AM-97-46 DEVELOPMENT OF OLIGOMERIZATION PROCESS FOR CONVERTING LIGHT OLEFINIC FRACTIONS INTO MORE VALUABLE PRODUCTS AS A HIGH-OCTANE GASOLINE, KEROSENE AND GAS OIL

Description:

In recent years, most refiners have been studying to produce higher added value petroleum products and to develop more profitable operation in their refineries. However, at the present time they have not utilized light olefinic fractions sufficiently as valuable sources for fuel. Light olefinic fractions are merely used for home fuel or converted into more stable products by hydrotreating. Cracked light naphtha fractions are generally used as gasoline blendstock, reformer feed after hydrotreating, and petrochemical naphtha for steam cracking. C5 and C6 olefins in these fractions will be restricted by new environmental concerns in the near future, because these oletins have very high atmospheric volatility. LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas) fractions from catalytic and thermal cracking processes contain a large amount of C3 and C4 olefins. Most refiners have not utilized them sufficiently, especially C4 olefin, except for home fuel use. Thus we propose the KOA Oligomerization process which can convert light olefinic fractions into more valuable products by oligomerization reaction. As members of the Research Association for Utilization of Light Oil, sponsored by the Japanese Government, since 1983, KOA OIL Co. Ltd. has developed the oligomerization technology as a new process. This new process manufactures gasoline, kerosene, and gas oil from cracked LPG fractions, and also produces kerosene and gas oil from cracked light naphtha using metal supported silica-alumina catalyst. We have studied catalyst and pretreatment method using a bench scale plant and confirmed their good performance. We started operation of the demonstration plant in September, 1990 and still continues the operation. This demonstration plant operation accomplished the good performance of both the catalyst and the system. This process is a very useful way of adding value to low value light hydrocarbons such as fuel use LPG and excess light naphtha in refineries containing significant amount of olefin. In addition, it provides refiners with more flexible production and operation in product sorts.