Crystaphase

What Crystaphase does

Crystaphase is a privately held Houston-based industrial technology company founded in 1989 that develops proprietary ceramic filtration and dispersion products for fixed-bed reactors in hydrocarbon processing. Its core offering is a portfolio of reticulated ceramic solutions — CatTrap® for insoluble foulant capture, ActiPhase® for active precipitation of soluble foulants (iron naphthenate, nickel, vanadium, silicon, arsenic), and Precision Rings® as integrated reactor internals — engineered to extend production cycle length, increase throughput, and reduce pressure drop in hydrotreating, hydrocracking, catalytic reforming, sulfur recovery, and other refinery and petrochemical units. The underlying technical differentiator is a novel internal-bypass filtration architecture with up to 90% porosity that captures contaminants from within the material rather than between pieces, eliminating crust-layer formation while maintaining dispersion — a trade-off conventional materials cannot resolve. The company backs each solution with a dedicated foulant laboratory offering SEM, EDS, X-ray microtomography, and pressure-drop simulation, positioning itself as a diagnostic-first partner.

Crystaphase operates an enterprise field-sales model targeting refiners, petrochemical plants, and chemical plants worldwide. Solutions are custom-engineered for each reactor's geometry and foulant profile, priced via project-based quotation rather than published tiers, and delivered as one-time product sales supported by professional services (sample collection, lab analysis, simulation, and on-site loading guidance). The company is family-controlled (Founder/CEO John Glover, CFO Brad Glover), bootstrapped with no disclosed institutional funding, and operates with approximately 26 named employees across leadership, regional technical sales, and technical service. Geographic coverage spans the US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southern Europe via named Technical Sales Managers and Inside Account Managers. Marketing is primarily technical and content-driven — case studies, science education on catalyst performance and pressure drop, an analysis-intake web form, and the Pathways two-day training program — rather than brand-led. Quantified customer outcomes include cycle length extensions of 100-400%, throughput gains up to 50%, and documented annual profit improvements of $1M-$3.9M per installation across hydrotreater, reformer, hydrocracker, and sulfur recovery applications.

Name

Crystaphase

Legal name

Crystaphase

Website

https://crystaphase.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crystaphase is a Houston-based, privately held industrial technology company founded in 1989 that designs and sells proprietary reticulated ceramic filtration products (CatTrap, ActiPhase, Precision Rings) and diagnostic services to oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and chemical plants worldwide to extend reactor cycle length and increase throughput.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reactor Filtration & Purification

NAICS

Pottery, Ceramics, and Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing (327110)

akta.pro primary industry

Filtration & Filter Aids (Diatomaceous Earth, Perlite, Cellulose) (AFAJAIAJ)

Keywords

• Reactor filtration products
• Catalyst protection solutions
• Refinery feedstock purification
• Fixed-bed reactor internals
• Hydroprocessing performance optimization

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Catalyst Filtration Products (CatTrap, ActiPhase, Precision Rings): Crystaphase generates revenue through the sale of proprietary filtration products — CatTrap reticulated ceramic medallions, ActiPhase active filtration materials, and Precision Rings — sold as part of customized reactor solutions. Products are specified, designed, and implemented for each customer's unique reactor configuration. The revenue model involves engineering consultation, product specification, and on-site support as part of the solution delivery.
2. Technical Services and Reactor Analysis: Crystaphase provides technical services including in-depth reactor evaluation, sample collection and laboratory analysis, foulant identification, and reactor performance simulation. These services precede and accompany product sales, providing the company with a consultative revenue stream and driving product specification.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Crystaphase manufactures and sells proprietary reticulated ceramic filtration products — CatTrap®, ActiPhase®, and Precision Rings® — designed to capture insoluble and soluble foulants inside fixed-bed reactors at refineries, petrochemical, and chemical plants. Each solution is engineered to a customer's specific reactor and foulant profile, supported by an in-house foulant laboratory using SEM, EDS, X-ray microtomography, and pressure-drop simulation, plus on-site technical service and customized loading design.

