Hydrogen for Kuwait

Kuwait National Petroleum Co hasawarded Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe acontract to provide licence,engineering and catalyst for its648,000 normal cu m/h hydrogenplant. The plant, seen to be thebiggest facility in the world forhydrogen production, has four162,000 normal cu m/h trains and isslated to come online in 2010. Theplants will use Topsoe’s AdvancedSteam Reforming technology, whichfacilitates a high steam-reformer outlettemperature and low-steam-to-carbonratio. The technology can permitsignificant reductions in energyconsumption.

Chemical Engineering (New York), Sep 2005, 112(9), 15-16

Advanced Refining Technologies toexpand catalyst production capacity

Advanced Refining Technologies LLChas announced plans to expandhydroprocessing catalyst productioncapacity by about 30% at itsChicago, IL, site, which is operatedby WR Grace & Co (Grace).Advanced Refining Technologies, aglobal developer and supplier ofhydroprocessing catalysts used bypetroleum refiners, is a jv of ChevronProducts Co, a division of ChevronUSA Inc, and the Davison Chemicalsbusiness unit of Grace, a subsidiaryof WR Grace & Co. The expansionhas been prompted by increasedglobal demand for high performancepetroleum hydroprocessing catalysts,driven by the enactment of cleanfuels regulations in various countries.

Press release from: WR Grace & Co, 7500 GraceDrive, Columbia, MD 21044, USA. Tel: +1 410 5314514. Website: http://www.grace.com (12 Sep 2005)

Shell awards billion-figure contract inQatar

Shell is moving forward in the marketfor liquefied gas (GTL). It has justawarded a consortium of JGC andKellogg Brown Root a contract toerect the world’s largest GTL plant inQatar. Cost of the project is over $6bn and this could rise further. Thefirst part of the plant will becompleted in 2009. GTL promises tobecome a big business. The liquefied

and processed gas furnishes anexcellent diesel fuel. As well asbetter energy utilization, GTL dieseloffers the advantage of being sulfur-free. The market is small at present.Global production was just 50,000barrel/day in 2004, but expertsbelieve volume could increase 10-fold during the decade, and not justbecause demand for diesel isgrowing at 3-5%/y. Once the Shellplant is finished, it will produce140,000 barrel/day of GTL products.And Shell is not alone.

Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- und Finanzzeitung, 23 Sep2005, 38 (185), 20 (in German) & The Star, 23 Sep2005 (Website: http://www.thestar.com.my)

Genencor triples production in China

Genencor International Inc plans toinvest $30 M in establishing a newplant in China. The facility will becompleted by the end of 2006 andthe extra capacity will tripleGenencor’s production in China. TheDanisco daughter company expects2-figure sales growth in China in2005. In 2004 Danisco’s sales in theAsia Pacific region made up around20% of the company’s entireturnover. Up until now Danisco hasinvested a total of DKR 350 M inChina. It has a plant at Kunshan andis also a partner in two Chinese jvs.Genencor is the world’s secondlargest manufacturer of enzymes.

Dagbladet Borsen, 19 Sep 2005 (Website:http://www.borsen.dk) (in Danish)

NEWTECHNOLOGY

2005 Nobel Prize awarded formetathesis

The 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistryhas been awarded to Y Chauvin, R HGrubbs, and R R Schrock for theirdevelopment of the metathesismethod in organic synthesis.Metathesis uses an organometalliccatalyst to promote rearrangements inolefinic molecules. It has found manyapplications in organic synthesis.

Press release from: the Royal Swedish Academy ofSciences, Website: http://nobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/2005/press.html (see the video animation!)5 Oct 2005 & Chemical & Engineering News, 10 Oct2005, 83 (41) 8

SCR-Tech teams with AEP and SouthernCo to optimise sulfur dioxideconversion in regenerated SCR catalyst

SCR-Tech, a subsidiary of CatalyticaEnergy Systems Inc, has entered intoa development partnership withAmerican Electric Power and SouthernCo to measure and evaluate thereduction conversion in SO2 to SO3demonstrated by regeneratedSelective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)catalyst. The goal of this effort is tooptimise SCR-Tech’s regenerationprocess to further minimise SO3formation while maintaining orexceeding full catalytic activity. SCR-Tech’s proprietary cleaning andregeneration process extends the lifeof SCR catalysts by achieving fullrestoration of their activity level andnitrogen oxides reductionperformance.

Press release from: Catalytica Energy Systems Inc,Charlotte, NC, USA. Website:http://investor.catalyticaenergy.com (6 Sep 2005)

UOP and CB&I combine resources todeliver Merox technology

UOP LLC and CB&I have announcedan alliance to improve technologydelivery for the Merox process linethroughout the Americas. UOP willcontinue to develop, improve, andsupport their Merox technology by:conducting R&D for the continuousinnovation of the Merox process,providing yield estimating andperformance guarantees, supplyingMerox catalysts and activators, andproviding start-up and troubleshootingtechnical services. CB&I will providefull-service engineering capabilities tosupport each customer’s project andimplementation needs. UOP LLC andCB&I will also continue to developbasic engineering (Schedule A) designpackages for other contractors asneeded. The Merox process efficientlyand economically treats hydrocarbonstreams to remove mercaptan sulfur orto convert mercaptan sulfur to less-objectionable disulfides. This processcan be used to treat liquids such asliquefied petroleum gases, natural-gasliquids, naphthas, gasolines,kerosenes, jet fuels, and heating oils.It can also be used to treat gases suchas natural gas, refinery gas, andsynthetic gas in conjunction withconventional pre-treatment and post-treatment processes.

Press release from: UOP LLC, 25 East, Algonquin Road,Des Plaines, IL 60017-5017, USA. Tel: +1 847 3912000. Website: http://www.uop.com (13 Sep 2005)

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C A T A L Y S T S