Zeolite CO2 Adsorption Patent Landscape 2026
The zeolite CO2 adsorption field is dominated by a small group of industrial-gas and specialty-chemicals incumbents, with Arkema France leading by a significant margin. The field has eased from its 2017 activity peak on a multi-year basis, with annual filing volumes declining, signaling a mature and consolidating competitive landscape.
Arkema France leads a highly concentrated incumbent field
Arkema France holds the top position in the applicant ranking, followed by UOP LLC, Praxair Technology, Air Products & Chemicals, and ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering — all established industrial-gas or specialty-materials corporations.
The top five filers collectively account for 43% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, indicating a tightly concentrated competitive core. The gap between the first-ranked applicant and the rest of the top five is substantial, suggesting Arkema France has built a particularly deep zeolite sorbent portfolio.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkema France SA | 216 | |
| 2 | UOP LLC | 173 | |
| 3 | Praxair Technology Inc | 152 | |
| 4 | AIR PROD & CHEM INC | 142 | |
| 5 | EXXONMOBIL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING CO | 116 | |
| 6 | IFP Energies Nouvelles | 87 | |
| 7 | Tosoh Corporation | 68 | |
| 8 | Zeochem LLC | 61 | |
| 9 | Union Carbide Corporation | 48 | |
| 10 | CECA SA | 47 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | BOC Group Inc | 36 | |
| 12 | Toray Industries Inc | 35 | |
| 13 | COUNCIL OF SCI & IND RES | 34 | |
| 14 | ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company | 30 | |
| 15 | Chevron USA Inc | 30 | |
| 16 | Asahi Kasei Corporation | 30 | |
| 17 | CHINA PETROLEUM & CHEMICAL CORP | 29 | |
| 18 | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 25 | |
| 19 | LAIR LIQUIDE SA POUR LETUDE & LEXPLOITATION DES PR… | 21 | |
| 20 | Nippon Sanso Corporation | 19 |
This concentration means that fundamental sorbent formulations and cyclic adsorption processes (PSA, TSA) are heavily claimed territory; new entrants or challengers face a dense prior-art landscape in the core B01J and B01D classes and will need to differentiate on material modifications, process integration, or application-specific configurations.
Filing counts for the most recent 12–24 months are subject to publication lag and will be revised upward as applications publish; the apparent drop in 2025–2026 should not be interpreted as the full picture. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Peak activity passed in 2017; chemical/separation process classes dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend reveals a peak around 2017 followed by a sustained easing of activity, while the IPC class breakdown shows that two branches — chemical/physical processes (B01J) and separation processes (B01D) — together account for the overwhelming majority of classified records.
Annual filing trend
Activity reached its highest recorded level in 2017 and has trended downward since, consistent with a maturing technology. The 2025 and 2026 data points are materially under-counted due to publication lag and should not be read as a continuation of the decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B01J (chemical/physical processes and catalysis) and B01D (separation processes) are the dominant IPC branches, reflecting the dual focus on sorbent material design and cyclic gas-separation process engineering. C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, including zeolite synthesis) ranks third. Lower-share branches such as C07C, C10G, C10L, and F25J represent adjacent application areas with comparatively sparse coverage.
↗ 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.
Two-stage carbon dioxide adsorption using collapse…
A method of separating carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) from air, where the method includes: feeding air into a cooler to generate cooled air, the cooled air including nitrogen (N<sub>2</sub>), oxygen (O<sub>2</sub>), water (H<sub>2</sub>O), and CO<sub>2</sub>; feeding the cooled air to a first adsorption column including a first zeolite adsorbent to… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Temperature swing adsorption | 179 |
| 2 | Removal of CO2, N2, and H2S from gas mixtures cont… | 169 |
| 3 | Bulk separation of carbon dioxide from natural gas | 157 |
| 4 | Use of zeolites and alumina in adsorption processes | 153 |
| 5 | Pressure swing adsorption process for the producti… | 147 |
| 6 | Purification of air | 130 |
| 7 | Natural gas liquefaction with improved nitrogen re… | 129 |
| 8 | Method of producing unsaturated hydrocarbons and s… | 121 |
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
Four structural signals — maturity stage, applicant concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic coverage — collectively define the strategic context for new R&D in this space.
