Industrial catalytic reforming, high octane gasoline

The reforming of petroleum fractions boiling between about 90 and 200°C. to high octane gasolines constitutes one of the largest scale industrial catalytic operations of our times. The quantity processed over platinum catalysts exceeds 2 X 10 liters/day. A majority of the reactions involved are polystep hydrocarbon conversions (see refs. 10,11, and the extensive review of the art by Ciapetta et al., 31). 

In catalytic reforming the naphtha is processed to obtain high octane gasoline for motor fuel and aromatics for petrochemical industry. The monometallic Pt/Al203 has been replaced by a number of bimetallics like Pt-Ir, Pt-Re, Pt-Sn etc. because of the superior activity, stability and selectivity for C5 hydrocarbons. Pt-Sn/Al203 has become more attractive in recent years because it allows operations at very low pressures and is more selective for aromatics and hydrogen (1). Tin, when incorporated with Pt on an acidic alumina support promotes aromatization and suppresses hydrogenolysis (2,3). 

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