A Disha Sharma, Strategic Marketing Manager, Performance Catalyst Solutions, W. R. Grace & Co. (Grace) disha.sharma@grace.com It has been 84 years since the start-up of the first com - mercial FCC unit. While much has stayed the same as these critical processes stand the test of time, one notable area of advancement has been the digitalisation of analysis and monitoring tools. As FCC and hydroprocessing units grow more complex and decision windows shrink, refinery performance increas - ingly depends on converting large volumes of catalyst and process data into timely, actionable insight. To that end, an integrated portfolio of digital tools can improve data visibil - ity, strengthen decision-making, and shorten the path from data to action. For example, the proprietary e-Catalysts.com platform provides a secure workspace purpose-built for FCC teams. Rather than functioning as a static repository, the platform brings sample data, analysis, and operational insights into one environment, allowing operators to track samples across E-cat, fines, feed, and slurry streams, access COAs instantly, and visualise historical and current trends. Another example of a digital tool benefiting refinery oper - ations is Grace’s E-cat Alerts, a proactive monitoring layer that builds on e-Catalysts.com. Automated, rules-based alerts continuously track critical equilibrium catalyst prop - erties, flagging new 365-day highs or lows and deviations beyond defined tolerances, surfacing meaningful changes without manual data review. Recently, the same framework has been extended to fines samples, with globally suggested and unit-tunable tolerances on specific fines properties. This closes a long- standing monitoring gap, helping teams detect catalyst loss, attrition events, and regenerator-side issues days ear - lier than routine review cycles would allow. For deeper integration with refinery operations, the E-cat API enables refiners to securely pull E-cat testing results into their own analytics environments, eliminating manual handling and connecting catalyst insights with plantwide operating and economic data. Digitalisation is no longer a bolt-on to catalyst service; it is becoming the operating layer through which that service is delivered. A Lars Gottlieb Jørgensen, Product Owner, Digitalisation, Topsoe, LJOR@topsoe.com Online catalyst monitoring has evolved from simple data logging into a genuine collaboration platform between refiners and catalyst vendors. This shift is where the real operational value now lies. Closer collaboration through shared data – from reactive to proactive service Historically, a process engineer had to pull data from the DCS or historian, format it, and send it to the catalyst ven - dor before any review could happen. Consequently, cata - lyst performance data lived in disconnected spreadsheets, emails, and local databases, with the vendor’s service engineer receiving data only after the fact during periodic reviews or troubleshooting calls.
Modern online monitoring platforms automate this data flow, relieving the refinery engineer of manual work, giving both parties a shared, real-time view of unit performance. This shared view closes the gap between the refinery engi - neer and the catalyst vendor’s service engineer, as both sides work from the same live picture of the unit rather than reconciling data long after the fact. When data is continuously visible, rather than reviewed only periodically or when something goes wrong, vendor service engineers can spot deviations, such as activity decline, selectivity shifts, and unexpected temperature pro - files as trends emerge, not after they become problems. In addition, data visualisations have become richer and more sophisticated, giving refiners more intuitive and action - able insights without the need to build custom analysis in- house. These visualisations are reinforced by automated alert systems that guide attention to what matters most. Data visualisations have become richer and more sophisticated, giving refiners more intuitive and actionable insights without the need to build custom analysis in-house Together, these features enable near-real-time detection of subtle performance changes, such as activity decline, selectivity shifts, and unexpected temperature profiles, allowing refiners to take faster corrective action. Documented, historical, streamlined communication Centralising monitoring data also centralises communi - cation. Instead of insights being scattered across email threads and call notes, recommendations, observations, and decisions are logged directly against the relevant data and timeline. This centralisation creates a persistent, audit - able history that new engineers, shift teams, and plant managers can reference later, facilitating knowledge trans - fer and traceability of past decisions. Predictive insight in the refiner’s hands Perhaps the most significant shift is putting predictive capa - bility directly into the refiner’s own workflow, rather than keeping it solely as a vendor-side analysis. Trend-based pro - jections, such as remaining catalyst life, expected deactiva - tion curves, and time-to-next regeneration, allow operators to make faster, better-informed decisions on their own time - line, without waiting for the next scheduled vendor review. These predictive capabilities can help shorten the decision loop considerably, especially when evaluating operational changes, feed adjustments, or turnaround planning. Together, these advancements turn catalyst monitoring from a periodic diagnostic exercise into a continuous and shared decision-support process, benefiting run length, reliability, and the overall refiner-vendor relationship.
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PTQ Q4 2026
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