Refining catalysts: Production route
From clay and rare earths to engineered cracking particles
What this tab covers How it is made: the main production routes or, for product families, the main product types and technologies, compared on share of supply, inputs per tonne, plant scale, yield, co-products and unit cost.Refining catalysts are made, not mined, but they start from minerals: kaolin, silica, alumina, rare earths and molybdenum. FCC catalyst makers synthesise zeolite Y, stabilise it with lanthanum and form fluidisable microspheres in large spray-dried plants on the US Gulf Coast, in the Netherlands, Germany and China. Hydroprocessing catalyst makers impregnate shaped alumina with cobalt, nickel and molybdenum. Reforming catalysts carry platinum, usually supplied by the refiner. Each refinery runs trials before switching supplier, and catalyst is sold on performance (yield of petrol or propylene per tonne of feed) rather than on a list price.
Routes compared
| Route | Share of supply | Inputs per tonne | Typical scale | Yield | Co-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCC catalyst (zeolite Y with rare earths) | largest by tonnage (indicative) | kaolin, sodium silicate and alumina plus about 1-3% rare earth oxide (indicative) | plants of tens to over 100 kt/yr (indicative); Grace has invested about $300 million across Baton Rouge, Norco and Sulphur, Louisiana | not published | sodium sulphate-rich effluent from zeolite synthesis (indicative) | not published; FCC catalyst typically sells for a few thousand dollars a tonne (indicative) |
| Hydroprocessing catalysts (CoMo, NiMo, NiW on alumina) | not published | molybdenum oxide typically 10-25% and nickel or cobalt 2-6% by weight (indicative) | refinery reloads of 50-500 t per unit (indicative) | not applicable | spent catalyst rich in Mo, Ni, Co, V for metal recovery | not published; tracks molybdenum and nickel prices |
| Reforming and isomerisation catalysts (Pt, Pt-Re on alumina) | small by tonnage | about 0.2-0.4% platinum by weight (indicative) | reloads of tens of tonnes | not applicable | hydrogen co-product for hydrotreaters | carrier and fabrication only; metal leased |
How each route works
FCC catalyst (zeolite Y with rare earths)Ultra-stable zeolite Y is exchanged with lanthanum to resist steam in the regenerator, bound with alumina or silica and kaolin, and spray-dried. Additives such as ZSM-5 raise propylene yield; metal traps cope with nickel and vanadium in heavy feeds. Low and zero rare earth grades were developed after the 2010-2011 lanthanum price spike (Grace REpLaCeR).
Flexible and continuous; exposed to rare earth prices and to falling petrol demand.
policyrisk.com FCC catalysts supply map; rare_earths tile Hydroprocessing catalysts (CoMo, NiMo, NiW on alumina)Gamma-alumina extrudates are impregnated with molybdenum and cobalt or nickel, dried, calcined and often presulphided. Hydrotreating grades remove sulphur and nitrogen; hydrocracking grades add zeolite for cracking. Suppliers include Topsoe, Ketjen, Advanced Refining Technologies (Grace-Chevron), Axens, Shell Catalysts and Technologies and Sinopec.
Essential for low-sulphur fuels; long cycles mean lumpy, project-like sales.
molybdenum tile (USGS MCS 2026); indicative Reforming and isomerisation catalysts (Pt, Pt-Re on alumina)Platinum, often with rhenium or tin, on chlorided alumina dehydrogenates and isomerises naphtha into high-octane reformate and hydrogen. Continuous regeneration units (UOP CCR, Axens) circulate the catalyst. The precious metal is owned by the refiner and refined back after use.
Long-lived, closed-loop metal; demand falls as petrol demand falls.
platinum tile; USGS MCS 2026 (rhenium) Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs move with feedstock and energy prices, plant size and region.