W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA) today announced that Principal
Scientist Yuying Shu has been awarded its highest honor for her
discovery of the now patented Grace Stable Activity Improvement
(GSI) Rare Earth (RE) technology. This significant innovation
improves catalyst performance while reducing CO2 emissions for the
company’s Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) refinery customers. Grace,
headquartered in Columbia, Md., is the world’s leading supplier of
FCC catalysts and additives.
Dr. Shu’s work on this discovery spans nearly a decade and the
chemistry is described in a 2015 paper in the peer-reviewed
journal, Topics in Catalysis. Shu demonstrated a significant
improvement in catalytic activity when RE elements with smaller
ionic radii are used to make a more stable REUSY catalyst (Rare
Earth Ultra Stable Y-zeolite). Compared to conventional
RE-stabilized zeolites, GSI-stabilized zeolite has better surface
area retention and requires lower input to achieve equal catalytic
activity.
The company’s Prime technology, based on this innovation, has
been commercialized in more than 20 FCC units, raising the
performance bar within two of Grace’s most successful and
established global catalyst platforms. ACHIEVE® 400 Prime limits
undesirable hydrogen transfer reactions, delivers maximum butylene
selectivity, and increases FCC yields of valuable gasoline range
olefins. IMPACT® Prime provides improved zeolite stabilization and
leading coke selectivity in applications with high levels of nickel
and vanadium contaminant metals.
Dr. Shu’s patent has thus far received 18 citations. More
important to Grace customers, these FCC catalysts now have
delivered on their early promise, demonstrating superior commercial
performance in refineries around the world.
Grace’s Prime catalyst technology not only results in
performance improvements, it also delivers sustainability benefits.
The higher catalyst activity per unit of surface area resulting
from Dr. Shu’s innovation allows for more efficient utilization of
raw materials and results in less effluent from Grace manufacturing
plants. In addition, Prime technology reduces coke and dry gas
yields, thereby resulting in lower CO2 emissions from the refinery
and the conversion of more of each barrel of feedstock into
valuable products. ACHIEVE® 400 Prime allows the production of more
alkylate, which improves engine efficiency and lowers CO2 emissions
per mile.
Grace President and Chief Executive Officer Hudson La Force
congratulated Dr. Shu on winning the company’s most prestigious
scientific award, the Grace Award for Technical Excellence
(GATE).
“Yuying’s breakthrough work is a great example of our commitment
to innovation that leads directly to delivering value to our
customers,” said La Force. “For our customers, this means helping
them achieve both higher performance and sustainability goals. Our
Prime series of FCC catalysts do both very well, thanks in large
measure to Yuying’s discovery.”
About Principal
Scientist Shu
Dr. Shu has worked in the development of FCC catalysts and
additives for 14 years and has filed 30 patent applications, many
of which have been granted, including seven in the United States.
She has published 71 peer-reviewed journal articles and is the
recipient of many awards including Maryland’s Top Innovator of the
Year for 2010, as well as both the Procter and Gamble Prize and the
President’s Prize at the Chinese Academy of Science.
Before joining Grace in 2006, Yuying was Associate Professor and
Group Leader at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics. She honed her
research skills through appointments at the University of Delaware,
Virginia Tech, and Hokkaido University. Dr Shu earned her Ph.D. at
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Her major research interest is the development of new catalysts and
new chemical reactions.
About Grace
Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading
global specialty chemical company. The company’s two
industry-leading business segments—Catalysts Technologies and
Materials Technologies—provide innovative products, technologies,
and services that enhance the products and processes of our
customers around the world. With approximately 4,000 employees,
Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 60 countries. More
information about Grace is available at grace.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This document contains, and our other public communications may
contain, forward-looking statements, that is, information related
to future, not past, events. Such statements generally include the
words “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “targets,” “will,” “expects,”
“suggests,” “anticipates,” “outlook,” “continues,” or similar
expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding future: financial positions;
results of operations; cash flows; financing plans; business
strategy; operating plans; capital and other expenditures; impact
of COVID-19 on our business; competitive positions; growth
opportunities for existing products; benefits from new technology;
benefits from cost reduction initiatives; succession planning; and
markets for securities. For these statements, we claim the
protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements
contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of
the Exchange Act. We are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results or events to differ materially from our
projections or that could cause other forward-looking statements to
prove incorrect. Factors that could cause actual results or events
to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking
statements include, without limitation: risks related to foreign
operations, especially in areas of active conflicts and in emerging
regions; the costs and availability of raw materials, energy and
transportation; the effectiveness of our research and development
and growth investments; acquisitions and divestitures of assets and
businesses; developments affecting our outstanding indebtedness;
developments affecting our pension obligations; legacy matters
(including product, environmental, and other legacy liabilities)
relating to past activities of Grace; our legal and environmental
proceedings; environmental compliance costs (including existing and
potential laws and regulations pertaining to climate change); the
inability to establish or maintain certain business relationships;
the inability to hire or retain key personnel; natural disasters
such as storms and floods; fires and force majeure events; the
economics of our customers’ industries, including the petroleum
refining, petrochemicals, and plastics industries, and shifting
consumer preferences; public health and safety concerns, including
pandemics and quarantines; changes in tax laws and regulations;
international trade disputes, tariffs, and sanctions; the potential
effects of cyberattacks; and those additional factors set forth in
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, which have been filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are readily
available on the internet at www.sec.gov. Our reported results
should not be considered as an indication of our future
performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
our projections and forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the dates those projections and statements are made. We
undertake no obligation to release publicly any revisions to our
projections and forward-looking statements, or to update them to
reflect events or circumstances occurring after the dates those
projections and statements are made.
Media RelationsRich BadmingtonT +1
410.531.4370rich.badmington@grace.com
Investor RelationsJeremy Rohen+1
410.531.8234jeremy.rohen@grace.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3dc5afa9-09aa-4e50-b29d-ce393e627fd5
WR Grace (NYSE:GRA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
WR Grace (NYSE:GRA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024