The Catalyst Review April 2024 - 2

THE CATALYST REVIEW
An industry-focused, leading edge catalysis technology reference from The Catalyst Group Resources
We promised in March a more active engaging style moving forward and
we hope you notice this reflected in our April edition. Our traditional R&D
Section this month highlights a Special Feature on unconventional heating
and mass flow simulation technologies authored by speakers at this year's
18th
International Congress on Catalysis (ICC2024). Also, a reminder that
ICC2024 in Lyon, France this July is coming up for your calendars! Look
out for more changes and we encourage your feedback to our editorial
staff. We have decided to add something new in May, Innovation Corner,
which will feature a Call Out Box on something you may not have thought
about, but is commercially important.
April Hot Topics!
Leading US Activities:
* The chemical industries globally, in both olefins and aromatics, are struggling with
overcapacity, with weaker demand short-term.
* Slack Chinese domestic demand, where overbuilding has occurred for self-sufficiency,
has exacerbated this causing some EU capacity to be shuttered.
* While some market pricing increases will help, the longer-term solution is through
innovation, expanding product demand in new applications.
* The US economic outlook industrially is stronger than advertised. A recent indicator of
new housing growth and purchasing sentiment ticked up in March.
Smaller Consolidations:
* The trend has been to reposition upstream producers with lower cost production
operations, while strengthening balance sheets and returning shareholder value.
It portends that strategically in the future, those producers with the lowest cost US
oil and gas production will fare better due to the larger scale than those smaller
independents. But watch more closely because we are now seeing this trend spill
over into the consolidation of mid-stream assets i.e., pipelines, terminals and related
infrastructure. More about that in upcoming issues.
International:
* Catalysis, biocatalysis, material science and process engineering are crucial to
develop cost/performance solutions for the energy transition.
* New/better cost/performance CO2
capture for small and less concentrated sources is
one example, as is less costly production for electrolyzers and operations at a larger
scale.
* Remember, technology and R&D are completely transportable. When crafting your
R&D plans and projects ,do not just review progress in your own country or region;
think globally.
Upcoming Updates: Look out for further business insights, as well as R&D innovations in
future issues!
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The Catalyst Review
April 2024
THE CATALYST REVIEW
(ISSN 0898-3089)
April 2024, Volume 37, Issue 4
Published by The Catalyst Group
Resources, Inc., 750 Bethlehem Pike,
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technology change.
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER
John J. Murphy
MANAGING EDITOR
Amanda Williams
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Meedah Mitchell
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Eugene F. McInerney, PhD
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Salvatore Ali, PhD
Michele Aresta, PhD
Miguel A. Banares, PhD
Carlos A. Cabrera, MBA
Gabriele Centi, PhD
Avelino Corma, PhD
Frits Dautzenberg, PhD
Jayant D. Divey
George Huber, PhD
Michelle Lynch, PhD
Vishwas Pangarkar, PhD
Stephany Romanow
Gadi Rothenberg, PhD
Woody Shiflett, PhD
Marcio Wagner da Silva, PhD
Stefan Wieland, PhD
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The Catalyst Review April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Catalyst Review April 2024