Methods and systems for producing gasoline from light paraffins

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10323196-B2
Application number	US-201815911733-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2018
Priority date	Mar 17, 2017
Publication date	Jun 18, 2019
Grant date	Jun 18, 2019

Abstract

Methods and systems producing gasoline boiling range hydrocarbons from light paraffins are disclosed. Such methods may include exposing a paraffin-containing stream to a catalyst in a side riser of a fluid catalytic cracking reactor under effective conditions for dehydrogenating at least a portion of paraffins in the stream into olefins and thereby producing an olefin-containing stream, wherein the paraffin-containing stream comprises greater than 50 wt % isobutane; and alkylating olefins in the olefin-containing stream to produce a product stream comprising an alkylate fraction comprising hydrocarbons boiling between 100° F. and 400° F.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of producing gasoline boiling range hydrocarbons from light paraffins comprising:
providing a fluid catalytic cracking reactor having a main riser and a side riser and a regenerator wherein the main riser and the side riser operate in parallel and both the main riser and the side riser receive a regenerated catalyst from the regenerator;
exposing a parrafin-containing stream to the regenerated catalyst in the side riser of the fluid catalytic cracking reactor under effective conditions for dehydrogenating at least a portion of paraffins in the stream into olefins and thereby producing an olefin-containing stream, wherein the paraffin-containing stream comprises greater than 50 wt % isobutane and such that the side riser acts as a coolant for the regenerated catalyst; and
alkylating olefins in the olefin-containing stream, without intermediate separation of unreacted isobutane in the olefin-containing stream, to produce a product stream comprising an alkylate fraction comprising hydrocarbons boiling between 100° F. and 400° F.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the effective conditions comprise conditions suitable for achieving a propylene:propane weight ratio of at least 40:1.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the propylene:propane weight ratio is about 50:1 or greater.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising separating propylene from the olefin-containing stream prior to the step of alkylating olefins in the olefin-containing stream.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising separating ethane from the olefin-containing stream prior to the step of alkylating olefins.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising recycling at least a portion of the alkylate fraction and combining the at least a portion of the alkylate fraction with the olefin-containing stream prior to or concurrently with the step of separating ethane.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst is fed to the side riser after regeneration in a regenerator receiving spent catalyst utilized in the main riser of the fluid catalytic cracking reactor.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising cracking a feed of a vacuum gas oil in the main riser.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of alkylating olefins is performed by contacting the olefin-containing stream with an acid catalyst.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the acid catalyst is a liquid catalyst.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the acid catalyst is a solid catalyst.

12. A method of producing gasoline boiling range hydrocarbons from light paraffins comprising:
providing a fluid catalytic cracking reactor having a main riser and a side riser and a regenerator wherein the main riser and the side riser operate in parallel and both the main riser and the side riser receive a regenerated catalyst from the regenerator;
exposing a residual fraction to a catalyst in the main riser of a fluid catalytic cracking reactor under first effective conditions to crack hydrocarbons of the residual fraction;
exposing a paraffin-containing stream to the catalyst in the side riser of the fluid catalytic cracking reactor under second effective conditions for dehydrogenating at least a portion of paraffins in the stream into olefins and thereby producing an olefin-containing stream, wherein the paraffin-containing stream comprises greater than 50 wt % isobutane and such that the side riser acts as a coolant for the regenerated catalyst; and
alkylating olefins in the olefin-containing stream to produce a product stream comprising an alkylate fraction comprising hydrocarbons boiling between 100° F. and 400° F.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the olefins in the olefin-containing stream are alkylated without intermediate separation of unreacted isobutane in the olefin-containing stream.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the second effective conditions comprise conditions suitable for achieving a propylene:propane weight ratio of at least 40:1.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the propylene:propane weight ratio is about 50:1 or greater.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising separating propylene from the olefin-containing stream prior to the step of alkylating olefins in the olefin-containing stream.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising separating ethane from the olefin-containing stream prior to the step of alkylating olefins.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising recycling at least a portion of the alkylate fraction and combining the at least a portion of the alkylate fraction with the olefin-containing stream prior to or concurrently with the step of separating ethane.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the catalyst is fed to the side riser after regeneration in a regenerator receiving spent catalyst utilized in the main riser of the fluid catalytic cracking reactor.

20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of alkylating olefins is performed by contacting the olefin-containing stream with an acid catalyst.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the acid catalyst is a liquid catalyst.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the acid catalyst is a solid catalyst.

Assignees

• Exxonmobil Res & Eng Co

Inventors

• Gunther William R
• Smalley Christopher G
• Cunningham Brian A
• Bielenberg James R

Classifications

• C10G50/00

  Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from lower carbon number hydrocarbons, e.g. by oligomerisation · CPC title

• C10G57/005 Primary

  with alkylation · CPC title

• C10G2400/02

  Gasoline · CPC title

• C10G2300/1081

  Alkanes · CPC title