Process Catalysts and Technologies
- Catalysts for Growth

Within Catalysts Division the Process Catalysts and Technologies (PCT) business brings together Johnson Matthey’s former Chemicals activities with those acquired with Synetix in November 2002. PCT thus consists of the group’s precious metal based heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts business, which predominantly uses the unique catalytic properties of the platinum group metals, and the leading base metal (copper, nickel, cobalt, titanium, etc) process catalyst technology acquired with Synetix. It also encompasses our platinum group metal refining and chemical products businesses, the Tracerco diagnostic services business and our Research Chemicals business which supplies products to academic and industrial research organisations via its Alfa Aesar and Avocado catalogue operations.
The acquisition of Synetix brought to Johnson Matthey a global catalyst business that serves a range of market segments including ammonia, methanol, chemicals, fine chemicals, edible oils, oleochemicals, oil and gas and polymerisation. These activities complement the group’s strong position in precious metal catalysts for a wide range of markets including emission control and process catalysts for the fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. The former Synetix business consists of two strategic business units: PCEO (Polymers, Chemicals and Edible Oils) and AMOG (Ammonia, Methanol, Oil and Gas), reflecting the major global markets that they serve and in which they have market leading positions.

PCEO

Within PCEO, we are a leading supplier of polymerisation catalysts for the manufacture of plasticisers, acrylates, inks and coatings. In addition the Polymers segment also provides polyester manufacturers with innovative titanium based catalysts, which, as part of a tailored package, can increase output by up to 15% without the need for investment in new plant. These catalysts also have significant environmental advantages over antimony based catalysts that are commonly used in polyester production.
For the inks segment, the business is the industry leader in adhesion promoters, catalysts that are added to inks to enable them to stick to flexible packaging. The VERTEC™ range of adhesion promoters sees widespread application in packaging where designs are commonly printed on flexible plastic films, for example for crisp packets and confectionery wrappers. Without these products, the brightly coloured designs that are so vital to the marketing of many consumer products would not be possible.
In the coatings industry, the PCEO business is the industry leader in thixotropic agents, additives that go into paints and other products to modify their flow characteristics. For example these additives are used in water based paints enabling them to be almost a solid gel in the pot but to flow smoothly when applied to a surface and not to ‘run’ once the paint has been applied.
For the edible oils and oleochemicals sectors, PCEO manufactures high performance catalysts that are used in the manufacture of products such as margarine, chocolate, cooking oils and other foodstuffs (edible oils) and of soap, cosmetics and lubricants, for example those used in shaving foams (oleochemicals). An interesting example of the application of catalysis in the food industry is in modifying the melting point of chocolate products so that they ‘melt in the mouth and not in your hands’.
The PCEO business also supplies process and purification catalysts for the chemicals sector. These catalysts are used in manufacturing processes for a wide range of specialised chemical products and in environmental applications to treat a range of gaseous and liquid streams.

Chiral Catalysis

One exciting area is the application of chiral catalysis in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a field in which both the group’s precious metal process catalyst business and the acquired businesses have a strong position. Both have extensive catalyst technology, expertise and research resources that complement each other and place us in a strong position to serve this growing market. The US Food and Drug Administration and regulators around the world are increasingly requiring pharmaceutical companies to identify and produce a specific chiral version of a drug. This is where the pharmaceutical ingredient can exist in two different forms, which are mirror images of each other but only one of which has the desired activity. The use of specialised catalysis is one of the main ways of manufacturing chiral drugs, another being chiral separation using simulated moving bed (SMB) technology, an area in which Pharmaceutical Materials Division’s Pharm-Eco business has a strong position.

AMOG

Within the AMOG strategic business unit, its KATALCO™ and PURASPEC™ ranges of catalysts are to be found in over half of the world’s methanol production plants. Methanol is a fundamental building block in the chemical industry and is a feedstock for a wide range of products. It is presently used in the manufacture of lead free gasoline and is tipped as a replacement for oil based fuels and as a carrier of hydrogen, for example for use in fuel cells.
Ammonia is another important building block for the world’s chemical industry. It is a crucial product for the global food chain as it is extensively used in synthetic fertilisers that ensure the productive growth and improved yields of crops around the world. The AMOG business provides high performance catalysts, specialist applications knowledge and services technology to ensure optimum performance in the highly competitive ammonia industry.
In oil refineries, AMOG’s products and technologies are extensively used in the production of hydrogen via the steam reforming process as well as for the purification of both liquids and gases produced by the refining process. Catalyst technology is playing an increasingly important and valuable role around the refinery, helping to meet growing market demand for its wide range of products, improving the industry’s environmental performance and enabling it to meet legislation requiring cleaner, greener fuels. In the natural gas industry, the business has a strong position in technologies to remove impurities such as sulphur, utilising its research and testing expertise to supply packages that are tailored to meet individual customer needs.
Hydrogen rich gases are also used in a wide range of industrial processes, including oil refining, chemical production, iron ore reduction and the production of Towns Gas. AMOG produces a range of innovative catalysts to serve the hydrogen market.