The Brazilian FCC Catalyst Plant: An 1 Adelaide Maria Souza Antunes Example of a Successful Joint Venture 1 Carmen Maria Gadea de Souza * 2 Claudia Ines Chamas between Petrobras and Akzo Bringing ´ ˆ ´ 3 Eduardo Falabella Sousa-Aguiar 1 about Technological Innovation Luis Eduardo Duque Dutra ABSTRACT. The creation of the Fabrica Carioca de Catal- Ž . isadores FCCSA is presented in this article. After some brief background information on the reasons for its implementa- tion, the methods used to choose the partner are discussed, as well as the technology transfer, with particular emphasis on R& D transfer. Finally, the plant’s current stage of develop- ment is studied and its main characteristics are presented, as an example of a successful joint venture between culturally different and geographically distant countries. 1. Introduction By the beginning of the 1980s, Brazil has devel- oped many native technologies for petroleum ex- ploration, production, refining and distribution of derivatives. The production of cracking catalysts remained the only stage of the refining process, which was still dependent on imports. The crack- ing process converts gasoil, from petroleum, into derivatives of higher commercial value, such as 1 Chemistry School Federal Uni  ersity of Rio de Janeiro Ilha do Fundao ˜ Centro de Tecnologia Bloco E RJ, Brazil E-mail: adelaide@eq.ufrj.br 2 Oswaldo Cruz Foundation A . Brasil 4365, Castelo RJ, Brasil E-mail: chamas@gene.dbbm.fiocruz.br 3 ( ) Petrobras Research Center CENPES ´ ( ) Catalyst Di  ision DICAT Ilha do Fundao, Q7 ˜ Cidade Uni  ersitaria ´ RJ, Brazil *Doctorate Student at School of Chemistry  UFRJ. gasoline, diesel, and LPG. This process is unques- tionably the heart of a refinery. In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Is- lands and started the Falklands 1 War with Britain. Some products were no more supplied to Ar- gentina, such as pharmaceuticals and other ‘‘stra- tegic’’ products. The supply of petroleum cracking catalysts was suspended by the United States, with the approval of Great Britain, which im- peded the production of fuel for the planes used in the war. This fact, which could have been just one more international conflict with no further conse- quences for Brazil, triggered the development of an industry in the country. The war pointed to the need for internal production of a product consid- ered being strategic: the petroleum cracking cata- Ž lyst known as fluid catalytic cracking catalysts or . FCC . There was no producer in Latin America, and the possible interruption in the supply would mean an almost total halt in the production of petroleum derivatives. Apart from the geopolitical factors and a spe- cial attention on the question of national sover- eignty, which could threaten the supply of cata- lysts, at that time the economic policy encouraged the substitution of imports by national produc- tion. The imported catalysts were not formulated taking into account the characteristics of the na- tional petroleum or of the refineries where they Ž . would act tailor-made catalysts . Moreover, Fluid Ž . Catalytic Cracking catalysts FCC , which are the type of catalysts used in the cracking process, are not only one of the most highly consumed types Journal of Technology Transfer 25: 3742, 2000.  2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.