New process improves naphtha streams
Published by Anna Nicklin,
Assistant Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
Koch-Glitsch and INVISTA Performance Technologies (IPT) – affiliates of Koch Industries – have announced an expansion of their partnership to offer the IsoATM technology, which allows refineries to transform low-value, light paraffinic feeds into high-octane gasoline blend stock.
The IsoA process technology isomerises and aromatises C5 to C7+ paraffins, simultaneously boosting the octane, to reduce the RVP and increase the value of these light feeds. Commercially-demonstrated in six refineries, the technology can deliver an 85 wt% C5+ liquid yield with a typical octane boost of 20 – 25 points. The process reduces sulfur content by more than 90%, generating a product with less than 10 ppm sulfur from a feed with less than 150 ppm. While the technology aromatises the paraffinic feed, the catalyst is optimised to minimise benzene formation – typically achieving less than 1% in the blend stock product.
This low-CAPEX, low-pressure process has a small footprint and utilises standard refinery equipment, such as fixed-bed reactors, absorption and separation columns. The heterogeneous catalyst is sulfur tolerant and eliminates the hydrotreating process required for conventional isomerisation processes. Recycle gas is not required, meaning that the maintenance and energy intensive hydrogen compression that is required by conventional isomerisation is eliminated. The process can be further optimised with a boost in octane and a reduction in operating cost by co-feeding olefin-containing LPG.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/14032018/new-process-improves-naphtha-streams/
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