Refining and gas processing applications The focus throughout this discussion has been on PPD applications in the chemical industry, primarily because the greatest use of distillation trains that employ direct sequence distillation is found in chemical synthesis pro- cesses. PPD may also find applications as a debottleneck - ing tool in other distillation-intensive industries, such as petroleum refining and gas processing. Aromatics are produced in refineries and petrochemical plants by using direct sequence distillation to separate ben- zene, toluene, and xylene products. In refineries, aromatics are produced by catalytic reforming followed by solvent extraction to recover a BTX intermediate product from a reformate stream. In petrochemical plants, steam cracking of naphtha produces an aromatics-rich pygas stream that can be extracted for BTX recovery. BTX intermediate prod- ucts from refinery or petrochemical sources are separated into benzene, toluene, and xylene products in a series of distillation columns. PPD can be used to increase aromat- ics production by debottlenecking existing BTX distillation trains. Figure 4 shows an example of a PPD revamp config - uration for debottlenecking a series of BTX columns. Conclusions PPD is an effective new technique for debottlenecking large distillation trains. PPD combines well-understood distillation concepts into a methodology for debottleneck - ing distillation trains using a two-step distillation process. Debottlenecking of distillation trains is accomplished by converting existing distillation columns into prefractionation
columns and adding new multiproduct distillation columns that separate product pairs from the prefractionation col- umns into individual products. PPD is especially well suited for chemical processes that have traditionally relied upon direct sequence distillation to recover four or more distillation products from reactor efflu - ent streams. Some examples of suitable applications for PPD in the chemical industry are Fischer-Tropsch and oli- gomerisation processes. In the petroleum refining and pet - rochemical industries, PPD can be advantageously used to debottleneck the recovery of aromatic products produced by catalytic reforming and steam cracking. The use of PPD in various applications introduces cost savings that can turn large, expensive, and unprofitable distillation train revamp projects into projects with attrac- tive returns on investment. References 1 Lappin G R, J D Sauer, editors, Alpha Olefins Applications Handbook , 1st edition, CRC Press, 1989. 2 Slaugh L H, Process for separating linear alpha olefins from a crude stream containing saturated hydrocarbons, internal olefins, branched olefins, and linear alpha olefins, US 6,271,434 B1, August 7, 2001. David Kockler is a Principal at Dividing Wall Distillation and Separations Consulting, LLC. He has more than 30 years’ process design experi - ence, specialising in the development and implementation of advanced distillation processes for the chemical and refining industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University and a master’s in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia. Email: dwc-separations-consulting@outlook.com
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Zeopore is developing optimized catalysts with demonstrated benefits in terms of selectivity and activity. They enhance the performance of refining and petrochemical processes, leading to higher quality products, lower energy use and less waste. Our processes are cost-effective, easily scalable and fully non-hazardous for the environment and people. ENHANCING ZEOLITE CATALYSTS
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We are enhancing the applicability of our mesoporized zeolites in a number of green catalysis processes such as ecofriendly energy production and (plastic) waste reduction. Partners or consortia are welcome to jointly embed our catalysis innovations in broader technology developments for realizing new ‘green’ processes, hardware and supply chains.
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