Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Meeting rising energy requirements and protecting the environment are among
the most important applications of catalyst technology. Broadly speaking, a
catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction by
reducing the required activation energy, but which is left unchanged by the
reaction.
The petroleum industry is the largest single user of catalysts, especially in
producing refined products such as gasoline and diesel fuel. Catalysts also
contribute to increasing the supply of petroleum by making it commercially
possible to produce oil from sources once regarded as uneconomical, such as
tar sands and heavy oil deposits. Catalysts are also being used to produce
increasing quantities of synthetic oil and gas from coal and oil shale.
In addition to increasing supplies of naturally occurring and synthetic oil
and gas, catalysts are in the forefront of technologies such as fuel cells and
photovoltaic cells being developed to replace conventional fossil fuels.
Catalysts also indirectly contribute to increasing energy supplies by
increasing the efficiency with which hydrocarbon and other fuels are utilized.
Energy consumption is a major source of pollution (e.g., auto and industrial
emissions), along with other waste-generating activities. Many people consider
the prevention of global warming and other forms of environmental degradation
to be a greater priority than increasing energy supplies.
Catalysts are indispensable to many types of environmental remediation, from
vehicle emissions control systems to industrial effluent and municipal waste
treatment. Catalysts also contribute indirectly to reducing pollution and
other adverse environmental impacts, for example, through cleaner-burning
fuels and the production of products such as refrigerants that pollute less
than the substances they replace.
SCOPE OF STUDY
This report:
- Characterizes the current energy and environmental catalyst market, in
quantitative as well as qualitative terms
- Identifies segments of the energy and environmental markets with the
greatest commercial potential in the near to mid-term (2007 to 2012)
- Identifies and where possible quantifies the major demand drivers of
energy and environmental catalysts
- Describes existing and new catalyst technologies under development to meet
market requirements
- Projects future demand for different types of energy and environmental
catalysts
- Evaluates the technical and other challenges that must be overcome for the
market to realize its full potential.
METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES
The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered
from a cross section of catalyst developers, manufacturers, distributors, end
users, and other informed sources. Interview data were combined with
information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources, such as
trade publications, trade associations, company literature, and online
databases, to produce the baseline market estimates contained in this report.
With 2006 as a baseline, market projections for each market segment were
developed for 2007 to 2012. The projections are based on a combination of a
consensus among the primary contacts combined with our understanding of the
key market drivers and their impact from a historical and analytical
perspective. The analytical methodologies used to generate the market
estimates are described in detail in the section on Detailed Market
Projections.
All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2006 constant dollars.
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