Catalysis 2026 Issue

catalysis ptq

3 Growing sector of petroleum and biomass catalyst Rene Gonzalez

5 catalysisq&a

2026 www.digitalrefining.com

15 Processing extreme feeds in FCC units Using catalyst technology while evaluating combined feeds and optimising process conditions to maximise benefits within unit hardware and operational constraints Hernando Salgado, Amitkumar Shah, and Myrlla Galdino R S S Machado BASF

21 FCC modelling and catalyst evaluation A compendium of FCC modelling best practices at a Marathon refinery serves as

a practical guide for refinery engineers Alan Kramer and Patrick McSorley Ketjen Bridget Cadigan Marathon Garyville Refinery

27 Clean-up of fixed-bed reactor naphtha feed streams: Part 1 Commercial demonstration of cleaning feed streams like coal tar naphtha feed to a hydrodesulphurisation reactor using an unconventional filter Chi-Yao Chen, Mark Zih-Yao Shen, Tzong-Bin Lin, Fu-Ming Lee, Maw-Tien Lee, Yin-Hsien Chen, Kao-Chih Ricky Hsu, and Fang-Pin Chen Shin Chuang Technology Co. Ltd Chia-Yi, Taiwan Kevin Gagen Unicat Catalyst Technologies, LLC 35 Circular aromatics by breakthrough technological synergies Smart catalyst design and cascading pyrolysis processes deliver record BTX yields from waste plastics and biomass sources Danny Verboekend, Judy El Jablaoui, and Kurt Du Mong Zeopore Technologies NV Diana Ciolca and Niels J. Schenk BioBTX B.V. 41 AI optimisation in closed-loop control Three case studies show how non-linear problems of the modern refining and chemicals industry are solved using AI to deliver breakthrough value Edison Tan Imubit 47 Boosting ATR methanol capacity within existing assets Revamp strategies combining ethane co‑feeding and intermediate condensation unlock a 5% methanol capacity increase, improving conversion and carbon efficiency VK Arora Kinetics Process Improvements (KPI) 53 Pathways to chemical recycling of waste plastic pyrolysis oil Chemical recycling is essential for managing problematic plastic waste, highlighting the pathways and challenges in converting waste plastics into high-quality feedstocks Trine Dabros and Milica Folić Topsoe

Cover: Start-up of BASF steam cracker at the Verbung site in Zhanjing, China. Courtesy of BASF SE.

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