AM-00-34 ISOOCTANE PRODUCTION FROM C4’S AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO MTBE

Description:

If MTBE is regulated out of the gasoline pool, refiners and petrochemical producers will be faced with three significant issues: 1) How to most efficiently and economically replace the high octane value and volume of MTBE in the gasoline pool? 2) How to best use the isobutylene feedstock? and 3) What to do with the “stranded” MTBE production facilities? One of the alternative solutions is the conversion of MTBE units, which use methanol and isobutylene as feeds, to isooctane units in which isobutylene is dimerized to isooctene which can subsequently be hydrogenated to isooctane. Fortum Oy of Finland and Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. have joined together to bring Fortum’s NExOCTANE Technology to the refining and petrochemical industries. This technology provides a high quality product for the gasoline pool while making use of the “stranded” MTBE units and isobutylene feedstock. The technology has been demonstrated in pilot plants on various feedstocks, from FCC and steam cracker C4 streams to crude C4 streams from isobutane hydrogenation units and coproduct C4 stream from propylene oxide plants. Economics of isooctane production from FCC derived isobutylene feedstock are discussed based on typical cost of conversion of existing refinery integrated MTBE units. A comparison is also made of the relative blending value of isooctane compared to MTBE and other alternate isobutylene consumers such as alkylate.