PTQ Q2 2025 Issue

Pool segregation Raises EtOH octane by 30 points $ 1

Sulphur & benzene in gasoline $ Generate credits

Blends at 425 octane $ Add aromatic amines

HRC fuels

Reduce reformer Severity by 15 points $

Octane and RVP $ Eliminate giveaway

$5-6/bbl added profit

CO reduced 12% Reduce S cope 2 & 3

from 80% to 90% $ Increase yield

Get more octane $ Blend more butane

Figure 3 Typical initial HRC technology application to a refinery

EPA. Each individual gasoline additive is limited to 0.25 wt% in finished gasoline, and the total of all gasoline addi - tives must be limited to 1 vol%. The authors’ company has conducted many evaluations of how to use this patented HRC gasoline technology for prospective users. In every situation, there are strong eco - nomic incentives to maximise the use of aromatic amines in HRC gasoline blends. This is because aromatic amines minimise the need for iso-octane and alkylate (valuable, high-octane paraffinic stocks). Alternatively, higher vol - umes of aromatic amines maximise the incentive to blend low-octane paraffinic stocks, such as renewable naphtha or light straight-run naphtha from paraffinic crudes from the Bakken or Eagle Ford shale fields. Maximising aromatic amines to the US EPA limit maximises profitability. Between ethanol octane synergy and the use of aromatic amines, the octane balance is restored to a level like the leaded era: • In the leaded era, refinery gasoline averaged 78 octane, and TEL contributed 11 octane units to make an 88-octane gasoline pool. • For HRC E10 gasoline, the refinery gasoline is 77.5 octane, with ethanol contributing another 6.4 octane units and aromatic amines contributing another 3.1 octane units. • For HRC E15 gasoline, the refinery gasoline is 74.7 octane, with ethanol contributing another 10 octane units and aromatic amines contributing another 3.3 octane units. Aromatic amines plus ethanol account for 9.5 octane units for HRC E10 and 13.3 octane units for HRC E15. This brackets the 11 octane units from TEL for the leaded era. Applying HRC technology in a refinery Now that the vision for HRC gasoline is clearly defined, its initial implementation has been previously discussed in another article and is available on the author’s web- site (HRCFuels.com). It is critical to note that initial implementation: • Is quick to implement, with little to no capital (pumps and piping). • In its simplest application, this is a blending technology. • Begins with lower levels of aromatic amines. • Is completely reversible. The point? This is a low-risk technology.

Initial implementation involves the following steps, as shown in Figure 3 :  Segregate paraffinic blendstocks from non-paraffinic stocks (with high levels of aromatics and olefins). The par - affinic (HRC) pool will benefit from ethanol octane synergy, creating more octane. v Add aromatic amines to the HRC pool to further boost its octane. w Reduce reformer rate and/or severity to rebalance the octane. x Hydrotreat and blend reformer feed to the HRC pool, increasing gasoline yield and adding more ethanol octane synergy. y Make less butane and pentanes at the reformer. This allows blending more high-octane paraffinic butane into the low RVP HRC gasoline pool. z Capture any benefits from lower refinery Scope 2 and 3 CO₂ emissions. For initial implementation, lower cost of gasoline produc - tion is typically seen in the range of $ 5-6 per barrel of HRC gasoline produced. Depending on refinery circumstances, about 20-30% of the gasoline production is HRC gasoline. The initial implementation is designed to minimise risk to the refiner and demonstrate the value of the technology. Economic benefits are favoured by low investment changes (pumps and piping), simplified refining operations, simpli - fied blending, and higher tank utilisation. The longer-term case, illustrated as follows, provides much larger benefits. Economic benefits and investment required for the long- term case will depend on the refinery circumstances.. Consequences of full refinery implementation There are several logical consequences of 100% HRC gas - oline implementation, all of which undo the current reliance on catalytic reforming to make light aromatics and retaining olefins in FCC gasoline: • The added octane from ethanol octane synergy and the aromatic amines will result in a reduction of reformer rate and/or severity. Lower reformer rate and/or severity makes reformer feed available for blending to HRC gaso - line, increasing gasoline yield. Reformer off-gases will also { Eliminate octane and RVP giveaway. | Capture benzene and sulphur credits.

PTQ Q2 2025