Honeywell UOP expands portfolio of hydrotreating catalysts, severs alliance with Albemarle

Honeywell UOP is introducing an expanded portfolio of new hydrotreating catalysts used to remove impurities and contaminants from petroleum and other refining feedstocks to produce cleaner-burning gasoline and diesel fuel that meets new global emissions regulations.

The addition of a range of hydrotreating catalysts expands Honeywell UOP’s line of catalysts, which are used to produce transportation fuels and petrochemicals.

Hydrotreating is a critical step in the refining process where hydrogen and proprietary catalysts are used to pre-treat petroleum and other products to remove sulphur, nitrogen, metals and other contaminants before conversion into transportation fuels. Hydrotreating helps produce cleaner-burning gasoline and diesel fuel that meets increasingly stringent global fuel regulations, which specify sulphur content of less than 10 parts per million (ppm) in transportation fuels.

“By further broadening our own hydrotreating catalyst offerings, we can provide an expanded suite of catalysts for hydroprocessing, one of the most important technologies in refining,” said Ken Stacherski, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Catalysts, Adsorbents and Specialties business.

The new catalysts will be produced at Honeywell UOP’s production facility in Shreveport, La., U.S.A., which in June inaugurated new and upgraded production facilities to produce the new catalysts.

With the introduction of the new catalysts, Honeywell UOP also announced that it is ending an alliance with Albemarle Corp. that began in 2006 when the two companies partnered to provide hydroprocessing technologies. Honeywell UOP said it now will apply its expertise in catalytic chemistry to compete across a wide range of hydroprocessing technologies, while completing work started with Albemarle on projects initiated under the alliance.