What is catalytic reforming of naphtha?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Catalytic reforming is a chemical process used to convert petroleum refinery naphthas distilled from crude oil (typically having low octane ratings) into high-octane liquid products called reformates, which are premium blending stocks for high-octane gasoline.

How the naphtha is reformed in a catalytic reformer?

In a typical reforming unit the naphtha charge is first passed over a catalyst bed in the presence of hydrogen to remove any sulfur impurities. The desulfurized feed is then mixed with hydrogen (about five molecules of hydrogen to one of hydrocarbon) and heated to a temperature of 500–540 °C (930–1,000 °F).

Which catalysts are used for reforming process?

Catalytic reforming uses a catalyst, usually platinum, to produce a similar result. Mixed with hydrogen, naphtha is heated and passed over pellets of catalyst in a series of reactors, under high pressure, producing high-octane gasoline.

What is the catalyst used in the reforming of petroleum?

Most processes use platinum as the active catalyst. Sometimes platinum is combined with a second catalyst (bimetallic catalyst) such as rhenium or another noble metal. There are a number of different commercial catalytic reforming processes.

What does naphtha consist of?

Naphtha contains varying amounts of paraffins, olefins, naphthene constituents, and aromatics and olefins in different proportions in addition to potential isomers of paraffin that exist in naphtha boiling range.

What is the main purpose of reforming?

Reforming is a process designed to increase the volume of gasoline that can be produced from a barrel of crude oil. Hydrocarbons in the naphtha stream have roughly the same number of carbon atoms as those in gasoline, but their structure is generally more complex.

What does naphtha react with?

Process Description and Process Variables Naphtha catalytic reforming reactions include Dehydrogenation, Dehydrocyclization, Isomerization and Hydrocracking reactions which are performed on both the metallic and acidic parts of the catalyst.

Where is naphtha from?

Naphtha is primarily derived from crude oil, while ethane is more prevalent in natural gas and natural gas liquids (aka NGLs, a mixture of various hydrocarbons often co-produced along with natural gas).

What is the difference between cracking and reforming?

Cracking in the crude oil industry means breaking down large molecules into smaller types of molecules. Reforming means reshaping the molecules.

Which is produced in the catalytic naphtha reforming process?

In addition, the produced reformate in catalytic naphtha reforming process includes valuable aromatics such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) that are very important petrochemical materials.

What happens to low octane paraffins in naphtha reforming?

In naphtha reforming, low octane paraffins and naphthenes in naph- tha are converted to high octane iso-paraffins and aromatics in refor- mate. Along the cycle time, catalyst deactivation occurs predominantly through carbonaceous deposits and leads to a gradual decrease of the research octane number (RON).

How is octanizing used in the catalytic reforming process?

Octanizing: A catalytic reforming version developed by Axens, a subsidiary of Institut francais du petrole (IFP), designed for continuous catalyst regeneration. Before describing the reaction chemistry of the catalytic reforming process as used in petroleum refineries, the typical naphthas used as catalytic reforming feedstocks will be discussed.

Which is the feedstock for a catalytic reforming reaction?

Therefore, the naphtha feedstock to a catalytic reformer is always pre-processed in a hydrodesulfurization unit which removes both the sulfur and the nitrogen compounds. Most catalysts require both sulphur and nitrogen content to be lower than 1 ppm. The four major catalytic reforming reactions are: