Magcat® Textured Catalyst
Our industry-leading Magcat® Textured steam reforming catalysts are designed to improve the heat transfer coefficient (HTC), provide high intrinsic strength, and deliver lower pressure drop across gas purification and separation processes.
These properties deliver performance benefits at constant plant rate including lower pressure drop, lower tube skin temperatures, and reduced reforming firing. This gives an overall increase in operation efficiency at the given operating conditions, reducing energy costs and footprint of the reformer.
- Innovation
- Collaborative
- Profit Enhancing
Designed for Greater Strength, GSA and Heat Transfer
Formed utilizing polymer ceramic technology rather than the traditional pressure method, this groundbreaking technology is bringing huge efficiency improvements.
The material and shape – with a golf ball like surface - innovates in the areas of surface area, strength, catalytic activity, porosity and heat transfer. The spheres deliver excellent performance in tubular SMR reformers, including increase in strength while improving porosity and pore size, increasing the permeation of the gas into the carrier.
Strength
- 35% Stronger than competition
- Higher Attrition Resistance
- Stronger pellets that pack better
Low Pressure Drop
- More methane processed
- Reduction in operating costs
- Greater strength reduces pressure drop increase over life of catalyst
Greater GSA
- +30% improvement in active surface area
- More sub-surface area available for chemical reaction
- Optimized Nickel loading and placement avoiding wastage
Heat Transfer
- Maximum Heat Transfer
- Uniform packing reduces thermal stress on the reactor tube
- Extending tube life span therefore reducing cost of re-tubing
Our Queen’s Award for Innovation
We were awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the development of Magcat® Textured steam reforming catalysts, having tested the use of over 40 shapes, materials and designs in our lab to find the best solution.
The outcome concluded that a textured shape gave a 30% increase in geometric surface area over the other offerings in the market, and our in-house bespoke production process at our automated forming, firing and dipping facility can now manufacture over 6 tons of catalyst product per day.
Energy efficiency, lower CO2 emissions, increased hydrogen production, and extended tube life are some of the advantages of next generation spherical catalysts.
Reduction in tube wall temperature
Increase in tube life
Heat Transfer
Magcat®’s Ideal gas flow patterns increase heat transfer rates from the tube wall, which in turn increases reforming capability, and reduces tube wall temperatures.
The average reduction in tube wall temperature is 10°C, which in turn can deliver up to 40% increase in tube life.
Heating & Cooling of Tubes
Traditionally when hot tubes expand and cool (contract) catalysts reorder, and the catalyst levels drop causing increases in pressure drop. Magcat® spheres respond differently, as those in the central core barely move from the original position.
Magcat® 27mm Holed Sphere
Competitors Cylindrical Catalyst
Products
Pre-Reforming
Magcat® PR
Magcat® PR catalyst is engineered with UNICAT’s proprietary Gel Casting Ceramic Technology, which creates a highly porous and customized pore structure. This design enhances the diffusion of reactants to the catalyst’s active sites, resulting in superior catalytic activity. In pre-reforming applications, the catalyst is ideal for medium to heavy hydrocarbon services. It provides a low pressure drop and performs effectively at low temperatures for reforming reactions. Additionally, it is available in a pre-reduced, stabilized form, facilitating easy start-up procedures. Moreover, it is a high activity, high surface area, nickel-based methanation catalyst, which is available in a reduced and stabilized form. It exhibits high thermal stability and high methanation activity, making it suitable for use in standard methanatorsin ammonia and hydrogen plants.
Primary Reforming
Magcat® ITS
Magcat® ITS is part of the Magcat® series of steam reforming catalysts that are used for the conversion of off gas, natural gas and LPG feeds in steam reforming plants.
Magcat® ITS - Textured Catalyst is designed for use in the inlet section of a reformer tube where processing heavier feeds or with aggressive process conditions where carbon formation is prevalent. The use of this promoted textured catalyst throughout the tube allows users to operate at standard conditions without fear of potash migration.
Magcat® OTS
Magcat® OTS is part of the series of steam reforming catalysts that are used for the conversion of off gas, natural gas and LPG feeds in steam reforming plants. Magcat® OTS - textured catalyst is designed for use in the outlet section of a reformer tube where processing methane rich feeds. The use of this non-promoted, textured catalyst allows nickel crystallites to be evenly distributed and highly active for steam reforming and close ATE.
Secondary Reforming
Magcat® OTS
Magcat® OTS is part of the series of steam reforming catalysts that are used for the conversion of off gas, natural gas and LPG feeds in steam reforming plants. Magcat® OTS - textured catalyst is designed for use in the outlet section of a reformer tube where processing methane rich feeds. The use of this non-promoted, textured catalyst allows nickel crystallites to be evenly distributed and highly active for steam reforming and close ATE.
DRI
Magcat® INS
Magcat® INS is an inert reforming media manufactured using UNICAT’s proprietary Gel-Casting Ceramic Technology, resulting in a mechanically robust ceramic material suitable for reforming service. The media is produced in a textured spherical geometry to promote uniform gas flow distribution and enhanced heat transfer at the inlet section of reforming reactor tubes
Magcat® ITS
Magcat® ITS is part of the Magcat® series of steam reforming catalysts that are used for the conversion of off gas, natural gas and LPG feeds in steam reforming plants.
Magcat® ITS - Textured Catalyst is designed for use in the inlet section of a reformer tube where processing heavier feeds or with aggressive process conditions where carbon formation is prevalent. The use of this promoted textured catalyst throughout the tube allows users to operate at standard conditions without fear of potash migration.
Magcat® OTS
Magcat® OTS is part of the series of steam reforming catalysts that are used for the conversion of off gas, natural gas and LPG feeds in steam reforming plants. Magcat® OTS - textured catalyst is designed for use in the outlet section of a reformer tube where processing methane rich feeds. The use of this non-promoted, textured catalyst allows nickel crystallites to be evenly distributed and highly active for steam reforming and close ATE.
Ammonia Cracking
Magcat® ACTS
Magcat® ACTS (Ammonia Cracking Textured Sphere) is a nickel-based catalyst from UNICAT’s textured sphere series, designed for high-temperature ammonia dissociation service. It is manufactured using proprietary gel-casting ceramic technology, providing a porous structure that promotes efficient mass transfer, high activity, and excellent mechanical strength. Magcat® ACTS is suitable for ammonia cracking for hydrogen generation and for ammonia removal from coke oven gas, steel, acid gas, and other process or off-gas streams requiring ammonia dissociation at elevated temperatures
Methanation Catalyst
Magcat® PR
Magcat® PR catalyst is engineered with UNICAT’s proprietary Gel Casting Ceramic Technology, which creates a highly porous and customized pore structure. This design enhances the diffusion of reactants to the catalyst’s active sites, resulting in superior catalytic activity. In pre-reforming applications, the catalyst is ideal for medium to heavy hydrocarbon services. It provides a low pressure drop and performs effectively at low temperatures for reforming reactions.
Additionally, it is available in a pre-reduced, stabilized form, facilitating easy start-up procedures. Moreover, it is a high activity, high surface area, nickel-based methanation catalyst, which is available in a reduced and stabilized form. It exhibits high thermal stability and high methanation activity, making it suitable for use in standard methanatorsin ammonia and hydrogen plants.
For further information, or to discuss the Magcat® requirements of your business, contact our team at us.commercial@unicatcatalyst.com or commercial@unicatcatalyst.com
How Can We Help You?
We work with our customers to understand their hydroprocessing problems and business aims, with a view on improving efficiency and profitability through innovative solutions.
We take a collaborative, solutions-driven approach to our work, developing innovations not just around our customers’ needs, but in direct response to them.
Contact us, share your process and product problem, and together we can innovate and make you more efficient, profitable and sustainable.
Why Choose Us?
We innovate catalyst and process technology by partnering and collaborating with businesses to find effective solutions to increase efficiency and sustainability.
Innovative
We drive continued innovations in response to evolving industry needs. We are committed to listening to customer requirements and building tailored solutions to deliver enhanced efficiency, and profitability.
Collaborative
We build strong customer relationships globally, grounded in trust and collaboration, to deliver successful outcomes that lead to long-lasting partnerships and innovations developed in direct response to customer needs.
Profit Enhancing
We focus on increasing customer profitability, and efficiency, using our deep technical expertise and strong R&D capabilities to deliver results that truly enhance our customers’ bottom line.