Improvement of the Yield and Quality of Reformate by Combining Stepwise Reforming and Hydroisomerization

Abstract

Three process flowsheets combining processes of catalytic reforming, interstage separation and reformate hydroisomerization were examined to improve the reformate yield of quality (minimized content of aromatic hydrocarbons including benzene). It was shown that the optimal version is the flowsheet including rectification of the intermediate reformate into three fractions (IBP 85 °C, 85–150 °C, and EBP 150 °C) that allowed, against the traditional catalytic fixed bed reforming, high-octane gasoline components with a lower benzene content (less than 1 wt %) to be produced at a noticeable increase in the reformate yield (4–5 wt %) and the octane number (up to 2 point RON). Effective catalysts were chosen for the stages of reforming and hydroisomerization; the catalysts were used for experimental modeling of the flowsheets of combined reforming and hydroisomerization under study. The results obtained supported the analytic estimation of the efficiency of the developed technology.