Method for revamping an HF or sulphuric acid alkylation unit and method for the production of alkylate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9260668-B2
Application number	US-201013388499-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 9, 2010
Priority date	Jul 17, 2009
Publication date	Feb 16, 2016
Grant date	Feb 16, 2016

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for revamping an HF or sulphuric acid alkylation unit to an ionic liquid alkylation unit, wherein the HF or sulphuric acid alkylation unit comprise at least: —a reactor unit for contacting catalyst and hydrocarbon reactants; —a separator unit for separating a reactor effluent into a catalyst phase and an alkylate-comprising hydrocarbon phase; —a fractionator unit for fractionating the alkylate-comprising hydrocarbon phase into at least one stream comprising alkylate; —a catalyst phase recycle means to recycle at least part of the catalyst phase from the separator unit to the reactor unit; which method includes: —adapting the catalyst phase recycle means by providing a means for acid injection and/or a means for halohydrocarbon injection into the catalyst recycle means. The invention further provides a method for the production of alkylate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for revamping an HF or sulphuric acid alkylation unit to an ionic liquid alkylation unit, wherein the HF or sulphuric acid alkylation unit comprises:
a reactor for contacting catalyst and hydrocarbon reactants;
a separator unit for separating a reactor effluent into a catalyst phase and an alkylate-comprising hydrocarbon phase;
a fractionator unit for fractionating the alkylate-comprising hydrocarbon phase into at least one stream comprising alkylate; an
a catalyst phase recycle conduit to recycle at least part of the catalyst phase from the separator unit to the reactor unit;

wherein the method for revamping comprises:
replacing the HF or sulphuric acid catalyst in said HF or sulphuric acid alkylation unit with an ionic liquid catalyst;
providing a means for injecting a hydrohalide and/or a halohydrocarbon into the catalyst phase recycle conduit; and
providing a means for measuring pressure in the catalyst phase recycle conduit;
wherein the means for injecting is configured to add hydrohalide and/or halohydrocarbon to the catalyst phase in the catalyst phase recycle conduit in a plurality of injection steps, the means for measuring pressure is configured to measure pressure after each injection step, and the means for injecting is configured to add hydrohalide and/or halohydrocarbon to the catalyst phase in the catalyst phase recycle conduit until saturation and there is no decrease in measured pressure.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a bypass around the means for injecting a hydrohalide and/or the means for injecting a halohydrocarbon is provided to the catalyst phase recycle conduit to allow part of the catalyst phase to bypass the hydrohalide injection and/or halohydrocarbon injection.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the means for injecting a hydrohalide comprises a gas injector or a gas bubbler.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the hydrohalide is hydrogen chloride and any unreacted hydrogen chloride is purged from the ionic liquid alkylation unit with an inert gas.

5. A method for the production of alkylate comprising:
a) alkylating a feed mixture comprising isobutane and an olefin in the presence of an ionic liquid catalyst under alkylation conditions to produce an effluent comprising a mixture of ionic liquid catalyst and a hydrocarbon phase comprising an alkylate;
b) separating a catalyst phase comprising at least a portion of the ionic liquid catalyst from the effluent;
c) injecting a hydrohalide or a halohydrocarbon containing 4 to 8 carbon atoms with the halogen being bound to a secondary carbon atom or tertiary carbon atom, into the catalyst in steps catalyst phase to rejuvenate the at least a portion of ionic liquid catalyst and measuring pressure of the catalyst phase after injecting the hydrohalide or the halohydrocarbon, wherein the hydrohalide or halohydrocarbon is injected into the catalyst phase in a plurality of injection steps, pressure is measured after each injection step, and the hydrohalide or halohydrocarbon is injected until the catalyst phase is saturated and there is no decrease in measured pressure; and
d) recycling the rejuvenated ionic liquid catalyst into the alkylation step (a).

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the catalyst phase and the hydrohalide or halohydrocarbon are mixed after each injection.

7. The method according to claim 5 , wherein hydrohalide or halohydrocarbon is injected in an amount between 0.01-1 wt % of a total quantity of alkylate produced.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein ionic liquid catalyst comprises cations derived from a hydrohalide amine containing alkyls, halogenated imidazole or halogenated pyridine, and anions selected from one or more metallic compounds.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the anions are selected from two or more metallic compounds, and wherein at least one of the two or more metallic compounds is selected from the group consisting of aluminum chloride and aluminum bromide, and at least one of the two or more metallic compounds is a halide, sulphate or nitrate of copper, iron, zinc, nickel, titanium or silver.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the hydrohalide is either hydrogen chloride or hydrogen bromide.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein hydrohalide or halohydrocarbon is injected in an amount between 0.05-0.5 wt % of a total quantity of alkylate produced.

12. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the halohydrocarbon is 2-bromobutane.

13. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the halohydrocarbon is 2-chlorobutane.

14. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the halohydrocarbon is 2-chloro-2-methylpropane.

15. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the halohydrocarbon is 2-chloro-2-methylhexane.

16. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the halohydrocarbon is 2-bromo-2-methylpropane.

17. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the halohydrocarbon is 2-bromo-2-methylhexane.

Assignees

• Liu Zhichang
• Xu Chunming
• Zhang Rui
• Meng Xianghai
• Patroni Ana Cecilia
• Klusener Peter Anton August
• Van Den Bosch Albertus Vincentius Petrus
• Shell Oil Co

Inventors

• Liu Zhichang
• Xu Chunming
• Zhang Rui
• Meng Xianghai
• Patroni Ana Cecilia
• Klusener Peter Anton August
• Van Den Bosch Albertus Vincentius Petrus

Classifications

• C07C2531/02

  containing organic compounds or metal hydrides · CPC title

• C07C2527/25

  Nitrates · CPC title

• C10G29/205 Primary

  by reaction with hydrocarbons added to the hydrocarbon oil · CPC title

• C10G2300/1081

  Alkanes · CPC title

• C07C2527/053

  Sulfates or other compounds comprising the anion (SnO3n+1)2- · CPC title