Uop Lcc

Gregory F Maher

Paula L Bogdan

Dean E Rende

Edwin Paul Boldingh

Antoine Negiz

John E Bauer

James A Johnson

David A Hamm

Deng-Yang Jan

Robert L Bedard

Lubo Zhou

Ralph D Gillespie

Jayant Kumar Gorawara

Lynn H Rice

Robert B Larson

Douglas A Nafis

Michelle J Cohn

William D Schlueter

Thomas W Lorsbach

E Alejandro Leon-Escamilla

Santi Kulprathipanja

Chunqing Liu

Michael A Schultz

Peter K Coughlin

Vasant P Thakkar

Robert B James

John Qianjun Chen

Frank S Modica

Laszlo T Nemeth

Lawrence E Sullivan

Raymond R Herber

Edward C Arnold

David A Uop Llc Hamm

A simulated moving bed separator and methods for isolating a desired component are provided. A method includes removing a raffinate from a raffinate bed of a simulated moving bed separator. The raffinate includes an undesired component, and the simulated moving bed separator includes a plurality of adsorbent beds circularly coupled together, a distributor, and a plurality of conduits coupling the distributor to the plurality of adsorbent beds. The adsorbent beds include the raffinate bed, a desorbent bed, and a zone 4 flush bed positioned between the raffinate bed and the desorbent bed. Desorbent is added to the desorbent bed through a desorbent conduit. The zone 4 flush conduit is flushed to the desorbent conduit, where the zone 4 flush conduit is coupled to the zone 4 flush bed.

Simulated moving bed separators and methods for isolating a desired component

A process for removing at least one product from coal tar is described. The process involves extraction with an extraction agent or adsorption with an adsorbent. The extraction agent includes at least one of amphiphilic block copolymers, cyclodextrins, functionalized cyclodextrins, and cyclodextrin-functionalized polymers, and the adsorbent includes exfoliated graphite oxide, thermally exfoliated graphite oxide or intercalated graphite compounds.

Process for removing a product from coal tar

A separation membrane is described. The separation membrane comprises a porous inorganic membrane, the pores of the inorganic membrane being coated with a polybenzoxazole polymer coating. Methods of making the separation membrane and methods of separating xylenes using the separation membrane are also described.

Separation membrane

A process for purifying at least one product from coal tar is described. The process involves separating a coal tar fraction having a boiling point in the range of about 180&#xb0; C. to about 230&#xb0; C. into an acidic portion and a non-acidic portion by contacting the fraction with a caustic compound. The acidic portion is separated into a cresol portion and a xylenol portion, and the non-acidic portion is separated into a naphthalene portion and a naphthalene co-boiler portion. The acidic portion and the non-acidic portions are separated by contacting with an adsorbent comprising small, discrete crystallites, the adsorbent having less than 10 wt % amorphous binder component. The various portions can be separated in a similar manner.

Process for purifying products from coal tar

A process for isomerizing ethylbenzene into xylenes such as para-xylene using a zeolitic catalyst system based on low Si/AlMTW-type zeolite that preferably is substantially free of mordenite. The catalyst may be bimetallic where the two metals are platinum and tin.

Process for C8 alkylaromatic isomerization

A reforming and isomerization process has been developed. A reforming feedstream is charged to a reforming zone containing a reforming catalyst and operating at reforming conditions to generate a reforming zone effluent. Hydrogen and an isomerization feedstream is charged into an isomerization zone to contact an isomerization catalyst at isomerization conditions to increase the branching of the hydrocarbons. The isomerization catalyst is a solid acid catalyst comprising a support comprising a sulfated oxide or hydroxide of at least an element of Group IVB, a first component being at least one lanthanide series element, mixtures thereof, or yttrium, and a second component being a platinum group metal or mixtures thereof. The reforming zone effluent and the isomerization zone effluent are each separated to form a light ends stream and a product stream. The light ends streams are combined for processing in a net gas re-contacting zone.

Combination reforming and isomerization process

A process for preparing a transalkylation catalyst, the catalyst itself, and a transalkylation process for using the catalyst are herein disclosed. The catalyst comprises rhenium metal on a solid-acid support such as mordenite, which has been treated with a sulfur-based agent. Such treatment reduces the amount of methane produced by metal hydrogenolysis in a transalkylation process wherein heavy aromatics like A+ are reacted with toluene to produce xylenes. Reduced methane production relative to total light ends gas production results in lower hydrogen consumption and lower reactor exotherms.

Catalyst treatment useful for aromatics conversion process

This invention is drawn to a process for isomerizing a non-equilibrium mixture of alkylaromatics in two sequential zones, the first zone operating in the absence of hydrogen using a platinum-free catalyst and the second zone using a catalyst comprising a molecular sieve and a platinum-group metal component to obtain an improved yield of para-xylene from the mixture relative to prior art processes.

Two-stage aromatics isomerization process

In processes for recovering one or more xylene isomers and isomerizing the remaining isomers for recycle, the isomerate is distilled to provide a toluene-containing overhead, a mid-boiling fraction containing Caromatics and a bottoms fraction containing Caromatics and C+ aromatics. The mid-boiling fraction is recycled to the unit for recovering the sought xylene isomers and has sufficiently low content of C+ aromatics that the separation feed to the unit for recovering the sought xylene isomers contains up to about 500 ppm-mass C+ aromatics. The processes provide a high quality xylene isomer product while achieving at least one of debottlenecking, energy savings and capital savings.

Process for making xylene isomer using a deheptanizer with a side draw recycle

This invention is drawn to a process for isomerizing a non-equilibrium mixture of alkylaromatics in two sequential zones, the first zone operating in the absence of hydrogen using a platinum-free catalyst and the second zone using a catalyst comprising a molecular sieve and a platinum-group metal component to obtain improved yield of para-xylene from the mixture relative to prior art processes.

Enabling a transalkylation process to handle both Calkylaromatics and unextracted toluene permits the following improvements to be realized. No longer extracting toluene allows a reformate-splitter column to be eliminated. The extraction unit can be moved to the overhead of a benzene column that is also closely integrated with the transalkylation unit. No longer requiring a rigorous split between Cand Calkylaromatics allows a heavy aromatics column to be eliminated. Such an enabled transalkylation process requires stabilization of a transalkylation catalyst through the introduction of a metal function. These improvements result in an aromatics complex apparatus with savings on inside battery limits curve costs and an improvement on the return on investment in such a complex.

Integrated apparatus for aromatics production

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Aurora, IL, United States of America

Gregory F Maher