Uop Lcc

Srikantiah Raghuram

Robert J Schmidt

Beth McCulloch

Andrea G Bozzano

Robert S Haizmann

Amarendra Anumakonda

John J Jeanneret

Paula L Bogdan

Charles P Luebke

Ismail B Cetinkaya

Lynn H Rice

Joseph Edward Zimmermann

J W Sachtler

James R Lansbarkis

Joao Jorge Da Silva Ferreira Alves

Lawrence E Sullivan

Frederick M Hibbs

Joao Jorge Da Sllva Ferreira Alves

Embodiments of methods for the production of linear alkylbenzene and optionally biofuel from a natural oil are provided. A method comprises the step of deoxygenating the natural oils to form paraffins. A first portion of the paraffins is hydrocracked to form a first stream of normal and lightly branched paraffins in the Cto Crange and a second stream of isoparaffins. The first stream is dehydrogenated to provide mono-olefins. Then, benzene is alkylated with the mono-olefins under alkylation conditions to provide an alkylation effluent comprising alkylbenzenes and benzene. Thereafter, the alkylbenzenes are isolated to provide the alkylbenzene product. Optionally a second portion of the paraffins and the isoparaffins are processed to form biofuel.

Methods for co-production of alkylbenzene and biofuel from natural oils using hydrocracking

Embodiments of methods for co-production of linear alkylbenzene and biofuel from a natural oil are provided. A method comprises the step of deoxygenating the natural oils to form paraffins. A first portion of the paraffins is hydrocracked to form a first stream of normal and lightly branched paraffins in the Cto Crange and a second stream of isoparaffins. The first stream is dehydrogenated to provide mono-olefins. Then, benzene is alkylated with the mono-olefins under alkylation conditions to provide an alkylation effluent comprising alkylbenzenes and benzene. Thereafter, the alkylbenzenes are isolated to provide the alkylbenzene product. A second portion of the paraffins and the isoparaffins are processed to form biofuel.

A tubular reactor passes a flowing stream of reactants through a plurality of mixing devices that simultaneously provide indirect heat exchange of the reactants to improve the uniformity of reactant temperatures and concentrations. The mixing devices provide intimate mixing by passing the reactants through a plurality of narrow channels defined by parallel plate elements that channel a heat exchange fluid on their opposite side to provide the simultaneous indirect heat exchange. The heat exchange channels can have any desired degree of mixing intensity by providing irregularities in the channel walls or flow path that supply the desired degree of fluid shear. Preferably the mixing reactor provides a series of mixing devices with heat exchange along the length of the conduit flow path with space between the devices for remixing of the fluid reactants.

Static mixing reactor for uniform reactant temperatures and concentrations

A processing step is added to an existing catalytic reforming unit to increase the yield of aromatic product. The additional processing comprises separation of product from the reforming unit into an aromatic concentrate and a low-octane recycle stream which is upgraded by aromatization. The separation preferably is effected using a large-pore molecular sieve, and the aromatization with a nonacidic L-zeolite contained within the hydrogen circuit of the existing catalytic reforming unit.

Catalytic reforming process with increased aromatics yield

An integrated process for the production of normal paraffins from a feed mixture of normal paraffins, iso-paraffins and aromatics is disclosed. The process integrates a normal paraffin sorption process and an aromatics sorption process. The normal paraffin product of the process of our invention meets the commercial requirements for production of detergents, including sufficiently-low concentrations of both iso-paraffins and aromatics. The process achieves these results without the need for two additional factionation columns that are necessary to prior unintegrated processes.

N-paraffin purification process with removal of aromatics

A combination of an etherification process and a process for the isomerization of linear alkenes to isoalkenes uses an adsorptive separation zone that receives an effluent fraction from the etherification reaction zone and separates the fraction at low efficiency to produce an isomerization feed stream comprising normal butenes and butanes, and a butane stream that is rejected from the process. The rejection of butanes at low efficiency reduces or eliminates the loss of butenes with the rejection of butane. A low efficiency adsorptive separation to reject butanes also benefits the isomerization process by inhibiting coking.