Decline stage: annual filings have eased back from the 2017 peak
The lifecycle evidence classifies this field as Decline, with annual filing volumes easing from the 2017 peak and a recent-window growth rate of –18%. This does not preclude valuable incremental innovation, but it signals that broad platform claims have largely been filed. R&D investment is most defensible in differentiated sub-areas — novel zeolite frameworks, hybrid sorbent composites, or application-specific process configurations — rather than in re-covering well-claimed ground.
Lifecycle · DeclineTop five filers hold 43% of the leading hundred filers’ combined records
Arkema France, UOP LLC, Praxair Technology, Air Products & Chemicals, and ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering collectively hold 43% of the patent records among the top hundred ranked applicants. This high concentration means that core sorbent formulations and pressure/temperature-swing process claims are densely held by incumbents. Challengers must either out-innovate on material performance, license selectively, or target application niches — such as direct air capture or wastewater-linked CO2 recovery — where incumbent coverage is thinner.
Concentration · HighArkema France–IFP Energies Nouvelles is the dominant co-filing partnership
The most active co-applicant pair is Arkema France and IFP Energies Nouvelles with 54 jointly filed records, indicating a deep sorbent-material and process-engineering alliance. CECA SA and IFP Energies Nouvelles form a second significant pair with 32 co-filed records. Tosoh Corporation appears in multiple smaller collaborations, including with Toray Industries. ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering has co-filed with Georgia Tech Research Corporation, pointing to an industry–academia channel. These established partnerships create additional barriers for outsiders attempting to replicate the breadth of the leading portfolios.
Collaboration · Alliance-ledUnited States is the primary filing jurisdiction, with Japan and Europe as secondary hubs
The United States leads all jurisdictions by patent-record count, followed by Japan and Europe (EPO). China ranks fourth, with India and Canada also representing meaningful prosecution markets. The broad multi-jurisdictional footprint of the leading applicants — spanning PCT, North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific — suggests they are protecting core technology globally. Enforcement and freedom-to-operate analysis should prioritize U.S., Japanese, and EPO filings as the highest-density jurisdictions.
Geography · US-led, globalGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Arkema France SA | IFP Energies Nouvelles | 54 |
| CECA SA | IFP Energies Nouvelles | 32 |
| Tosoh Corporation | Toyo Soda Manufacturing Co Ltd | 16 |
| ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 5 |
| Tosoh Corporation | Toray Industries Inc | 2 |
| Praxair Technology Inc | Linde AG | 1 |
| Tosoh Corporation | Futaba Sangyo Co Ltd | 1 |
| Tosoh Corporation | Futaba Sangyo Co Ltd | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Arkema France and UOP LLC lead on sorbent-material breadth; momentum diverges sharply
The two largest applicants share a focus on B01J sorbent-material and B01D separation-process classes, but their recent filing trajectories have moved in opposite directions — one showing new-entrant momentum and the other a steep recent decline.
Arkema France
Arkema France holds 216 patent records, the largest position in the ranking. Its portfolio is concentrated in B01J 20 (sorbent materials) and B01D 53 (gas separation processes), with a secondary emphasis on C07C acyclic-compound applications. Recent momentum shows a –77% decline versus the prior three-year window, indicating the company has substantially reduced its pace of new filings — consistent with a portfolio-harvesting posture rather than active expansion. Its deep co-filing relationship with IFP Energies Nouvelles and CECA SA reinforces a broad sorbent-chemistry position.
patent records: 216UOP LLC
UOP LLC holds 173 patent records and is classified as a new entrant in the recent filing window, signaling a recent acceleration from a previously lower base. Its technology emphasis mirrors the leader — B01J 20 and B01D 53 are the top two classes — but it distinguishes itself with a stronger C07C 7 acyclic-compound focus, suggesting hydrocarbon-processing applications of zeolite sorbents beyond pure CO2 capture. This combination of recent new-entrant momentum and a differentiated application emphasis makes UOP the most dynamic challenger to monitor.
patent records: 173| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| UOP LLC | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| Arkema France SA | 10 | ▼ -77% |
| Praxair Technology Inc | 1 | ▼ -98% |
| ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company | 7 | ▲ new entrant |
| IFP Energies Nouvelles | 4 | ▼ -76% |
| Zeochem LLC | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant B01J/B01D core have relatively sparse coverage in this corpus, which may indicate either niche application areas still being defined or early-stage opportunities where the zeolite CO2 adsorption literature has not yet consolidated.
