A three-party approach to maximizing propylene through operational excellence, innovative catalysts and hardware design

Boheng Ma is the Strategic Marketing Manager, FCC Catalysts, and oversees W. R. Grace & Co.’s max propylene portfolio of catalysts and additives. He is responsible for shaping Grace’s strategic direction in the max propylene segment, driving the commercialization of novel technologies for maximizing propylene from the FCCU to deliver differentiated value to Grace’s customers. Ma has more than a decade of broad experience across engineering, operations, research and marketing in the refining and chemical industries. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland. The author can be reached at Boheng.ma@grace.com.

Ruizhong Hu is an R&D Fellow with more than 20 yr of research experience at Grace on FCC catalysts and additives. He has held roles in new catalyst development, catalyst evaluation and testing, and R&D technical support to sales. Dr. Hu is the co-inventor of 11 new commercial products and has co-authored eight granted U.S. patents and three pending patents in FCC catalysts and additives. He holds a PhD in materials science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania (U.S.). The author can be reached at Ruizhong.hu@grace.com.

Stephen Amalraj is a Senior Principal FCC Technologist on Grace’s Global Customer Technology team (GCT), concentrating on Max propylene operations. He is currently based in Dubai. Amalraj has more than 32 yr of experience and worked in five different refineries/petrochemical units and for an FCC catalyst manufacturer before joining Grace in 2021. He has been involved in many different aspects of FCC, such as projects, engineering, commissioning and operations, technical services and catalyst solutions. Amalraj holds a B.Tech degree in chemical engineering.

Yujun Jeong is a Technical Service Manager with W.R. Grace & Co. with more than 25 yr of experience in technical support and the operation of FCCUs. He holds BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering from Seoul National University in South Korea. The author can be reached at yujun.jeong@grace.com.