Zeolite Catalyst Patents: Who Leads as Filings Decline 2026
- Filings have declined since the 2017 peak. 356 filings in 2017 fell to a partial 23 in 2026, with the 2022 midpoint at 271 — a flat-to-declining trend, not a growing one.
- One applicant family dominates recent activity. Sinopec and its affiliated research institutes account for the strongest co-assignee pairings in the dataset, well ahead of any Western major.
- Refining-adjacent classes carry real weight. C10G (hydrocarbon oil refining) appears in 1,909 records and F01N (exhaust treatment) in 158, showing crystallization claims routinely reach into downstream process and emissions use.
Filing growth compares 2021 (228 records) with 2024 (192) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 9,205 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Zeolite catalyst crystallization sits at the intersection of inorganic materials chemistry and industrial process engineering: the search spans hydrothermal crystallization, zeolite synthesis, crystal growth and template-free synthesis claims filed against molecular sieve and zeolite catalyst subject matter. The IPC gate (C01B39, B01J29, C30B) keeps the corpus anchored to synthesis and catalytic composition rather than end-use device claims, though downstream refining and separation classes still appear heavily.
Nine thousand two hundred and five patent families were captured across the window, filed out of receiving offices led by the United States, China and the EPO, with WIPO PCT filings and Japan and Canada national filings behind them. Publication lags filing by roughly eighteen months, so the most recent filing years are undercounted in any trend line drawn from this data.
Let an AI agent run this analysis on your own technology
Pick a task. Every answer cites the patents behind it.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same corpus: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
A peak already behind us
Filings peaked at 356 in 2017 and had fallen to a partial 23 by 2026, with 271 at the 2022 midpoint. That shape reads as a mature filing wave rather than an emerging one — treat the tail-end years as undercounted due to publication lag, but the multi-year decline through the midpoint is real.
Catalysis and refining dominate, exhaust treatment is marginal
C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds) and B01J (catalytic processes) each carry roughly two-thirds of the corpus, confirming this is fundamentally a synthesis-and-catalysis story. C07C, C10G and B01D show the claim space regularly extends into hydrocarbon conversion, refining and separation, while F01N (exhaust treatment) at 158 records marks emissions-catalyst use as a minor but present branch.
Shares are the percentage of the 9,205 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Zeolite Catalyst Crystallization with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about zeolite catalyst crystallization and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaFoundational filings and a recent representative claim
US20230121156A1 — Zeolite catalyst for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons to produce propylene
Filed by Henan University, this 2023 filing claims a route to a zeolite catalyst for propylene production: mixing a silicon source, templating agent, aluminium source and solvent into a precursor solution, hydrothermal crystallization, washing, drying and calcination to form the zeolite precursor, ammonium ion-exchange, and aluminium loading onto the ion-exchanged precursor by incipient-wetness impregnation.Illustrative of a still-active filing pattern: academic assignees claiming multi-step post-synthesis modification (ion-exchange plus impregnation) rather than novel crystallization chemistry alone.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4310440A | Crystalline metallophosphate compositions | 1,749 |
| 2 | US4439409A | Crystalline aluminosilicate PSH-3 and its process of preparation | 1,370 |
| 3 | US4826667A | Zeolite SSZ-25 | 1,232 |
| 4 | EP0384070A2 | Zeolite P, process for its preparation and its use in detergent compositions | 1,226 |
| 5 | US4499327A | Production of light olefins | 1,064 |
| 6 | US4544538A | Zeolite SSZ-13 and its method of preparation | 1,058 |
| 7 | WO2008132452A2 | Transition metal/zeolite SCR catalysts | 630 |
| 8 | US5282958A | Use of modified 5-7 a pore molecular sieves for isomerization of hydrocarbons | 583 |
| 9 | US5075269A | Production of high viscosity index lubricating oil stock | 534 |
| 10 | US4503023A | Silicon substituted zeolite compositions and process for preparing same | 529 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations inside this searched corpus — read them as a signal of foundational influence, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the numbers say
Three patterns stand out once filing volume, geography and co-assignment are read together.
A wave that crested in 2017
The filing count fell from a peak of 356 in 2017 to a partial 23 in 2026, passing through 271 at the 2022 midpoint. This is a declining trend across the full window, not a temporary dip — new entrants face a shrinking flow of fresh publications to react to.
US, China and EPO carry the bulk of filings
The United States leads at 2,188 filings, followed by China at 1,765 and the EPO at 1,492. WIPO PCT filings (763) sit below all three major national/regional offices, suggesting most applicants file directly rather than route broad international protection through PCT for this subject matter.
