Abstract

The transition from the current fossil fuel based economy to a sustainable economy offers a large number of technological and economic challenges for the oil and petrochemical industries. The transportation fuels of the near future will be even more constrained in terms of their chemical composition (Sulphur, aromatics, olefins). The later large-scale introduction of more energy-efficient fuel cell driven cars, will initially be based on on-board hydrogen generation via catalytic partial oxidation of hydrocarbon fuels and may develop into hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources. During this transition period, the gas to crude oil ratio (H/C-ratio) will increase and so will the Gas-to-Liquids production. Carbon-fixation and CO2 sequestration are options to reduce the Greenhouse gas impact during this period. The Oil-Chemical interface will intensify via increased production of lower olefins from catalytic cracking units and increasingly heavy feedstocks for ethylene cracking plants. Further integration between refinery units and between refineries, the petrochemical and power industries will lead to substantial gains in overall well-towheel/well-to-work efficiencies, with the corresponding lower emissions. The major technological and economic challenge will be to achieve this development towards a sustainable future in a ‘logical’ fashion, i.e. without the economic destruction of the current industry asset base. Catalysis and catalytic technologies, fully integrated with reactor and process development, will play a key role in achieving these objectives and the status of these technologies are described in this paper.

Introduction

This paper presents the current status in catalytic technologies needed to cope with the worldwide most demanding situations of the refining and petrochemical industries and sketches possible pathways to a sustainable economy and the role of catalytic technologies in achieving this.

Emphasis is put on the most significant improvements that have appeared in the last few years.

Futures developments are seen as possible answers to the foreseen challenges not only through improvements but also through disruptive technologies.

Catalytic technologies have always played a vital role in the development of the refining and petrochemical industries1,2. Petrochemistry is considered as the production of the hydrocarbons, olefins and aromatics, raw materials for the chemicals and polymers industries. The links between both industries are more and more important.

Non catalytic technologies, thermal processes and separations, play also an big role and the trend of coupling different unit operations in order to reduce costs has pushed us to consider also their associations.

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