11/30/2026
European Refining Technology Conference (ERTC)
Catalytic dewaxing sets the pour point of your lubricants and the cloud point of your diesel. It also decides how much of your feed leaves the unit as premium product and how much disappears into cheap light gases.
Conventional zeolite catalysts limit that outcome, and the reason is structural. Their active sites sit inside micropores below one nanometer across. Feed molecules can only really react at the pore mouths on the outside of the crystal, so most of the catalyst's potential is never used. The result is lower activity, lower selectivity and a shorter catalyst life than the chemistry should allow.
That limitation matters more every year. Renewable feeds such as used cooking oils and waste fats are rich in long linear hydrocarbons that crystallise at high temperatures, so they need heavy isomerization to meet freeze point specifications. They also vary far more in quality than crude. Catalysts have to be robust, highly selective, and able to isomerize rather than crack.
In April 2026, Evonik launched a new generation of high performance isodewaxing catalysts built on Zeopore's proprietary mesoporization technology.
Mesoporization adds a second network of larger pores through the zeolite crystal. These act as mass transfer corridors: reactants reach the active sites quickly and the products they form leave immediately, before they can be cracked into something less valuable. Accessibility of the active sites increases by a factor of two to five, and it happens without damaging crystal stability and without the cost and scalability problems that sank earlier attempts at meso-structured zeolites.
- Higher yields. Increased yield of valuable end products by 3 to 8 wt%.
- Better cold flow at lower cost. Cloud point improvement with 2 to 6 wt% less gas formation and lower hydrogen consumption.
- Lower emissions. Around 5% lower CO2 emissions across the supply chain through higher product yield and process efficiency.
- No new investment. The benefit comes from the catalyst, not from higher severity or capital spend on the unit.
The catalysts have been tested across a wide mix of feeds, from conventional fossil streams and lube base oils through to SAF and renewable diesel, together with potential customers in multiple applications.
This is a genuine division of labour rather than a badge on a product.
Zeopore
- A unique proprietary platform for zeolite mesoporization
- Own semi-industrial production of meso-zeolites, scaled to ton level
- Tunable technology: mesopore volume and size, silica to alumina ratio, and active site placement can all be adjusted
- The speed and iteration cycles of a specialised scale up
Evonik
- More than 75 years of experience in precious metal and fixed bed catalysis
- Global production, technical service and sales network
- A complete precious metal loop, from procurement or leasing through to refining services
- Technical support from catalyst documentation and start up service through to on site recharge
Because the technology is tunable, we do not sell one rigid product. We build a catalyst recipe around your feed, your unit and your commercial targets, and we do it independently of your process licensor.
What we can discuss in Madrid?
- What a switch to a mesoporised isodewaxing catalyst could realistically deliver on your specific feed and unit conditions
- Dewaxing of difficult and variable renewable feeds, including used cooking oil and waste fats
- Maximising jet fuel yield in SAF production rather than losing feed to side products
- Premium base oil yield and lower operating temperatures in lube dewaxing
- Custom catalyst development, testing programmes and what a joint evaluation would involve
- Precious metal management, leasing and refining services
Cannot wait until Madrid?
Join Kurt Du Mong, CEO of Zeopore, and Stefan Roeder, Technical Marketing Manager at Evonik Catalysts, for our joint webinar in October. They go through the science and the numbers behind the new catalyst generation, and both are online afterwards to answer your questions.
Enhancing catalytic performance and commercial adoption: from mesoporous zeolites to scalable industrial impact
Wednesday, 21 October 2026, 4:00 p.m. CEST (10:00 a.m. New York, 9:00 a.m. Houston).