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The Houdry Process: A National Historic Chemical Landmark
The Houdry Process: A National Historic Chemical Landmark
CHEMICAL LANDMARK
THE HOUDRY
PROCESS
FOR THE CATALYTIC CONVERSION OF CRUDE
PETROLEUM TO HIGH-OCTANE GASOLINE
SUN COMPANY
MARCUS HOOK, PENNSYLVANIA
T h e Office o f P u b l i c O u t r e a c h
The Houdry Process Corporation laboratory i n Linwood, Pa.
Acknowledgments:
The American Chemical Society gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the
scientists and historians who helped us to prepare this booklet, including:
G. Alex Mills, ACS Division of Fuel Chemistry; James E. McEvoy, ACS
Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry; and James J. Bohning of the
American Chemical Society, the NHCLP Advisory Committee liaison.
This booklet was produced by the ACS Office of Public Outreach. Production
Supervisor: Vivian Powers. Layout: Dahlman/Middour Design. Photographs
courtesy of the Sun Company and G. Alex Mills.
Background: The catalytic cracking
unit at Marcus Hook, Pa., 1938. Copyright © 1996 American Chemical Society
TRANSFORMING CRUDE OIL
INTO GASOLINE
"Houdry — Round-the-Clock Researcher." Chemical & Charles G . Moseley. "Eugene Houdry, Catalytic Crack-
Engineering News (Jan. 12, 1959): cover, 76, 79. ing, and W o r l d W a r I I A v i a t i o n Gasoline." Journal of
Chemical Education 61 ( A u g . 1984): 65-66.
Eugene Houdry. "Developpements et Tendances de la
Catalyse Industrielle." I n Actes du Deuxieme Congres G . A l e x M i l l s . "Catalysis: T h e Craft A c c o r d i n g to
International de Catalyse (Paris: Technip, 1960): 149-158. Houdry." C H E M T E C H 16 (Feb. 1986): 72-75.
"Eugene J. Houdry." Chemical & Engineering News Peter H . Spitz. Petrochemicals: The Rise of an Industry
( M a r c h 26, 1962): 90. (New York: John W i l e y & Sons, 1988): 123-127.
W . F. Faragher. "Eugene Jules Houdry." Chemistry and James E. McEvoy. "Citizen Houdry." C H E M T E C H 26
Industry (Oct. 27, 1962): 1870. (Feb. 1996): 6-10.
NATIONAL HISTORIC
CHEMICAL LANDMARK
T h e A C S N a t i o n a l Historic Chemical Landmarks Program recognizes our
scientific and technical heritage and encourages the preservation of historically THE HOUDRY PROCESS
important achievements and artifacts i n chemistry, chemical engineering, and the Sun Company
Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
chemical process industries. I t provides an annotated roster to remind chemists, 1937
chemical engineers, students, educators, historians, and travelers o f an inspiring The first fufi-scale commercial catalytic i
for the selective conversion of crude petrol
heritage that illuminates b o t h where we have been and where we might go when gasoline went on stream at the Marcus Hook R
Pioneered by Eugene Jules Houdry (1892-19621, the
catalytic cracking of petroleum revolutionized the
traveling the diverse paths to discovery. industry. The Houdry process cons
oil by doubting the amount of gasoline produced
by other processes. It also greatly improved the
A C S Historic Chemical Landmarks represent or are closely l i n k e d to seminal gasoline octane rating, making possible today's
efficient, high-compression automobile engines.
achievements i n the chemical sciences and technologies. A site designation marks During World War It, the high-octane fuel shipped
from Houdry plants played a critical role in
the Allied victory. The Houdry laboratories in
the location of an artifact, event, or other development of clear historical impor- linwood became the research and development
center for this and subsequent Houdry inventions.