The_Catalyst_Review_February_2024 - 15

SPECIAL FEATURE
Conclusion
The Gasolfin technology will accelerate the industry's
reduction in GHG emissions, both in the conventional
refinery and in a renewable refinery. The Gasolfin
naphtha-to-olefins process converts paraffins,
naphthenes, and olefins into maximum propylene with
50% or greater ultralow GHG emissions reductions.
The applications for this new technology are many:
* An FCC centered refinery may transition their
FCC catalyst to a high rare earth-based catalyst
formulation for maximum naphtha yield followed by
a Gasolfin operation for maximum propylene.
* All refiners will be enabled to separate their
pentane and/or LSR streams currently being
blended into gasoline and convert this low-octane,
high-RVP component into light olefin.
Illustration 1. Simplified Gasolfin demonstration plant.
Source: Author
* The Gasolfin unit is an investment today for processing fossil naphthas and for renewable naphthas in the future with low GHG emissions.
Your Author
Ray Fletcher, a chemical engineer with over 36 years of operating and process design experience, is Chief
Technology Officer for Inovacat. Ray began his career working in the oil refining industry with Shell Oil and Texaco.
He then worked for several catalyst companies including Albemarle and Johnson Matthey where he led various
international FCC technical service and development divisions. Ray is currently working as Chief Technology
Officer in two technology start-ups. These include Inovacat, which has developed the Gasolfin naphtha-to-olefins
technology, and Alleo Energy, which has developed a modified pyrolysis process for the direct conversion of
cellulose-to-fuel.
Industry Perspective continued from page 3.
The interdisciplinary consortium includes seven partners (three industrial and four research centers and universities) from five countries: the
Bilbao School of Engineering; two French research centers: CEA (Commissariat à L'énergie Atomique et Aux Énergies Alternatives) and the
CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); NWU (North-West University, South Africa); and leading companies in the sector like:
Heraeus and Framatome (Germany), and Hygear (Netherlands). This consortium has experience, resources, infrastructure and recognized
prestige in the field of LOHC technology and has come together to develop a LOHC dehydrogenation technology free of CO2
emissions.
The International Congress on Catalysis (ICC) 2024
Hydrogen storage implying catalytic reactions is one of the topics of the 18th International Congress on Catalysis (ICC) that will be held in
Lyon from July 14-19, 2024.The ICC 2024 (https://www.icc-lyon2024.fr/) will be attended by more than 2,000 expected delegates from sixteen
countries. The scientific program comprises six plenary lectures delivered live by: 1) Prof. Umit Ozkan, Ohio State University; 2) Prof. Benjamin
List, Director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; 3) Prof. Keiichi Tomishige, University of Tokyo; 4) Prof. Jeroen A. van Bokhoven,
Paul Scherrer Institute; 5) Prof. Ulrike Diebold, Vienna University of Technology and 6) Prof. Thomas Maschmeyer, University of Sydney. The
program also includes twenty-six keynote lectures, 320 oral presentations and 1,500 posters by recognized specialists in catalysis dedicated to
thirty-three topics and a variety of satellite events. In the case of twenty-second topic, Catalytic Reaction for Hydrogen Storage and Release,
it is mainly dedicated to hydrogen storage and transport including all technological advances for the H2
catalytic reactions linked to hydrogen storage, such as ammonia cracking and solid hydrides, will be presented.
value chain. Apart from LOHCs, other
Your Authors
Prof. Victoria Laura Barrio
Prof. V. Laura Barrio: industrial engineer and
doctorate at the University of the Basque Country
UPV/EHU. She was a postdoctoral researcher
at the Engler-Bunte-Institut (Karlsruhe Institute
of Technology). Professor at Bilbao Faculty of
Engineering, current research fields are reactors and
catalytic processes focused on advanced reaction
systems for syngas/hydrogen production from renewable sources,
hydrogen storage, CO2
The Catalyst Review
valorisation and LCA analysis. Barrio is co-author
of more than 90 articles and patents on these subjects. Collaboration
with Spanish accreditation agency (ENAC) in EPD process certifications.
Dr. Valérie Meille
Dr. Valérie Meille, a chemical engineer from CPE
Lyon, received her PhD in kinetics and catalysis
in 1997 from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1.
After a postdoctoral placement at Shell research,
she obtained a permanent researcher position at
the CNRS. She worked for 22 years in a catalysis
and chemical engineering lab (LGPC), working
on structured catalytic reactors. She has been pursuing her research
at IRCELYON (Institute for Research in Catalysis and Environment)
since 2020. Her main research fields currently concern air catalytic
treatment and the chemical storage of hydrogen.
February 2024
15

https://www.icc-lyon2024.fr/

The_Catalyst_Review_February_2024

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