expected in the industrial units,
exhibiting high activity as well as a low deactivation rate.
The time to market for new catalysts varies for the
different services, but Haldor Topsoe aims to launch a new
catalyst generation catalyst every 3 - 5 years for major market
segments, and has been able to do so for the past 15 years.
q
What are the main obstacles when developing a new
catalyst technology?
The main obstacle for developing new catalysts is lack of
fundamental understanding. Haldor Topsoe has spent 30+ years
on fundamental hydroprocessing catalyst studies, utilising a
variety of analytical methods, including scanning tunnelling
microscopy (STM), to understand the chemical reactions on the
surface of the catalyst at the atomic level. This thorough
essential understanding of the chemistry enables the company
to design catalysts with various functionalities and
continuously develop new and improved catalysts.
q
What has been the company’s biggest technological
breakthrough in terms of downstream catalysts?
Haldor Topsoe has been at the forefront of the most
important technological hydroprocessing breakthroughs for
many years, and continues to explore the possibilities. In the
1970s, Haldor Topsoe discovered the active CoMo phase in
hydrotreating catalyst. In the 1980s, it discovered the
difference between a Type 1 and a Type 2 hydrotreating
catalyst, and gave them these names. The Type 2 hydrotreating
catalyst became the industry standard for high activity
catalysts. Haldor Topsoe continued its commitment to
fundamental surface science work and discovered a new
activity site in the early 2000s, which the company named
BRIM®. It has since then further developed the BRIM
technology and launched a new generation of catalysts called
HyBRIM
TM
, with even higher volume activities compared to the
BRIM catalysts. The chart shows the various hydroprocessing
catalyst generations.
q
Where do you see the downstream catalyst industry
in 10 years time?
The refining industry will continue to demand more active
catalysts to improve refining profitability, while meeting even
stricter environmental regulations. Haldor Topsoe expects that
catalyst demand will continue to grow by 3 - 4% per year. In
Europe, the demand for diesel and jet fuels is growing, and
solutions that meet concerns about greenhouse gas emissions
are required. The EU Renewable Energy Directive (2009)
stipulates a minimum share of 10% renewables in
transportation fuel in EU by 2020. Haldor Topsoe’s
commercially proven HydroFlex
TM
process technology and
catalyst portfolio for generating drop in renewable diesel and
jet fuels will enable refiners to meet these requirements.
HENRIK W. RASMUSSEN, HALDOR TOPSOE, INC.
Hydroprocessing catalyst generations.
