Albemarle to unveil new leading-edge HC-PT catalyst as part of expanding STARS® portfolio

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Apr 30, 2015, 05:03 ET

BATON ROUGE, La., April 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced today that it will further strengthen its position in the hydrocracking pre-treat (HC-PT) market by unveiling a new leading-edge catalyst as part of its portfolio of high-activity STARS® catalysts. Along with its Hydroprocessing Alliance partner UOP, Albemarle is in the final stages of pilot plant testing, and global rollout is expected in the second half of 2015.

"Because of the competition in hydrocracking reloads, this is an area where have to be continually innovative in terms of new product velocity and focusing our R&D efforts on the price and performance characteristics demanded by our refining customers," said Carl van der Grift, vice president of Clean Fuels Technology. "We expect this new STARS® catalyst to address a niche in medium- to high-pressure HC-PT operations, an area where Albemarle has been a longstanding leader in hydroprocessing catalyst product performance, technical innovation, product quality and technical service."

"Extensive pilot plant testing has shown that this catalyst is setting new benchmarks in reducing nitrogen content in the HC-PT feed to boost overall hydrocracking conversion and performance," said Edwin Berends, vice president of Albemarle's Refining Solutions Research and Technology group. "Using Albemarle's proprietary STAX® technology, we look forward to working side by side with our customers to develop custom solutions for any refining objective."

The new STARS® technology was developed by Albemarle and Nippon Ketjen and will be available through Albemarle, Nippon Ketjen and the UOP-Albemarle Hydroprocessing Alliance.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a premier specialty chemicals company with leading positions in attractive end markets around the world. With a broad customer reach and diverse end markets, Albemarle develops, manufactures and markets technologically advanced and high value added products, including lithium and lithium compounds, bromine and bromine derivatives, catalysts and surface treatment chemistries used in a wide range of applications including consumer electronics, flame retardants, metal processing, plastics, contemporary and alternative transportation vehicles, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, construction and custom chemistry services. Albemarle is focused on delivering differentiated, performance-based technologies that deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers. The Company employs approximately 6,900 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets it serves.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

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SOURCE Albemarle Corporation