Zeolite Catalyst Separation Process Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- Filing has cooled since a 2017 peak of 143 records, with the most recent full year down to roughly a tenth of that level — a mature, well-claimed field rather than a growing one.
- B01J (catalysis) and C01B (inorganic compounds) dominate the IPC mix, while C07D heterocyclic chemistry sits at a fraction of that volume, marking a comparatively open branch.
- Momentum has stalled even among the largest holders, with recent-year filings from major assignees down sharply year-on-year, suggesting incumbents are defending positions rather than expanding them.
Filing growth compares 2021 (81 records) with 2024 (70) — 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 4,305 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this dataset covers
This landscape draws on 4,305 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine zeolite or molecular sieve chemistry with adsorptive separation methods — pressure swing adsorption, molecular sieving and gas separation — under the core classification codes for catalysis, inorganic compounds and separation processes. The scope is narrow by design: it isolates the intersection of zeolite catalyst composition claims and the separation processes built around them, rather than zeolite chemistry or gas separation broadly.
Filing activity peaked in 2017 and has since declined toward the present filing year, which is itself partial. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the last one to two years in any trend line will understate real activity — treat the most recent points as a floor, not a ceiling.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 4,305 families: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how those filings distribute across the IPC subclasses that define this space.
A field past its filing peak
Filings ran at 143 in 2017 and had fallen to 14 by the most recent (partial) year, with 2022 sitting at 141 near the midpoint of the window. The flat-to-declining trend indicates the core claim space — zeolite composition and the PSA/molecular-sieving processes built on it — was substantially staked out earlier in the period, and new filers now face dense prior art rather than open ground.
Catalysis and inorganic chemistry lead the classification mix
B01J (chemical/physical processes and catalysis) and C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds) account for the bulk of records, with B01D separation processes close behind — consistent with the search scope. Volumes fall off sharply moving into C07C, C10G and especially C07D heterocyclic compounds and C10L fuels, which sit at a fraction of the core subclasses' density and mark the outer, thinner-claimed edges of the field.
Shares are the percentage of the 4,305 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Zeolite Catalyst Separation Process with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about zeolite catalyst separation process and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe patents everyone in this space cites
US6051051A — Binder-free molecular sieve zeolite granules (lithium zeolite A / lithium zeolite X)
The present invention relates to binder-free molecular sieve zeolite granules of lithium zeolite A and lithium zeolite X, a process for preparing these molecular sieve zeolite granules and their use for preparing nitrogen or oxygen from air by pressure swing adsorption.Filed by UOP LLC; granted 2000-04-18.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4826667A | Zeolite SSZ-25 | 1,232 |
| 2 | US4544538A | Zeolite SSZ-13 and its method of preparation | 1,058 |
| 3 | US4910006A | Zeolite SSZ-26 | 428 |
| 4 | US20080241052A1 | Apparatus, method and system for delivering oxygen-ozone | 425 |
| 5 | US5958370A | Zeolite SSZ-39 | 422 |
| 6 | US6709644B2 | Small crystallite zeolite CHA | 412 |
| 7 | US5053373A | Zeolite SSZ-32 | 374 |
| 8 | US5316753A | Zeolite SSZ-35 | 352 |
| 9 | US4793984A | Molecular sieve compositions | 344 |
| 10 | US4859217A | Process for separating nitrogen from mixtures thereof with less polar substances | 297 |
Citation counts favour older records inside any 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.
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Browse MCP servers →What the data implies for a filing decision
Three patterns worth weighing before drafting new claims in this space.
A field that has already been claimed
Annual filings dropped from a 2017 peak of 143 to 14 in the most recent (partial) year, with 2022 near the midpoint at 141. New entrants are filing into dense prior art rather than a growing category.
Uneven density across IPC subclasses
B01J catalysis records outnumber C07D heterocyclic-compound records by more than fifty to one within this corpus, showing where claim space is saturated and where it is comparatively thin.
