BASF completes its well-established selective hydrogenation catalyst E 15x series with two innovative product lines. The new sulfur resistant E 15x S catalyst family aims at facilitating the processing of contaminated feedstocks, enabling reliable process operation and thereby increasing the flexibility of producers to use low-quality feedstocks containing higher amounts of impurities. E 153 S ECU 1/8” is now installed in a world scale PyGas 1st stage unit, proving its outstanding activity and outperforming the competitor incumbent catalyst.

On the other side of the spectrum, BASF finalized the in-house development of a new low-density carrier, serving as a versatile platform for selective hydrogenation applications. The new E 15x L catalyst family is currently BASF’s most cost-efficient solution for hydrogenation units. E 15x L minimizes the amount of precious metal needed for a hydrogenation catalyst, without compromising catalyst activity.

Dedicated carrier design and precious metal coating techniques enable a significant hydrogenation activity boost by high precious metal dispersion. Detailed pilot studies proved reliable operation and significantly outperformed competitor low-density solutions in a direct comparison. 

“With the new catalyst families E 15x S and E 15x L we provide two additional solutions for our customer`s specific process needs and optimize the use of precious metal” said Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President Process Catalysts at BASF SE. “We are now able to offer customers a complete package of innovative solutions and are looking forward to discussing this in person during EPCA.”