catalytic cracker

British  

noun

1. Often shortened to: cat cracker.  a unit in an oil refinery in which mineral oils with high boiling points are converted to fuels with lower boiling points by a catalytic process

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Example Sentences

Between the wars, he created a catalytic cracker process that turned petroleum molecules into gasoline more efficiently, which also meant more pollution.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The fluid catalytic cracker at Venezuela's largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay in Falcon state, has been out of service since last week.

From Reuters • Dec. 9, 2022

At the neighboring Amuay refinery, only one of its five distillation plants and the catalytic cracker - key for making gasoline - were working, two separate sources said.

From Reuters • Oct. 27, 2022

A fluid catalytic cracker and hydrocracker will be started this week, they said.

From BusinessWeek • Mar. 1, 2011

C.C.A. will also build a 5,000-barrel-a-day catalytic cracker for its refinery at Phillipsburg, Kans., open $1,000,000 worth of lumber kilns at its mill in Swisshome, Ore. Burned Out.

From Time Magazine Archive