Heterogeneous Catalysis Separation Process Patent Landscape
Heterogeneous Catalysis Separation Process Patent Landscape in 2026
The heterogeneous catalysis separation process field is a moderately concentrated, mature space in which Mannesmann AG holds the largest position among the top hundred filers. Activity has plateaued near its 2021 peak on a multi-year basis, with China as the dominant filing jurisdiction and core chemical/physical processes driving the bulk of technology coverage.
Mannesmann AG leads a field with moderate top-tier concentration
Mannesmann AG holds the leading position among ranked applicants, followed by Catalytic Distillation Technologies and Total Fina Elf France. The top five filers together account for thirty percent of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate but not overwhelming concentration.
A discernible tier gap exists between the top three applicants — Mannesmann AG, Catalytic Distillation Technologies, and Total Fina Elf France — and the cluster of academic and research institutions that populate positions four through ten. Industrial players dominate the highest-volume slots, while universities and public research bodies spread activity across a broader set of technical branches.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mannesmann AG | 19 | |
| 2 | Catalytic Distillation Technologies | 14 | |
| 3 | Total Fina Elf France | 12 | |
| 4 | Beijing University of Technology | 7 | |
| 5 | The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas | 7 | |
| 6 | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | 6 | |
| 7 | Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg | 5 | |
| 8 | Dalian University of Technology | 5 | |
| 9 | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) | 4 | |
| 10 | Institute of Oil and Coal Chemical Synthesis at Irkutsk State University | 4 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Brno University of Technology | 3 | |
| 12 | Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) | 3 | |
| 13 | Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) | 3 | |
| 14 | Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 3 | |
| 15 | Sulzer Chemtech AG | 3 | |
| 16 | Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 3 | |
| 17 | Suzhou Baideli Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 18 | Total Marketing Services | 2 | |
| 19 | Erik Solbu AB | 2 | |
| 20 | Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 2 |
Mannesmann AG’s lead, concentrated in gas separation and exhaust treatment, and Catalytic Distillation Technologies’ strength in reactive distillation and acyclic compound synthesis, signal that process-integrated catalysis remains the commercial heartland. New entrants and challengers are largely academic, suggesting that translational IP from universities could be an acquisition or licensing target for industrially focused R&D teams.
The most recent twelve to twenty-four months of filings are subject to publication lag and will appear under-counted until examination cycles complete; the current record should be treated as a floor, not a ceiling, for that window.
Activity plateaued after 2021; B01J and B01D together dominate technology mix
Two views — annual filing volume and IPC branch composition — together show a field that reached peak intensity around 2021 and has since held near that level, with a core technology duopoly of catalysis and separation process classes and a long tail of adjacent branches that remain sparsely covered.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings rose from four in 2017 to a peak of eight in 2021, then eased to seven in both 2022 and 2023 before stepping down to four in 2024 and six in 2025. The 2024 and 2025 figures should be read as preliminary given publication lag. On a multi-year basis the field remains at elevated levels relative to the 2017–2019 baseline, consistent with the lifecycle assessment of mature plateau rather than contraction.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B01J (chemical and physical processes and catalysis) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) together account for the two largest branches by record count, reflecting the integrated nature of catalytic separation work. C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds) is a distant third, pointing to organic synthesis applications such as reactive distillation. Downstream application branches — C10G hydrocarbon refining, C02F water treatment, F01N exhaust treatment — each carry materially lower counts, flagging them as under-served relative to the core process classes.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Conjugated linoleic acid rich vegetable oil produc…
The invention is directed to CLA-rich vegetable oil production from linoleic rich oils by heterogeneous catalysis. The process produces conjugated PUFA in triglyceride form, preferably at least 20% CLA-rich, by isomerization of a non-conjugated PUFA in vegetable oils using a heterogeneous transition metal catalyst promoted by an organic acid and/or… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Method for preparing catalysts for heterogeneous c… | 90 |
| 2 | Process and device for desulphurizing hydrocarbons… | 53 |
| 3 | Device for the purification of contaminated exhaus… | 30 |
| 4 | 一种多相催化净化气体中有机污染物的装置及方法 | 26 |
| 5 | Processing a four carbon cut from the fractionatio… | 25 |
| 6 | 一种连续多相催化制备碳酸乙烯酯的方法和催化剂 | 24 |
| 7 | Catalytic purificn. of polluted air – using elemen… | 22 |
| 8 | 一种页岩油催化提质方法 | 21 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
China-dominant filing geography creates a specific set of entry and differentiation options for an R&D team evaluating this space.
Mature plateau: peak was 2021, annual volume has eased but not declined
The lifecycle assessment places the field at maturity, with annual filings having plateaued near their 2021 peak. The thirteen-percent recent-window growth figure confirms the multi-year trend remains positive, but engineers should not expect the rapid claim-space expansion typical of an emerging field. Incremental process improvement and application-specific differentiation are the more realistic R&D vectors at this stage.
MaturityTop tier is industrial; mid-tier is predominantly academic
The top five filers account for thirty percent of the hundred largest filers’ combined records, a moderate concentration that leaves meaningful room for challengers. The clear tier gap between three industrial leaders and a cluster of universities means that academic portfolios in positions four through ten may be available for licensing or co-development. An entrant with strong process engineering capability could close the gap by targeting the under-served adjacent branches where even the leaders have thin coverage.