C4 rejection for etherification and isomerization process

A process combination is disclosed to reduce the aromatics content of a key component of gasoline blends. Paraffins contained in catalytic reformates are conserved and upgraded by separation and isomerization, reducing the reforming severity required to achieve a given product octane with concomitant reduction in paraffin aromatization and cracking. Light reformate may be separated and isomerized, and heavier paraffins are separated from the reformate by solvent extraction or adsorption; the recovered heavy paraffins are isomerized, optionally at a substoichiometric hydrogen ratio. A gasoline component having a reduced aromatics content relative to reformate of the same octane number is blended from the net products of the separation and isomerization steps.

Production of reformulated gasoline

A process combination is disclosed to reduce the aromatics content of a key component of gasoline blends. Paraffins contained in catalytic reformates are conserved and upgraded by separation and isomerization, reducing the reforming severity required to achieve a given product octane with concomitant reduction in paraffin aromatization and cracking. Light reformate may be separated and isomerized, and heavier paraffins are separated from the reformate by solvent extraction or adsorption and isomerized. A gasoline component having a reduced aromatics content relative to reformate of the same octane number is blended from the net products of the separation and isomerization steps.

The invention relates to the production of high octane fuels including a process for separating the high octane components for the gasoline pool from lower octane components, which are recycled to an isomerization reaction by adsorptively separating dimethyl paraffins from an isomerate with an aluminophosphate zeolite and SSZ-24, an all-silica zeolite adsorbent isostructural with AIPO.sub.4 -5, and a C.sub.6-10 normal paraffin desorbent. The lower octane components of the isomerate, normal paraffins and mono-branched paraffins, are recycled to the isomerization reaction zone for further conversion to multi-branched paraffins. The useful aluminophosphates are SAPO-5, AIPO.sub.4 -5 MgAPO-5 and MAPSO-5.

Extraction of dimethyl paraffins from isomerates

A combination isomerization and liquid phase adsorptive separation process is given increased efficiency and cost effectiveness while also improving the product quality by eliminating the columns for the separation of desorbent material from extract and raffinate streams. In this arrangement a C.sub.5 + naphtha stream is split into a heavy hydrocarbon stream comprising normal hexane and higher boiling hydrocarbons and an isomerization zone feedstream comprising isohexane and lower boiling hydrocarbons. The heavy hydrocarbon stream goes directly to a deisohexanizer column. The isomerization zone feedstream is combined with an excess desorbent stream and the extract stream from an adsorptive separation section to form a combined feed. Hydrocarbons in the combined feed are isomerized and after stabilization pass directly into the adsorption section. In the adsorption section, normal pentanes are selectively adsorbed on an adsorbent material, and a raffinate stream comprising desorbent and isoparaffins is passed to the deisohexanizer column and supplies the desorbent for the adsorption section. Any desorbent in excess of that required for the adsorption section is combined with the isomerization zone feed. The extract stream that is combined with the isomerization zone feed is recovered from adsorption section. A bottoms stream comprising C.sub.7 and higher boiling hydrocarbons is withdrawn from the bottom of the deisohexanizer column. A high octane isomerate is taken overhead from the deisohexanizer as a product stream.

Paraffin isomerization and liquid phase adsorptive product separation

A combination isomerization and liquid phase adsorptive separation process is given increased efficiency and cost effectiveness by the elimination of a column for the separation of desorbent material from selectively retained components. By decreasing the ratio of normal paraffin desorbent to the selective pore volume circulation rate, the extract column can be eliminated without providing other means for the rejection or recovery of desorbent material. This reduction in the ratio of normal paraffin desorbent to selective pore volume circulation rate has been found not to decrease the recovery from the adsorption section. The elimination of the column provides a substantial decrease in the cost of the equipment to operate a combination isomerization zone and liquid phase adsorption section. In an alternate arrangement, the extract column is replaced with a deisohexanizer column. The deisohexanizer column can be used to produce a C.sub.5 -C.sub.6 product stream having research octane numbers of 93 or greater.

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Buffalo Grove, IL, United States of America

Srikantiah Raghuram