An U.S based Startup “Rive Technology” is commercializing an MIT-developed invention that improves catalysts used in oil refining, leading to greater yields.
Refining of crude oil traditionally uses porous materials called zeolites as catalysts. When hydrocarbon compounds enter a zeolite’s micropores, they break down into transportation fuels and gas. But because of their pore size, the standard zeolites used for refining can’t diffuse the largest hydrocarbons.
An MIT post doctoral student Javier García-Martínez had designed zeolites with pores that were 10 times larger. This technology would allow refineries to, for example, process more barrels or run heavier (and less expensive) crude oil feeds, leading to greater yields and profits.
García-Martínez founded a Startup “Rive Technology” in 2006 with two other people for commercializing his invention.
Rive has raised more than $67 million in venture capital. And, Two U.S. refineries have successfully trialed this technology.
Rive’s ultimate aim is to use nanotechnology that targets hydrocarbons to transform oil refining — “the horsepower of the 20th century,” García-Martínez says — to a modern, efficient, and sustainable energy-production industry.
“We are going to be using hydrocarbons for many years to come, so we must use them more efficiently, reducing the amount of byproducts produced and increasing the quality of our fuels,” says García-Martínez.
This technology can be used in a wide range of applications, such as water and air treatment and converting waste and biomass to useful materials and energy.
García-Martínez believes Rive’s technology is demonstrative of how nanotechnology — and specifically, “controlled porosity” — can improve global energy consumption. “I am personally convinced that nanotechnology in general, and materials with controlled porosity in particular, hold the promise to solve some of our most pressing challenges, such as cleaner energy production, mitigating climate change, and better water and air quality,” he says.
