Zeolite Synthesis Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
- Filing has cooled since its 2019 peak. 867 families in 2019 versus 67 in the most recent (partial) year, with the 2022 midpoint of 705 already below peak — a mature, occupied claim space rather than a growing one.
- One applicant family dominates recent activity. Sinopec and its research institutes form the strongest co-assignee pairings in the dataset, while several historically active Western and Chinese players show flat or double-digit negative YoY momentum.
- Catalysis and refining IPC classes dwarf separation and exhaust treatment. B01J and C01B each carry thousands more records than B01D or F01N, showing where claim density is heaviest and where downstream application classes remain comparatively open.
A dense, mature filing landscape built around framework and acid-site control
Zeolite synthesis and catalytic applications patenting spans 18,230 patent families filed between 2015 and 2026, concentrated on framework structure, Si/Al ratio control, template agents, hydrothermal crystallization and acid-site engineering. The search string ties these synthesis-route claims to catalytic end uses under B01J, C01B and C10G, which is why the technology composition skews heavily toward chemical processing and hydrocarbon refining rather than separation or exhaust after-treatment.
Filing volume peaked in 2019 and has declined since, with the most recent year understated because publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months. China and the United States are the largest receiving offices by a wide margin, followed by the EPO, WIPO's PCT route, India and Canada — a pattern consistent with a technology now defended primarily in its largest production and consumption markets rather than expanded into new ones.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how records distribute across IPC subclasses.
Filings rose to a 2019 peak, then declined
From 826 families in 2017 to a peak of 867 in 2019, the trend falls back to 705 at the 2022 midpoint and down to 67 in the latest, still-incomplete year — a flat-to-declining pattern typical of a technology whose core claim space is already well occupied.
Catalysis and inorganic chemistry classes dominate
B01J (14,214 records) and C01B (10,400) carry the bulk of filings, with C07C and C10G adding hydrocarbon-conversion depth; B01D, C07B, C07D and F01N trail well behind, marking lighter claim density in separation, general organic methods, heterocyclic chemistry and exhaust treatment.
Shares are the percentage of the 18,230 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Zeolite Synthesis and Catalytic Applications with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about zeolite synthesis and catalytic applications and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited foundational filings
Converting oxygenates to olefins over a controlled-acid-site molecular sieve catalyst
The filing describes an oxygenate-to-olefin process using catalyst particles with a molecular sieve bearing acid sites at a controlled coke loading of 1 to 10 carbon atoms per acid site, with a regeneration loop that removes and reconditions spent catalyst to restore activity before returning it to the reaction zone.Filed by Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc.; number and date are rendered separately.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4310440A | Crystalline metallophosphate compositions | 1,749 |
| 2 | US4826667A | Zeolite SSZ-25 | 1,232 |
| 3 | US4499327A | Production of light olefins | 1,064 |
| 4 | US4544538A | Zeolite SSZ-13 and its method of preparation | 1,058 |
| 5 | WO1999005082A1 | Improved processes for making alkylbenzenesulfonate surfactants and products thereof | 938 |
| 6 | US5135638A | Wax isomerization using catalyst of specific pore geometry | 603 |
| 7 | US4503023A | Silicon substituted zeolite compositions and process for preparing same | 529 |
| 8 | US5126308A | Metal aluminophosphate catalyst for converting methanol to light olefins | 483 |
| 9 | US4910006A | Zeolite SSZ-26 | 428 |
| 10 | US5958370A | Zeolite SSZ-39 | 422 |
Citation counts are measured within this searched corpus and favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate citations — treat them as a signal of influence, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Reading the trend, the IPC mix and the citation table together points to where the technology is settled and where it is still being contested.
Volume has passed its peak
Filing rose from 826 families in 2017 to 867 in 2019, then eased to 705 by 2022 and down to 67 in the most recent, still-incomplete year. Even allowing for publication lag, the multi-year decline from peak suggests core synthesis routes are largely claimed and competitive activity is shifting toward defending existing positions rather than staking new ones.
China and the US anchor the filing map
China (5,190) and the United States (4,229) receive far more filings than the EPO (2,706), WIPO's PCT route (1,386), India (832) or Canada (670). That split points to where zeolite catalysts are manufactured and consumed at scale, and to where freedom-to-operate checks matter most.
One applicant family files together repeatedly
The strongest co-assignee pairing in the dataset links a parent company to its own research institute at 587 shared filings, with two further internal pairings above 200. This pattern of institute-level co-filing is a signature of a large, vertically organised R&D operation rather than fragmented cross-company collaboration.
