Aromatics from catalytic cracking

The gas oil cut from catalytic cracking called Light Cycle Oil (LCO), is characterized by a very low cetane number (about 20), high contents in aromatics, sulfur and nitrogen, all of which strongly limit its addition to the diesel fuel pool to a maximum of 5 to 10%. 

Products of conversion from catalytic cracking are largely olefinic for light fractions and strongly aromatic for the heavy fractions. 

For gas oil from catalytic cracking (LCO), reducing the aromatics content to 20 wt. % results in a chemical hydrogen consumption of 3.4 wt % and a cetane number of 40. 

Ethylene glycol for the synthesis of PET is obfained by air oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide (Section 11.8A) followed by hydrolysis to the glycol (Section 11.9A). Ethylene is, in turn, derived entirely from cracking eifher petroleum or ethane derived from natural gas (Section 2.9A). Terephthalic acid is obtained by oxidation of p-xylene, an aromatic hydrocarbon obtained along with benzene and toluene from catalytic cracking and reforming of naphtha and other petroleum fractions (Section 2.9B). 

Butadiene is obtained mainly as a coproduct with other light olefins from steam cracking units for ethylene production. Other sources of butadiene are the catalytic dehydrogenation of butanes and butenes, and dehydration of 1,4-butanediol. Butadiene is a colorless gas with a mild aromatic odor. Its specific gravity is 0.6211 at 20°C and its boiling temperature is -4.4°C. The U.S. production of butadiene reached 4.1 billion pounds in 1997 and it was the 36th highest-volume chemical. ... 

Carbon black is produced by the partial combustion or the thermal decomposition of natural gas or petroleum distillates and residues. Petroleum products rich in aromatics such as tars produced from catalytic and thermal cracking units are more suitable feedstocks due to their high carbon/hydrogen ratios. These feeds produce blacks with a... 

Xylenes (dimethylbenzenes) are an aromatic mixture composed of three isomers (0-, m-, and p-xylene). They are normally obtained from catalytic reforming and cracking units with other Ce, C7, and Cg aromatics. Separating the aromatic mixture from the reformate is done by extraction-distillation and isomerization processes (Chapter 2). 

The Ce-Cg aromatic hydrocarbons—though present in crude oil—are generally so low in concentration that it is not technically or economically feasible to separate them. However, an aromatic-rich mixture can be obtained from catalytic reforming and cracking processes, which can be further extracted to obtain the required aromatics for petrochemical use. Liquefied petroleum gases (C3-C4) from natural gas and refinery gas streams can also be catalytically converted into a liquid hydrocarbon mixture rich in C6-C8 aromatics. 

It has been shown, however, that such catalysts may contain protons, either by design or because of the difficulty in removing all traces of moisture, and these protons have been shown to be superacidic with Hammett acidities up to —18. These protons will also play some role in the catalytic activity of these ionic liquids in practical situations. Ionic liquids in which superacidic protons have deliberately been generated by addition of small amounts of water, HCl or H2SO4 have been used to catalytically crack polyethene under relatively mild conditions. The main products are mixed C3-C5 alkanes, which would be a useful feedstock from waste polyethene recycling. In contrast to other cracking procedures no aromatics or alkenes are produced, although small amounts of polycyclic compounds are obtained. 

Since the removal of aromatics from fuel oils lowered toxicity, attention was directed to other highly aromatic fractions. Avon weed killer, a very aromatic material, had proved toxic and it was soon proved that many other aromatic fractions were effective. Unfortunately, most of the old sources of aromatic fractions were soon exhausted, but tests proved that the bottoms from the catalytic cracked stocks were similarly toxic. Shell No. 20, Standard No. 2, and a host of other toxic weed oils soon came onto the market, and the demands on Diesel and smudge-pot oils were alleviated. 

The liquid products of catalytic cracking (obtained in accordance with the described principles) have been omitted from consideration thus far, except in the case of the alkyl aromatics. To the refiner, the liquid obtained is of prime importance, both as gasoline and heavier intermediate oils. 

Superflex Catalytic Cracking. A new process called Superflex is being commercialized to produce predominandy propylene and butylenes from low valued hydrocarbon streams from an olefins complex (74). In this process, raffinates (from the aromatics recovery unit and the B—B stream after the recovery of isobutylene) and pyrolysis gasoline (after the removal of the C,—aromatics fraction) are catalytically cracked to produce propylene, isobutylene, and a cmde C6 Cg aromatics fraction. All other by-products are recycled to extinction. 

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