BASF Expands Refinery Catalysts

BASF is expanding capacity for refinery fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts at its plants in Savannah and Attapulgus, Ga., by the beginning of 2008. The company says the expansion will allow its catalysts business, which it obtained with its purchase of Engelhard last year, to keep up with 2–4% annual growth in the FCC catalyst market. According to BASF, the expansions will also help it to roll out its distributed matrix structures catalyst technology. BASF says the new catalysts combine optimized porosity and high activity, enabling hydrocarbon feedstocks to diffuse through them readily.