Foundational chemistry patents still anchor the field
The most-cited records in the corpus date back decades and cover core metallophosphate and SSZ-type zeolite compositions. Their continued citation volume shows how much downstream catalytic-application filing still builds on structural claims established well before this dataset's 2015 start.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to zeolite synthesis and catalytic applications, with the prior art for and against each one.
A concentrated core of Chinese and Western refiners and catalyst makers
Recent-year momentum is uneven: one applicant family continues to grow filings while several long-standing names have pulled back sharply.
Sinopec keeps filing while peers retreat
Sinopec recorded 7 families in the latest year with filings up 17% year over year, alongside dense internal co-filing with its research institutes. That combination of steady output and institute-level coordination points to continued, organised investment rather than opportunistic filing.
Several historic filers have sharply cut output
Chevron U.S.A. fell 88% year over year to 2 families in the latest year, Johnson Matthey (UK) fell 80% to 1, and UOP and Exxonmobil Chemical Patents recorded zero latest-year filings. This does not necessarily mean disengagement — publication lag understates the newest year for every applicant — but the direction of travel is consistent across multiple established names.
Parent-institute filing structures run deep
Beyond the top pairing, Sinopec's Shanghai and Fushun research institutes each show hundreds of shared filings with the parent entity. This layered structure of one commercial parent filing through multiple named research institutes is a distinctive feature of this dataset's applicant landscape.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) | 7 | +17% |
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. | 2 | -88% |
| Johnson Matthey PLC (UK) | 1 | -80% |
| Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc. | 0 | — |
| UOP LLC | 0 | -100% |
| Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing | 0 | — |
| Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 0 | -100% |
| Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company | 0 | -100% |
Where to take this analysis
The filing data points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, competitive tracking or claim drafting.
Run a freedom-to-operate check on framework and acid-site claims
With B01J and C01B carrying the heaviest filing density, any new synthesis or catalytic-application filing should be checked against the most-cited foundational records before drafting.
Explore in Patsnap EurekaTrack momentum shifts among the top assignees
Sharp year-over-year swings among established filers can signal a shift in R&D priority or a portfolio consolidation worth monitoring quarterly.
Explore in Patsnap EurekaScope claims in under-claimed IPC branches
Lower filing density in separation, exhaust treatment and heterocyclic-synthesis classes suggests narrower but still-open claim opportunities.
Explore in Patsnap EurekaCommon questions about zeolite synthesis and catalytic applications patents
Sinopec and its network of internal research institutes are the most consistently active filer group in this dataset, with strong co-assignee links between the parent company and institutes based in Shanghai, Fushun, Dalian and Beijing. Western majors such as Exxonmobil, Chevron, UOP and Johnson Matthey also appear among historically significant filers, though several show reduced or zero filings in the most recent year. Because the newest year is always understated by publication lag, current-year counts should be read as a floor rather than a final figure.
No, filing volume has declined from its 2019 peak of 867 families, falling to 705 by the 2022 midpoint of the dataset. This flat-to-declining pattern suggests the core synthesis routes, particularly around framework structure and Si/Al ratio control, are already well claimed. New activity is more likely to focus on narrow catalytic-application improvements than on broad structural claims.
B01J, covering chemical and physical processes including catalysis, is the largest single class at 14,214 records, followed by C01B for non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds at 10,400. C07C and C10G add substantial coverage of hydrocarbon conversion and refining applications. Separation processes (B01D), general organic chemistry (C07B), heterocyclic compounds (C07D) and exhaust treatment (F01N) carry noticeably fewer filings, marking them as comparatively lighter claim territory.
This Exxonmobil Chemical Patents filing claims a process for converting oxygenate feedstock to olefins using a molecular sieve catalyst held at a controlled coke loading of 1 to 10 carbon atoms per acid site, including the catalyst regeneration loop that restores activity. Anyone building an oxygenate-to-olefin process that manages catalyst acid-site loading within that same range and uses a comparable regeneration cycle should review this filing closely as part of any freedom-to-operate analysis. Designing around it generally means operating outside the claimed carbon-to-acid-site ratio window or using a materially different regeneration approach.
The IPC composition points to exhaust-treatment formulations (F01N), heterocyclic synthesis routes (C07D), general organic template-agent methods (C07B) and membrane-integrated separation zeolites (B01D) as classes with materially lower filing density than the dominant B01J and C01B classes. Lower density does not guarantee an open path, since some of that gap reflects narrower commercial demand rather than unclaimed opportunity. A targeted freedom-to-operate search within the specific sub-application is still necessary before committing to a claim strategy.
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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.