Light distillates, steam reforming

Steam Reforming Processes. In the steam reforming process, light hydrocarbon feedstocks (qv), such as natural gas, Hquefied petroleum gas, and naphtha, or in some cases heavier distillate oils are purified of sulfur compounds (see Sulfurremoval and recovery). These then react with steam in the presence of a nickel-containing catalyst to produce a mixture of hydrogen, methane, and carbon oxides. Essentially total decomposition of compounds containing more than one carbon atom per molecule is obtained (see Ammonia Hydrogen Petroleum). 

Hydrocarbon feedstocks for steam reformers include natural gas, refinery gas, propane, LPG and butane. Naphtha feedstocks with boiling points up to about 430°F can also be used. The ideal fuels for steam reformers are light hydrocarbons such as natural gas and refinery gas, although distillate fuels are also used. Residual fuels are not used since they contain metals that can damage reformer tubes. 

Although natural gas feedstock currently is preferred by some demonstration plants, alternative fuels, such as light distillates, coal gas. and fuel-grade methanol may be used. Methanol can be steam reformed at relatively low temperatures and. for this reason, can be adapted to smaller, transportable fuel-cell power plants of the type desired for certain military and commercial gear. 

Production of High Methane-Content Gas by Steam Reforming of Light Distillates... 

The heavy bottoms from vacuum distillation may be sent to a FLEXICOKING unit along with air and steam to produce additional distilled liquid products and a low quality fuel gas for process furnaces. Light hydrocarbon gases coming from the distillation unit are steam reformed to produce hydrogen. The total liquid yield is thus a blend of streams from liquefaction and flexi-coking. 

Aromatics [benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX)] are obtained from refinery and petrochemical light naphtha streams. Aromatics are produced in the reforming process and in steam cracking. Extraction or various extractive distillation processes are used to isolate and separate aromatics from the naphtha streams. Typical extraction processes are based on tetraethylene glycol, sulfolane, N,N -methylpyrolidene, or morpholine. They produce a mixture of aromatics that are subsequently separated by distillation, extractive distillation, or—in the case of xylene isomers—differential adsorption or fractional crystallization. 

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