F25J · Gas liquefaction and separation
F25J covers cryogenic and low-temperature gas separation processes. With only 49 patent records in this corpus and a 1% share among the classified branches, the integration of zeolite-based CO2 adsorption with gas liquefaction trains — for example, in LNG pre-treatment or air separation pre-purification — is comparatively sparse relative to the dominant PSA/TSA literature. Top-cited records in this corpus include natural gas liquefaction methods with nitrogen rejection, confirming technical adjacency. An entrant with process-integration capability could differentiate by developing zeolite sorbent configurations optimized for the temperature and pressure regimes of liquefaction plants.
Search this in Eureka →C02F · Water and wastewater treatment
C02F, covering water and wastewater treatment, accounts for only 36 patent records and a 1% branch share. The intersection of zeolite sorbents with dissolved or gaseous CO2 in aqueous streams — relevant to direct ocean capture, carbonation control in industrial water circuits, or biogas scrubbing effluent treatment — is technically plausible but sparsely covered relative to the gas-phase literature. Given the growing regulatory attention to carbon removal in industrial water systems, this branch represents an adjacent area where early filing activity could establish a differentiated position, though the thin evidence base means commercial readiness is difficult to assess from patent data alone.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ across technology routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B01J 20 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01D 53 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | C01B 39 · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds | C07C 7 · Acyclic & carbocyclic compounds | B01D 15 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UOP LLC | Strong · 144 | Moderate · 57 | Emerging · 13 | Strong · 76 | Moderate · 52 |
| Arkema France SA | Strong · 157 | Strong · 90 | Emerging · 26 | Moderate · 38 | Emerging · 23 |
| Air Products and Chemicals Inc | Strong · 102 | Strong · 130 | Moderate · 50 | Absent | Emerging · 12 |
| Praxair Technology Inc | Strong · 100 | Strong · 98 | Emerging · 16 | Absent | Absent |
| ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company | Strong · 72 | Strong · 51 | Moderate · 19 | Strong · 52 | Emerging · 12 |
| CECA SA | Strong · 93 | Strong · 52 | Moderate · 19 | Moderate · 25 | Emerging · 16 |
| IFP Energies Nouvelles | Strong · 89 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 60 | Moderate · 28 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 620 patent families. This is the baseline used for trend analysis and overall scope assessment; applicant rankings and IPC branch counts are derived from patent records, which can exceed this figure because a single family may be filed across multiple jurisdictions and classified under multiple IPC codes.
Arkema France holds the largest position in the applicant ranking with 216 patent records, ahead of UOP LLC (173), Praxair Technology (152), Air Products & Chemicals (142), and ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering (116). These five together account for 43% of the combined patent records of the top hundred ranked applicants.
Based on filing trends, the field is classified as Decline — annual filings have eased back from their 2017 peak, and the recent-window growth rate is -18%. This indicates a maturing field where the core technology is well-established and broad platform claims have largely been filed. The most recent 12–24 months of data are subject to publication lag and will be updated as applications publish.
B01J (chemical/physical processes and catalysis) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) are the two dominant branches by patent-record count, consistent with the dual focus on sorbent material design and cyclic gas-separation process engineering. C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, covering zeolite synthesis) ranks third. Adjacent branches such as C07C, C10G, C10L, F25J, and C02F have comparatively sparse coverage.
The United States leads all jurisdictions by patent-record count, followed by Japan, Europe (EPO), China, Canada, and WIPO (PCT). India and Australia also represent meaningful prosecution markets. Freedom-to-operate analysis should prioritize U.S., Japanese, and EPO filings as the highest-density jurisdictions.
Yes. The most active co-applicant pairing is Arkema France and IFP Energies Nouvelles with 54 jointly filed records, indicating a deep long-term sorbent-chemistry and process-engineering alliance. CECA SA and IFP Energies Nouvelles form a second significant pair with 32 co-filed records. Tosoh Corporation co-files with multiple Japanese partners, and ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering has a smaller co-filing relationship with Georgia Tech Research Corporation, representing an industry–academia channel.
Map your own zeolite adsorption competitive landscape
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.