The most important measure of ethylene oxide catalyst performance is selectivity defined as the molar yield of ethylene oxide produced per molar quantity of ethylene reacted. Another important parameter is activity, the catalyst temperature required to achieve the desired EO production level. Shell Catalysts & Technologies’ scientists have focused on improving not only the initial selectivity performance of our ethylene oxide catalysts but also the average catalyst selectivity throughout life.

Our High Selectivity catalysts offer unrivalled initial selectivity and excellent stability, leading the industry in performance. Our Hybrid catalysts were created to offer an alternative to High Activity catalyst, and over time have improved to a level where they now offer a huge enhancement in selectivity over High Activity.

Highly active, highly selective EO catalysts make up Shell Catalysts & Technologies’ High-Performance catalyst family which can operate for long periods at significantly higher work rates than other catalyst types and are more tolerant of higher CO₂ concentrations. Additionally, Shell’s High-Performance EO catalysts also experience consistently slower performance decline over time, offering the highest average selectivity levels.

Our Key strengths in EO/EG Technology:

• Pioneer and industry leader in EO process and catalyst technology development
• The largest EO catalyst supplier with world-class manufacturing facilities
• Experienced and responsive technical team work with customers to identify opportunities to improve plant profitability; operations & reliability
• More than 50% of the world’s EO is made using Shell technology