2. Heterogeneous catalysis in the petrochemical and chemical industries

The petrochemical industries produce major intermediates (sometimes also called "commodity" products) such as olefins, aromatics, methanol and ammonia to supply the specialty chemical industries for the production of plastics, resins, fertilizers, textile fibers, etc. The two main petrochemical processes are steam cracking of natural gas or naphtha (high-temperature cracking in the presence of steam) and the petrochemical reforming of naphtha mentioned above. Given the wide variety of chemical functions produced, numerous catalytic reactions are required to obtain the desired molecules and purities.