Sulfuric Acid Catalysts

BASF designs catalysts for maximum performance. Since 1913, we have run production plants with the lowest levels of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions in the world. That’s because the large surface area of our sulfuric acid catalysts delivers an unrivaled SO₂ emission profile.

With our latest innovations, the market-leading the O4-116 Quattro catalyst and the disruptive X3D^® technology, we successfully transitioned a state-of-the-art portfolio into the step-change technologies that are required in modern operations.

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To our customers, that means effortless regulatory compliance, no additional emission reduction costs, higher conversion and bigger profits. These results last. Because of their exceptional physical stability, our catalysts offer a longer lifetime, energy savings and minimal downtime risks.

At BASF, all of that comes with total service dedication, reliable customer support backed by the inventor of sulfuric acid catalysts, and decades of experience.

Why BASF?

Because BASF designs sulfuric acid catalysts to maximize outcomes, their exceptional stability and large surface area deliver consistent, lasting results. Our customers receive a longer-lasting catalyst with exceptionally low SO₂ emissions, energy savings and reduced downtime risks, which translates to improved regulatory compliance, saved costs and more profit. Our knowledgeable specialists deliver all that along with dedicated customer support.

When customers work with BASF, they benefit from our decades of experience in:

Conversion evaluation
Performance optimization
Technical assistance
Customer sample analysis
On-site plant support
Spent catalyst disposal assistance
Process performance evaluation

X3D^® - A step-change technology

In 2022, BASF introduced the novel X3D^®technology, a new additive manufacturing technology for catalysts based on 3D printing. Catalysts produced with this step-change technology feature an open structure resulting in reduction of the pressure drop across the reactor and a high surface area, significantly improving the catalysts’ performance. BASF can apply the technology to a wide variety of existing catalytic materials. BASF’s Sulfuric Acid catalyst O4-115 X3D^®is already being used in industrial plants.

The Quattro family - never stop innovating

In 1913, the first patent on the vanadium-based catalyst was granted to BASF - and it is still the chemical foundation of all sulfuric acid catalysts on the market.
Based on that tradition, BASF introduced the Quattro family of sulfuric acid catalysts a few years ago. This innovative catalyst family with its unique shape has a greater catalytic surface area, higher strength and a longer production lifetime compared to other sulfuric acid catalysts, boosting performance, reducing emissions and further increasing your plant capacity.