AM-17-42 Improve Energy Efficiency of DWCs with Overhead Heat Integration

Description:

The TonenGeneral Group recently applied a DWC process at their refinery in Chiba, Japan. The goal of the Chiba Aromatics Recovery Project was to recover mix-xylenes from a full-range reformate feed. The original benzene extraction unit (BEU), operational since 1999, consisted of pre-cut and extraction sections for the extraction of benzene from the reformate produced by a catalytic reforming unit. The unit separated the feed into a light reformate, heavy reformate and a benzene-rich stream. The crude benzene was fed to the extraction section of the BEU. The light and heavy reformate were sent to the tankage offsite as mogas blend stocks. The heavy reformate contained a substantial amount of mix-xylenes along with toluene, which could be recovered as separate products.