US and EPO carry the bulk of filings
The United States leads receiving-office volume, followed by Europe, Japan, WIPO/PCT, Canada and China — a filing pattern typical of industrial catalysis IP built for multi-jurisdiction enforcement.
Even top holders are pulling back
The most active assignee's recent-year filings fell sharply year-on-year, and several other major holders show zero filings in the latest year — consistent with a defend-rather-than-expand posture across the field.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to zeolite catalyst separation process, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the ground, and where it opens up
Filing activity concentrates among a small group of established catalysis and industrial gas players, with co-filing patterns pointing to long-standing corporate or inventor relationships rather than new alliances.
A tight core of repeat co-filers
The strongest co-assignee pairings link the same corporate families or inventor teams across many filings, indicating stable internal R&D groups rather than shifting joint ventures.
Multiple leaders show no recent activity
Several of the historically largest assignees recorded zero filings in the most recent year, which — allowing for publication lag — still points to a slowdown in fresh claim-staking by incumbents.
Multi-jurisdiction filing is the norm
Activity spans the US, EPO, Japan, WIPO/PCT, Canada and China, meaning a freedom-to-operate check confined to one office will miss a meaningful share of the enforceable claim base.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. | 1 | -67% |
| UOP LLC | 0 | -100% |
| NGK Insulators, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | — |
| L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme pour l'Étude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude | 0 | — |
| Praxair Technology, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Arkema France | 0 | -100% |
| Zeochem LLC | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The landscape points to where filing has concentrated and where it has thinned out. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means going deeper on specific claims and specific holders.
Map claims against the under-claimed branches
Run the specific sub-areas flagged above — heterocyclic routes, fuel-grade sieves, lithium-exchanged formulations — against full claim text to confirm they are genuinely open rather than covered by broader parent claims.
Explore in Eureka →Check freedom-to-operate against the top-cited patents
The most-cited records in this corpus, several from the same zeolite family (SSZ series), define the boundaries most new filings will need to design around.
Explore in Eureka →Common questions about this landscape
It is a patent covering the use of zeolite or molecular sieve materials — crystalline aluminosilicates with uniform pore structures — to separate gas or liquid mixtures, most commonly through pressure swing adsorption or molecular sieving. These patents typically claim either the zeolite composition itself, a process for using it in separation, or an apparatus built around that process. In this dataset the scope centres on classifications covering catalysis, inorganic compound chemistry and separation processes such as filtration and adsorption.
Filings peaked at 143 in 2017 and have fallen steadily since, reaching 14 in the most recent, still-partial year. This pattern is typical of a field where the core composition and process claims were established early and later filers face dense prior art rather than open ground. It does not necessarily mean the underlying technology has stopped being used commercially — filing decline and commercial deployment are separate signals.
Activity concentrates among a small number of established industrial gas and catalysis companies, several of which also appear as strong co-assignee pairs, indicating stable internal filing teams. However, recent-year momentum has slowed even for the historically largest holders, with year-on-year declines and some showing no filings at all in the latest recorded year. A full ranking by patent family count is presented separately in this report.
The thinner branches by filing density are heterocyclic-compound applications (C07D) and fuel-related uses (C10L), both of which sit well below the core catalysis and inorganic-compound subclasses in record count. These lower-density areas are worth checking claim-by-claim, since low density can mean genuine open space or simply that a technology is covered by broader parent patents elsewhere. Acyclic hydrocarbon separation and lithium-exchanged zeolite formulations also show comparatively lighter claim coverage in this corpus.
US6051051A, assigned to UOP LLC, claims binder-free molecular sieve zeolite granules made from lithium zeolite A and lithium zeolite X, along with a process for preparing them and their use in producing nitrogen or oxygen from air via pressure swing adsorption. Anyone working on lithium-exchanged, binder-free zeolite granule formulations for air separation should review this patent's claim scope directly, since it defines a specific composition-and-process combination rather than zeolite PSA broadly. It is presented in this report as a representative record, not necessarily the most-cited one in the corpus.
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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.
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.