Mobil Oil Corporation

Engelhard Minerals & Chemicals Corporation

John C Bonacci

Ronald P Billings

William E Garwood

Thomas T Ackerman

Thomas G Otchy

John R Patterson

Conventional noble metal reforming to upgrade the octane number of petroleum naphtha is an endothermic reaction which is carried out in a series of reactors with intermediate furnace heating of the petroleum fraction being upgraded. This specification discloses a process and apparatus configuration to increase the octane number of the reformate at a minimum liquid yield loss by cooling the first reforming stage effluent and then contacting the cooled effluent with a ZSM-5 type zeolite catalyst prior to the first intermediate furnace heating.

Noble metal reforming of naphtha

In an ammonia manufacturing operation a normally gaseous hydrocarbon or a vaporized naphtha is steam reformed and shift converted, in the presence of air to produce a relatively hot water vapor-containing gaseous stream containing nitrogen and hydrogen in substantially stoichiometric proportion for the production of ammonia along with carbon dioxide and with minor amounts of carbon monoxide. The hot gaseous mixture is then cooled to remove water vapor therefrom as water, and oxygen, usually in the form of air, is added to the resulting cooled gaseous mixture which is contacted with a catalyst for the selective oxidation of the carbon monoxide therein to carbon dioxide in the presence of hydrogen. The oxygen is provided in part by air diverted from the steam reforming and in part by supplemental air. The resulting gases, now having a substantially reduced carbon monoxide content, are then treated for the removal of carbon dioxide and optionally to methanation to convert residual carbon oxides therein to methane. The resulting treated gases are subjected to contact with a catalyst under high pressure and at an elevated temperature for the conversion of the nitrogen and hydrogen in the treated gases to ammonia.

Ammonia manufacturing process

Alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons useful as chemical raw material, solvents and the like are provided in high purity by hydrocracking of a fraction rich in alkyl aromatics and lean in aliphatic hydrocarbons over a particular zeolite catalyst associated with a hydrogenation/dehydrogenation component. The charge stock is characterized by substantial absence of benzene and lighter hydrocarbons. The technique is particularly well suited to production of maximum xylenes from a fraction containing higher boiling and lower boiling alkyl aromatics. Toluene derived from the hydrocracking reaction is disproportionated in the presence of hydrogen over a zeolite catalyst and the disproportionation effluent is processed through the same recovery train as the hydrocracked product.

Production of alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons

Upgrading a full boiling range naphtha by the combination of reforming only a low boiling portion of the naphtha followed by contacting the reformate product thereof combined with the high boiling portion of the naphtha over a ZSM-5 type catalyst conversion operation is described.

Method for upgrading a wide cut naphtha to full range gasoline

Alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons useful as chemical raw material, solvents and the like are provided in high purity by hydrocracking of a fraction rich in alkyl aromatics and lean in aliphatic hydrocarbons over a particular zeolite catalyst associated with a hydrogenation/dehydrogenation component. The charge stock is characterized by substantial absence of hydrocarbons lighter than benzene. The technique is particularly well suited to production of maximum xylenes from a fraction containing higher boiling and lower boiling alkyl aromatics.

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Cherry Hill, NJ, United States of America

John C Bonacci