ConcentrationA tight French academic-industry cluster is the most active co-filing group
The most active co-filing relationships link Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and SICAT, each pair sharing five co-filed records — the highest collaboration density in the dataset. Dalian University of Technology and ECO Environmental Energy Research Institute Limited form a smaller Chinese pairing with two shared records. These clusters indicate that structured academic-industry partnerships, rather than purely internal corporate R&D, have been the primary vehicle for pushing novel catalytic separation concepts into the patent record.
CollaborationChina dominates filing volume; Europe and the US hold significant second-tier positions
China is the leading filing jurisdiction by a wide margin. Europe via the EPO and the United States follow as the next most important jurisdictions, with Germany and South Korea also holding notable positions. WIPO PCT filings indicate applicants seeking broad international coverage for their most commercially significant innovations. An R&D team building a freedom-to-operate picture should prioritise China, EPO, and US prosecution tracks; niche jurisdictions such as Australia, India, Austria, and the Czech Republic carry smaller but non-trivial record counts worth monitoring.
GeographyGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | 5 |
| Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg | SICAT | 5 |
| Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | SICAT | 5 |
| Dalian University of Technology | ECO Environmental Energy Research Institute Limited | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Mannesmann AG and Catalytic Distillation Technologies define the top tier by distinct technical routes
The two leading applicants approach heterogeneous catalysis separation from complementary angles — one rooted in gas-phase separation and exhaust treatment, the other in reactive distillation and organic compound synthesis — creating distinct freedom-to-operate profiles for challengers.
Mannesmann AG
Mannesmann AG leads the ranked applicants with nineteen patent records. Its technology emphasis is concentrated in B01D 53 gas separation processes, B01J 35 catalyst structures, and F01N 3 exhaust gas treatment — a profile that spans both industrial separation and automotive emissions control. No recent-period momentum data is reported for Mannesmann AG in the evidence, consistent with it being an established holder rather than an active new filer.
families: 19Catalytic Distillation Technologies
Catalytic Distillation Technologies holds fourteen patent records and focuses exclusively on the integration of catalytic reaction and distillation separation, with its top classes being B01J 8 (fixed-bed and fluid-bed reactors), C07C 27 (acyclic organic synthesis), and B01D 3 (distillation). This reactive-distillation specialisation is technically distinct from Mannesmann AG’s gas-separation and exhaust route, making it the dominant reference point for any entrant targeting catalytic column technology.
families: 14| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing University of Technology | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches worth watching
Several IPC branches appear in the dataset at materially lower coverage relative to the dominant B01J and B01D core, representing areas where the existing patent literature is thin and the technical and application rationale for heterogeneous catalytic separation is plausible.
C02F · Water and wastewater treatment
C02F carries twelve patent records, representing three percent of the branch distribution — sparse relative to the dominant separation and catalysis classes. Heterogeneous catalytic processes for pollutant destruction and water purification are technically well-grounded extensions of the core field, and environmental regulation continues to tighten globally. An entrant with catalyst design expertise could build differentiated IP here with relatively low blocking risk from the current leaders, whose portfolios are concentrated in hydrocarbon and gas-phase applications rather than aqueous systems.
Search this in Eureka →C07D · Heterocyclic compounds
C07D (heterocyclic compounds) holds thirteen patent records at three percent share, indicating that catalytic separation routes for heterocyclic synthesis and purification — relevant to pharmaceutical intermediates, agrochemicals, and specialty chemicals — are underrepresented relative to the field’s core acyclic organic chemistry coverage in C07C. The absence of a dominant filer in this sub-branch and its cross-sector applicability suggest a plausible entry path for fine-chemical or pharma-adjacent R&D programs, though commercial viability would require independent market validation.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across catalysis and separation sub-classes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | B01D 53 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | B01J 23 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 35 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 37 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 31 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mannesmann AG | Strong · 19 | Absent | Strong · 11 | Moderate · 7 | Absent |
| Beijing University of Technology | Strong · 7 | Strong · 7 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent |
| Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Absent |
| Total Fina Elf France | Absent | Strong · 8 | Strong · 8 | Absent | Absent |
| Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Strong · 5 | Strong · 5 | Absent | Strong · 5 | Absent |
| Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg | Strong · 5 | Strong · 5 | Absent | Strong · 5 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
Among the top hundred ranked applicants, Mannesmann AG holds the largest number of patent records, followed by Catalytic Distillation Technologies and Total Fina Elf France.
The field is at a mature plateau. Annual filings peaked around 2021 and have eased from that peak, though the multi-year window still shows positive growth of thirteen percent. The most recent data points for 2024 and 2025 are subject to publication lag and should be treated as preliminary.
China is the leading filing jurisdiction by a considerable margin. Europe via the EPO and the United States are the next most significant, followed by Germany, South Korea, and WIPO PCT filings. An IP strategy covering China, EPO, and the US would address the bulk of active prosecution activity.
B01J (chemical and physical processes and catalysis) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) are the two dominant branches by record count. C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds) is a significant third, reflecting reactive distillation and organic synthesis applications.
Yes. The most active co-filing cluster connects Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and SICAT, with five shared records between each pairing. Dalian University of Technology and ECO Environmental Energy Research Institute Limited form a smaller Chinese pairing with two shared records.
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) and C07D (heterocyclic compounds) each carry around twelve to thirteen patent records — roughly three percent of the branch distribution — making them relatively sparse relative to the B01J and B01D core. C10G (hydrocarbon refining) and C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds) are also identified as lower-coverage branches adjacent to the dominant classes.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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