AM-08-14 Benzene Reduction at Lowest Capital Cost

Description:

The benzene reduction required by MSAT II is clearly a much larger quantity to deal with and refiners may be forced to make more substantial changes in refinery operations to achieve these levels. For many refiners, prefractionation of the reformer feed will not provide a sufficient benzene reduction. The high capital cost of benzene extraction expansions or new facilities will also not provide an attractive answer for all refiners, especially smaller refineries or those in locations remote from the petrochemical benzene users. Assuming hydrogen availability is not a problem, benzene hydrogenation may provide the answer. Even if hydrogen supply is a problem, it may well have to be addressed by the need to remove sulfur from FCC gasoline as well as other refinery products, as increased pressure to reduce sulfur emissions comes into play in the near future. The refiner who is looking down the road and making plans probably has a hydrogen plant increasing in priority.