solid solutions, and plasma processes are only a few of the strategies that have been developed to manage the metal particle sizes. The surface basicity of catalysts was increased by using basic metal oxides as a support or promoter. Increased catalysts and processes as a consequence of the work of several authors have improved overall efficiency and environmental performance. History In the 1940s, Vladimir Haensel, a research chemist working for Universal Oil Products (UOP), developed a catalytic reforming process using a catalyst containing platinum. Haensel's process was subsequently commercialized by UOP in 1949 for producing a high octane gasoline from low octane naphthas and the UOP process become known as the Platforming process. The first Platforming unit was built in 1949 at the refinery of the Old Dutch Refining Company in Muskegon, Michigan. In the years since then, many other versions of the process have been developed by some of the major oil companies and other organizations. Today, the large majority of gasoline produced worldwide is derived from the catalytic reforming process. To name a few of the other catalytic reforming versions that were developed, all of which utilized a platinum and/or a rhenium catalyst: Rheniforming: Developed by Chevron Oil Company. CCR Platforming: A Platforming version, designed for continuous catalyst regeneration, developed by Universal Oil Products (UOP). Powerforming: Developed by Esso Oil Company, currently known as ExxonMobil. Magnaforming: Developed by Engelhard and Atlantic Richfield Oil Company. Ultraforming: Developed by Standard Oil of Indiana, now a part of the British Petroleum Company. Houdriforming: Developed by the Houdry Process Corporation. Octanizing: A catalytic reforming version developed by Axens, a subsidiary of Institut francais du petrole (IFP), designed for continuous catalyst regeneration. Chemistry Before describing the reaction chemistry of the catalytic reforming process as used in petroleum refineries, the typical naphthas used as catalytic reforming feedstocks will be discussed. Typical naphtha feedstocks A petroleum refinery includes many unit operations and unit processes. The first unit operation in a refinery is the continuous distillation of the petroleum crude oil being refined. The overhead liquid distillate is called naphtha and will become a major component of the refinery's gasoline (petrol) product after it is further processed through a catalytic hydrodesulfurizer to remove sulfur-containing hydrocarbons and a catalytic reformer to reform its hydrocarbon molecules into more complex molecules with a higher octane rating value. The naphtha is a mixture of very many different hydrocarbon compounds. It