AM-10-150 HF Alkylation Unit Conversion Options

Description:

Alkylation of light olefins with isobutane is a widely used process throughout the global refining industry to provide a very high quality, low sulfur gasoline blend stock. Alkylate continues to play an increasingly important role with the advent of cleaner fuel requirements in many regions of the world. As developing regions modernize their auto fleets, alkylate will continue to play a critical role in increasing gasoline pool octane with an expected 100,000 bpd of future alkylation capacity through 2020. Focusing on the North America gasoline-centric market, alkylate has been a significant gasoline blend component since its commercial adoption in the mid 1930’si. In 2008, alkylate comprised approximately 15% of the North American gasoline poolii. In North America, alkylate production has matured with little to no new capacity coming on line in the last few years. Other blend stocks, most notably ethanol, now provide an increasing share of the gasoline pool octane.