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AM-97-57 ON-LINE ANALYSIS OF HF ACID USING NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

Randall L. Heald; Phillips Petroleum Company Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Format:
Electronic (digital download/no shipping)

Associate Member, International Member, Petrochemical Member, Refining Member - $0.00
Government, NonMember - $35.00

Description:

I-IF aIkylation is an important refinery process in which isobutane is reacted with olefins to produce highly-branched isoparaffms for use in gasoline blending (Figure 1). In this process, hydrofluotic acid (I-IF) functions as the catalyst and recirculates through the reactor. The recirculating HF catalyst is not pure; it contains a small amount of water and a reaction byproduct called acid-soluble oil (Figure 2). The catalyst is also saturated with the hydrocarbons involved in the process (e.g., alkylate and isobutane). In the HF alkylation process, it is important to monitor and control the purity of the catalyst since excessive amounts of water and acid-soluble oil (ASO) have deleterious consequences: Excessive water, for example, can cause rapid corrosion of the carbon steel reactor. Controlling the composition of the catalyst requires knowing the concentrations of HF. water, and ASO. Therefore, operators must take samples of the catalyst periodically and have these components measured by classical analytical techniques. There are several problems associated with this approach: First of all, I-IF acid will cause serious bums if it contacts skin. Because of this hazard, collecting and analyzing these samples carries potential for injury. Another problem is that the analytical methods used for these measurements lack precision, especially the method for ASO. This often makes it difficult to tell if the composition of the catalyst has changed from sample to sample. Finally, samples are drawn from the reactor only once or twice a day, and the analyses require several hours. This makes it difficult to follow the composition of the catalyst when processing changes do occur.

Product Details:

Product ID: AM-97-57
Publication Year: 1997