Consistency isn’t the absence of variation. It’s the ability to control it.

A good catalyst recipe is only the beginning. Consistent quality comes from measuring every step of production and catching variability before it reaches the customer.

That was the key message from Dr. Matthew Rayner, Senior Specialist in Analytical Excellence at Ketjen, at our Future Days: Catalysts event on September 22. Based at Ketjen’s Amsterdam manufacturing site, Matthew leads catalyst analysis and operational support, bringing together quality control, production experience, and advanced characterization. He knows catalyst characterization from both sides of the lab bench: before joining Ketjen, he spent eight years at Malvern Panalytical, most recently as an application specialist in X-ray fluorescence. He is also a participating member of ASTM Committee D32 on Catalysts.

For over a century, Ketjen’s Amsterdam site has produced everything from sulfuric acid to dyes, sugar, and saccharin. Through decades of mergers and name changes, one thing has stayed consistent since 1953: catalysts. Today, the site produces fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and hydroprocessing catalysts and is home to Ketjen’s Clean Fuels Technology R&D Center.

At Future Days: Catalysts, Matthew presented ‘From dye works to deep desulfurization: a century of reinvention at Ketjen Amsterdam.’ He walked through the site’s history, its products, and the analytical testing that turns a good recipe into a consistent product. Here’s a recap of his insights.

Catch up on the full session and more from Future Days: Catalysts.

Two catalyst families, one goal

Ketjen Amsterdam produces two families of catalysts. They take different physical forms and fulfill different roles in the refinery but share the same purpose: better conversion.

FCC catalysts are porous, spray-dried particles built from zeolites, alumina, and clay in a silica matrix. They help convert large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, higher-value products, allowing refiners to optimize the value obtained from each barrel. Each formulation is tailored to the feed, the unit, and the yields the refinery wants.

Hydroprocessing catalysts are engineered extrudates, with alumina-based supports that carry active metals. They remove heteroatoms from feeds, such as sulfur, which is removed as hydrogen sulfide, and nitrogen, removed as ammonia. Oxygen removal is also becoming increasingly important as refineries process more renewable feeds. Because these catalysts work in fixed beds over long operating windows, they must be robust enough to withstand reactor conditions for their entire service life.

Every production step leaves a measurable trace

Both catalyst families start the same way: the catalyst material is formed, shaped by spray-drying or extrusion, then dried or calcined. Hydroprocessing catalysts are then impregnated with active metals and finished. Each step, Matthew explained, creates a measurable material state, and analytics make those states visible. Tracking how a material state changes from step to step is the core job of Ketjen’s QC and analytical teams.

Ketjen’s labs organize that analysis around three questions:

1. Composition: are the active metals, support, and additives correct? Techniques include XRF, ICP, XRD, Raman, and electron microscopy.
2. Accessibility: can feed molecules reach the active chemistry? Gas adsorption, mercury porosimetry, and particle sizing help provide the answer.
3. Integrity: will the catalyst survive manufacturing and service? Strength, abrasion, attrition, and fines testing give insight.

That analysis runs as a closed loop: verify raw materials, characterize intermediates, release the finished product, and learn from process and performance data. It also runs at scale. Ketjen’s Houston lab alone handles around 200 samples per day. Dedicated performance testing for both catalyst families, plus daily sampling from customers’ refinery units, completes the picture.

The goal isn’t the same result every time. It’s catching variability and correcting it before it reaches the customer. For catalyst manufacturers, accurate, repeatable characterization provides an essential foundation for quality.

Key questions from the Q&A

What will analytical teams need over the next five years?

The catalyst industry has historically been secretive, with technologies protected by IP. Many analytical methods were developed in-house and became the standard within a single site or company, without reflecting external methods. Matthew highlighted the opportunity to bring more internal methods into closer alignment with current, standardized approaches.

What is it like joining a standards committee?

Matthew describes himself as a ASTM D32 “rookie,” bringing a fresh perspective to the committee’s work.  In his view, analytical technology evolves rapidly, and methods that have not been reviewed for lengthy periods have the risk of becoming outdated.  In Matthew’s capacity as a current laboratory practitioner, he shares his experience of current laboratory practices, helping to ensure that standards remain relevant and are aligned with the needs of modern industry.

How will AI and self-driving labs shape catalyst development?

Machine learning is already making high-throughput screening in R&D smarter, and Matthew expects adoption to accelerate once more teams engage. The main constraint is investment. Automated labs require significant investment and management willing to back it, though the barrier is starting to fall.

Watch the recording of this session to find out more about how Ketjen tests catalyst performance under real refinery conditions, and more from Future Days: Catalysts.