Sinopec's internal research network dominates recent activity
The strongest co-assignee pairing links Sinopec's parent entity to its Petroleum Chemical Research Institute at 238 joint filings, with two further internal institute pairings close behind. Recent-year momentum data shows Sinopec still filing (4 in the latest year) while several historically active Western majors show zero filings in the latest year.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to zeolite catalyst crystallization, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is active, and where the claim space is still open
Assignee activity is concentrated around a small number of Chinese state-affiliated research institutes, with the historically dominant Western majors largely inactive in the most recent year.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) (Sinopec)
Sinopec is the only assignee in the tracked momentum set still publishing in the latest year, filing through a dense internal network of affiliated research institutes rather than as a single filing entity.
Chevron, ExxonMobil, UOP, Mobil, Johnson Matthey
Every major Western oil-major and catalyst-house assignee tracked in the momentum data shows zero filings in the latest year, with Chevron's US entity down -100% year over year. This does not mean these firms have exited the field — it means their claim activity in this exact search window has gone quiet.
A large base of single- or few-filing entrants
Beyond the top assignee cluster, the corpus is populated by academic institutions and smaller process-engineering firms filing narrow, single-family claims — the Henan University filing is typical of this pattern.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) | 4 | 0% |
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc. | 0 | — |
| UOP LLC | 0 | — |
| Mobil Oil Corporation | 0 | — |
| Johnson Matthey PLC (UK) | 0 | — |
| ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company | 0 | — |
| Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The landscape points to a mature, geographically concentrated filing pattern with specific gaps still open to new claims.
Map claim scope against the Sinopec institute cluster
Before filing in core hydrothermal crystallization or template-free synthesis, check overlap against the Sinopec parent and its affiliated institutes specifically — they file jointly and hold the densest recent claim coverage in this corpus.
Run a claim-scope check in EurekaTrack dormant incumbents for re-entry
Chevron, ExxonMobil, UOP, Mobil and Johnson Matthey show zero recent filings but hold the most-cited foundational patents. A shift in their filing behaviour would be an early signal worth monitoring.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaExplore the under-claimed branches directly
Exhaust-treatment zeolite catalysts and seed-assisted crystal growth control both show thin filing density relative to the core synthesis claims — worth a focused freedom-to-operate search before committing R&D.
Search white space in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
Filing volume has declined from a peak of 356 in 2017 to a partial 23 in 2026, with 271 at the 2022 midpoint, so the overall trend is flat to declining rather than growing. That said, publication lag of roughly eighteen months means the most recent one to two years understate true filing activity. Sinopec's continued filing in the latest tracked year shows the field is not dormant, just past its peak filing wave.
Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec)) and its affiliated research institutes form the most active and tightly connected filing cluster in this dataset, with co-assignee pairings well above any other combination. Historically influential Western assignees — Chevron, ExxonMobil, UOP, Mobil and Johnson Matthey — hold the most-cited foundational patents but show no filings in the latest tracked year. That combination suggests active claim-building has shifted geographically even as older Western patents remain influential by citation count.
The core gate used here is C01B39 (non-metallic compounds), B01J29 (catalytic processes) and C30B (crystal growth), which together capture the synthesis chemistry. To catch downstream use claims you should also check C07C and C10G, which cover hydrocarbon conversion and refining and appear in a substantial share of this corpus. B01D (separation) and the smaller F01N (exhaust treatment) class are worth a secondary check if your interest extends to process integration or emissions catalysis.
Thinner filing density shows up in template-free mesoporous zeolite routes, low-temperature hydrothermal crystallization kinetics, and seed-assisted crystal growth control relative to the dense core synthesis claims. The F01N exhaust-treatment overlap is also comparatively light at 158 records against a corpus of over 9,000. Any of these branches offers a lower prior-art density for a first claim, though a full freedom-to-operate search against the Sinopec institute cluster is still warranted before filing.
Citation counts inside a searched corpus mechanically favour older filings because they have had more years to accumulate citations from later patents. US4310440A, US4439409A and the other top-cited records here date back decades and are foundational to zeolite and molecular sieve composition generally, not necessarily central to current commercial practice. Use the citation count as a signal of historical influence on the field, and check current filing activity separately before deciding whether a patent still constrains your work.
Research Zeolite Catalyst Crystallization in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole zeolite catalyst crystallization corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.