Product overview

Crystaphase is an industrial reactor performance company offering a portfolio of filtration and purification solutions for hydroprocessing plants. The core product is CatTrap®, a reticulated ceramic filtration system with unique internal bypass design that removes insoluble particles from feedstock to prevent pressure drop. ActiPhase® provides active filtration for soluble contaminants that can attack catalyst beds. Precision Rings® complement these solutions as high-performance reactor internals. Technical Services support the product portfolio with advanced laboratory analysis (including SEM, EDS, X-ray microtomography), reactor simulation, and customized system design. Together, these products form an integrated approach to purification and dispersion optimization, extending reactor cycle lengths and improving throughput in refining, petrochemical, and chemical plants worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CatTrap®: Crystaphase CatTrap technology removes particles from feedstock before they can cause pressure drop. It features a unique internal filtration design with reticulated ceramic medallions that capture foulants, extend production cycles, and can increase throughput by up to 50%.
• ActiPhase®
• Precision Rings®
• Tech Service

Products and services

• CatTrap® Reticulated ceramic medallions placed inside fixed-bed reactors that capture insoluble foulants from within the material as feedstock flows through, preventing pressure drop and crust-layer formation. Sold to enterprise refiners, petrochemical, and chemical plant operators for hydrotreating, hydrocracking, reformer, and sulfur recovery units.
• ActiPhase® Advanced multi-tasking top-bed reactor media that defeats soluble foulants such as iron naphthenate, nickel, vanadium, silicon, and arsenic by triggering precipitation within its reticulated ceramic structure and trapping the resulting particles. Sold to enterprise refiners and petrochemical plant operators.
• Precision Rings® High-performance ceramic reactor rings manufactured to exacting specifications as part of an integrated system with CatTrap and ActiPhase for removing foulants from feedstock in fixed-bed reactors. Sold to enterprise refiners, petrochemical, and chemical plants.
• Tech Service Comprehensive reactor performance evaluation offering including on-site sample collection, advanced laboratory foulant analysis (SEM, EDS, X-ray microtomography, pressure-drop simulation), and customized solution design for refinery, petrochemical, and chemical plant customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Production cycle length extended from 331 days to 716 days (116% increase) in naphtha hydrotreater application
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Shell Catalysts & Technologies: Shell Catalysts & Technologies licenses refining and petrochemical process technologies and supplies catalysts globally, including into hydroprocessing units. As both a catalyst licensor and refiner, it represents a broad incumbent that competes for the same reactor performance optimization budget Crystaphase addresses.
• Johnson Matthey: Johnson Matthey is a global specialty chemicals and catalyst manufacturer with a long-standing refining catalysts portfolio. It serves the same fixed-bed hydroprocessing customers as Crystaphase and competes indirectly through catalyst performance claims that reduce demand for supplemental filtration.
• Clariant (Catalysts): Clariant is a major specialty chemicals producer with a significant catalysts business serving refining and petrochemical customers. Its hydroprocessing catalyst portfolio competes for the same customer wallet Crystaphase targets with its filtration and dispersion solutions.
• Albemarle Corporation: Albemarle is a major global catalyst manufacturer (FCC, hydroprocessing) with a much broader portfolio but overlapping refinery hydroprocessing customer base. Through its acquisition of Porocel, Albemarle also produces alumina-based catalyst bed support media, directly adjacent to Crystaphase's ceramic filtration products.
• BASF (Catalysts division): BASF is one of the largest global catalyst manufacturers, selling hydroprocessing catalysts and process technologies to refiners and petrochemical producers — overlapping heavily with Crystaphase's customer base. BASF's scale, R&D resources, and global sales reach make it a broad incumbent competitor in the hydroprocessing value chain.
• Topsoe (Haldor Topsoe): Topsoe is a global leader in hydroprocessing catalysts and process technology for refineries and petrochemical plants. It sells catalysts and technology solutions into the same fixed-bed hydrotreating and hydrocracking units where Crystaphase's filtration and dispersion solutions are deployed.
• Honeywell UOP: Honeywell UOP is a leading licensor of refining and petrochemical process technologies, with broad catalyst and process equipment offerings. UOP serves the same fixed-bed reactor customers as Crystaphase and could bundle or develop competing reactor-internal solutions as part of its licensing packages.
• W. R. Grace & Co. W.R. Grace is a leading specialty catalyst manufacturer with a strong hydroprocessing catalyst portfolio serving the same refining customers Crystaphase serves. While Grace focuses on catalysts rather than reactor internals, it competes for the same customer spend on reactor performance optimization.
• Axens: Axens provides refining and petrochemical process technologies, catalysts, adsorbents, and related equipment. Its portfolio overlaps with Crystaphase's customer base in hydroprocessing, hydrocracking, and sulfur recovery units, making it an incumbent process technology competitor.

Direct peers

• Saint-Gobain NorPro: Saint-Gobain NorPro manufactures ceramic catalyst bed support media (e.g., Macrolite) and reactor internals for fixed-bed hydroprocessing reactors — the same core application space as Crystaphase's CatTrap and Precision Rings. Both companies supply ceramic media into refinery hydrotreating and hydrocracking units.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crystaphase

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crystaphase