Meeting sulphur specification standards An ever-increasing awareness of the environment has meant an increased focus on environmental standards and an increased demand for Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel – ULSD. This has entailed steeper requirements for the refining industry and tighter sulphur specification standards. Topsoe’s BRIM™ catalyst was developed for hydrotreating in response to changing sulphur emission standards. Catalytic reaction sites Topsoe has worked to improve the hydroprocessing catalysts used for sulphur removal in the refining industry for decades, over the years bringing ever-improving catalysts to the market: Henrik Topsøe

and his team’s discovery of the Type I catalytic reaction site ensured the development of catalysts with a higher density of sites for direct desulphurisation, and the later discovery of the Type II reaction site further increased the catalytic activity level.

The atomic scale

Working side by side top scientists from Denmark’s Technical University and the University of Aarhus, Denmark, Topsoe’s Research and Development used a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) to observe chemical reactions at atomic level. The aim of the project was to study the nanocrystals of molybdenum disulphide in order to better understand how they work in hydrodesulphurisation catalysis (HDS), an essential step in the refining industry’s hydroprocessing.

"The STM microscope functions like an atomic gramophone which scans the structure of the surfaces. When we studied the pictures, it was quite surprising that the structure catalytically active edges and the BRIM™ condition of the small nanocrystals is different to that on larger nanocrystals," says Research Scientist Stig Helveg.

The "brim sites"

Topsoe’s researchers discovered that the molybdenum disulphide nanocrystals carried more active catalytic reaction sites close to the edges of the nanocrystals. Therefore researchers named the new catalytic sites "brim sites". 

Topsoe’s BRIM™ technology has generated international interest from researchers and our industrial clients.

"Through our catalytic development approach and a fruitful collaboration with universities, Topsoe’s BRIM™ discoveries have generated a new generation of catalysts which enable our clients to meet sharper environmental standards," says Henrik Topsøe, Executive Vice President. "Topsoe’s unique approach lies in the ability to transfer our know-how to the production of catalysts with more active brim sites."