Role of Rare Earths as Catalysts in the Chemical, Petroleum and Transportation Industries

This chapter addresses the application of rare earths in petroleum refining, transportation, chemical processing and pollution abatement. Petroleum refining, especially fluid catalytic cracking, is the main area where rare earths are applied as catalysts. Rare earths also find wide application in catalytic converters and in air pollution control in car exhaust. One area that is beginning to see the emergence of the application of rare earths as catalysts is chemical processing, where the introduction of rare earths leads to increased catalyst performance. This chapter reviews the effects of rare earth elements on the structure, activity and stability of these catalysts.