Introducing the all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst

Why is this all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst so important? It's the most significant advancement in premium base oil production in over a decade.

Quite simply, the all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst produces the highest yields and VI ever for Group III base oils. It is the most important advancement in refining since the introduction of ISODEWAXING Technology itself.

Already, four plants are in production with the new catalyst and a fifth is scheduled to come on line in 2005. This is extremely rapid market acceptance for a catalyst with typically long life.

Chevron invented ISODEWAXING Technology in 1992 and commercialized it at its Richmond Lube Oil Plant (RLOP) in 1993. Since then, CLG's scientists continued developing catalyst formulations for improved performance.

How does it work?

SK installing its second ISODEWAXING Plant

At a plant dedication ceremony, SK honored ISODEWAXING® Catalyst and Technology

Premium base oils must provide a lower pour point and higher VI. To reduce the pour point, base oils must be dewaxed. Traditionally, refiners used solvent dewaxing to extract wax, the high-pour point material. But ironically, wax is also the highest VI component of any feedstock, so solvent dewaxing also lowered VI.

ISODEWAXING Technology overcame this limitation by isomerizing the wax (paraffins) - thus lowering the pour point while retaining much of the highest VI component of the feed. The all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst optimizes the isomerization of the wax to achieve even higher product yield and VI, by tailoring shape-selectivity and molecular chemistry. The hydrogenation (metal) function of the all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst is also greatly enhanced through excellent dispersion of noble metals.

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What are the benefits?

• Improved yield and VI over a wide range of feeds — VGO to deasphalted oil
• Ability to produce a full product slate, from light neutrals (70N and lighter, 100N), to BS 150, with no loss in performance
• Highly robust with broad range of feeds, from waxy distillates to DAO, and impurities
• Optimized manufacture of Group III, 4-4.5 cst base oils, a key component in advanced automotive applications
• Higher VI improves performance on many other attributes including lower volatility, better oxidation stability, etc.
• Customizable to better satisfy each user's specific feed, design and operating conditions — small modifications in the molecular character can contribute significantly to optimization for the user's specific application
• Cost-effectiveness: although it contains Noble metals for hydrogenation/saturation, the amounts are relatively low

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Who uses it?

• SK, a global leader in the manufacture and marketing of Group III base oils, recently dedicated its second LBO Plant based on all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst.
• Upon testing the Catalyst and observing the remarkable performance, SK decided to switch to the all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst in its existing LBO Plant, despite having many years of life left and excellent performance with its existing catalyst. SK made this decision solely on the basis of improved yields and VI.
• Two refiners in China are commissioning their CLG-licensed plants with the all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst. A full range of products, including bright stock, can be manufactured.
• Based on the step-out yields and VI, a North American refiner has taken delivery of the all-new ISODEWAXING® Catalyst and will switch out their existing catalyst before it is fully spent.

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