Gasoline Blending Stocks: Reformates

GASOLINE BLENDING STOCKS REFORMATES None Flammable Liquid 1 3 0... 

Gasoline Blending Stocks Reformates — Fire Hazards Flash Point (deg. F) < 0 CC ... 

GASOLINE BLENDING STOCKS REFORMATES None Flwnable Uquld 1 3 ... 

Catalytic reforming converts low-octane heavy naphtha into a high-octane product (reformate) that is an excellent gasoline blend stock. Reformate has a high content of BTX (benzene-toluene-xylene), so it also serves as a great source of aromatics for petrochemical plants. 

The next cut gasoline stream from the crude distillation column is the naphtha cut. This stream has a boiling range of 200-365°F and contains a significant portion of naphthenes, aromatics, and paraffins. Thus, the naphtha cut is hydrotreated and reformed to upgrade this stream into a gasoline blending stock.9... 

Neither is suitable as a direct gasoline blending stock or as reformer feed. Additional hydrotreating is required to reduce the nitrogen content to levels acceptable to catalytic reforming, which is required to boost the octane number of this material. 

The slope of this best-fit line for the clear base gasolines for the commercial leaded fuels is noticeably less than that for the commercial unleaded fuels. There are several reasons. To make clear fuels below 90 RON, the refiner generally has available several base stocks in addition to reformate that can provide octane numbers. These include alkylate, isomerate, and cata-lytically cracked stocks containing olefins. Furthermore, these stocks plus straightrun have excellent lead susceptibility compared to aromatics. Therefore, one would expect to see less aromatics in leaded fuels and the aromatic increment for each increase in RON would be less. For unleaded fuels above 90 RON, reformate, which consists mostly of aromatics, is the most generally used blending stock to provide the required octane numbers. ... 

Blending components used in the Auto/Oil Study were obtained from various streams from current refinery configurations. They include FCC gasolines, reformates, straight run naphtha, alkylates and isomerate. Table 3 shows the compositional analysis and physical properties of these blending stocks. 

Methane reforming units receive methane-rich gas from a cryogenic product recovery facility and subject the gas to partial oxidation. Some of the carbon dioxide content is removed and the gas recycled to the reactors. Once liquids are recovered, the stream goes to essentially conventional refining units. The plant s production is primarily transport fuels. Most of the gasoline production is currently sold to other refineries for blending with their stocks, but a portion of the product is marketed directly to consumers. 

The liquids output represents a combination of transportation and utility fuels as summarized in Table III. All of the naphtha is to be reformed on site to produce a very high aromatic stock. With an exceptional octane blending value, this stream will find ready application as a gasoline component, but perhaps more important, it is also a source of substantial quantities of petrochemical raw materials as noted in Table IV. The potential yield of BTX and phenolics along with the low boiling paraffins should make such a plant an important factor in the future supply picture for these materials. 

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