Process for hydrogenation of a hydrocarbon feedstock comprising aromatic compounds

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9732286-B2
Application number	US-201414785666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2014
Priority date	Apr 26, 2013
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

Process for hydrogenation of aromatic compounds in a feedstock comprising hydrocarbons having at least five carbon atoms, comprising:
a) contacting feedstock, a hydrogen gas, and a nickel or platinum hydrogenation catalyst at 100 to 400° C., 0.5 to 8 MPa, and a feedstock flow rate 0.5 to 5 h −1 , as to produce a partially-hydrogenated hydrocarbon feedstock and gas; and b) contacting the partially-hydrogenated feedstock, and a nickel or platinum hydrogenation catalyst at 100 and 400° C., a pressure of between 0.5 and 8 MPa, with a flow rate of the partially-hydrogenated feedstock between 0.3 and 8 h −1 , a ratio between the volume of hydrogen and the volume of the partially-hydrogenated feedstock between 0.3 and 3 Nm 3 /m 3 , and a ratio between the superficial mass flow rate of the partially-hydrogenated feedstock and the superficial mass flow rate of gas (Ul/Ug) at the inlet of the reactor between 50 and 500.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Process for hydrogenation of aromatic compounds contained in a feedstock comprising hydrocarbons having at least five carbon atoms, with the process comprising at least the following stages:
a) bringing said feedstock, a gas stream comprising hydrogen, and a hydrogenation catalyst comprising nickel or platinum dispersed on a substrate into contact in a reactor, with the contact being made at a temperature of between 100 and 400° C., at a pressure of between 0.5 and 8 MPa, and with an hourly volumetric flow rate of the liquid feedstock at the inlet of the reactor of between 0.5 and 5 h −1 , in such a way as to reduce the content of aromatic compounds by hydrogenation and produce an effluent comprising a partially-hydrogenated hydrocarbon feedstock having a content of aromatic compounds that is less than 1,000 ppm and a gas; and
b) bringing the partially-hydrogenated feedstock that is obtained from stage a) in liquid form, a gas stream comprising hydrogen, and a hydrogenation catalyst comprising nickel or platinum dispersed on a substrate into contact in a reactor, with the contact being made at a temperature of between 100 and 400° C., at a pressure of between 0.5 and 8 MPa, with an hourly volumetric flow rate of the liquid partially-hydrogenated feedstock of between 0.3 and 8 h −1 , with a ratio between the volume of hydrogen that is introduced and the volume of the partially-hydrogenated feedstock of between 0.3 and 3 Nm 3 /m 3 , and with a ratio between the superficial mass flow rate of the liquid partially-hydrogenated feedstock and the superficial mass flow rate of gas (Ul/Ug) at the inlet of the reactor of between 50 and 500.

2. Process according to claim 1 , in which the ratio between the superficial mass flow rate of the liquid partially-hydrogenated feedstock and the superficial mass flow rate of gas (Ul/Ug) at the inlet of the reactor is between 60 and 450.

3. Process according to claim 1 , in which in stage b), the superficial mass flow rate of gas comprising hydrogen is between 0.001 and 0.1 kg/(m 2 s).

4. Process according to claim 1 , in which in stage a), the ratio between the superficial mass flow rate of the liquid feedstock that is to be treated and the superficial mass flow rate of gas (Ul/Ug) at the inlet of the reactor is higher than 500.

5. Process according to claim 1 , in which the substrate of the catalysts of stages a) and b) is selected from among aluminas, silica, silica-aluminas, magnesia, titanium oxide, zirconia, zeolites, by themselves or in a mixture, and it has a specific surface area that is greater than 50 m 2 /g.

6. Process according to claim 1 , in which when the catalyst of stage b) comprises nickel, said stage b) is carried out at a temperature of between 120 and 200° C.

7. Process according to claim 1 , in which the catalyst of stage b) comprises nickel, and the mean diameter of the nickel particles measured by magnetic granulometry is between 20 angstroms and 80 angstroms.

8. Process according to claim 1 , in which the catalyst of stage b) comprises platinum, and said stage b) is carried out at a temperature of between 200 and 350° C.

9. Process according to claim 1 , in which the catalyst of stages a) and/or b) comprises nickel, and the nickel content is between 15 and 60% by weight of metal nickel relative to the total catalyst weight.

10. Process according to claim 1 , in which the catalyst of stages a) and/or b) comprises platinum, and the platinum content is between 0.05 and 2% by weight of metal platinum relative to the total catalyst weight.

11. Process according to claim 1 , in which the catalyst for hydrogenation of stages a) and b) comprises the same metal that is selected from among nickel and platinum, and the metal content of the catalyst of stage b) is less than that of the catalyst of stage a).

12. Process according to claim 1 , in which the catalyst of stages a) and/or b) also comprises at least one metal that is selected from among palladium, iridium, molybdenum, and tungsten.

13. Process according to claim 12 , in which the content of palladium or iridium, expressed in terms of metal palladium or metal iridium, is between 0.05 and 2% by weight relative to the total catalyst weight.

14. Process according to claim 12 , in which the content of molybdenum or tungsten, expressed in terms of oxide, is between 0.5 and 10% by weight relative to the total catalyst weight.

15. Process according to claim 1 , further comprising carrying out a stage for intermediate separation of the partially-hydrogenated hydrocarbon feedstock in liquid form and gas from the effluent that is obtained from stage a), and wherein the liquid fraction that is obtained from the intermediate separation is treated in stage b).

16. Process according to claim 1 , further comprising carrying out a stage for intermediate distillation of the partially-hydrogenated feedstock that is obtained from stage a) which is carried out in such a way as to separate a first fraction that has a boiling point of between the boiling point of the hydrocarbons with five carbon atoms and T x ° C., and a second fraction that has a boiling point that is higher than T x ° C., with T x between 150 and 250° C., and the second fraction is treated in stage b).

17. Process according to claim 1 , in which the feedstock comprising hydrocarbons having at least five carbon atoms is selected from among a light naphtha fraction, a heavy naphtha fraction, a desulfurized complete naphtha fraction, a raffinate from a unit for extraction of aromatic compounds, a raffinate from dewaxing units, a kerosene fraction, a desulfurized diesel fuel fraction, or a catalytic reforming gasoline.

18. Process according to claim 1 , in which the ratio between the superficial mass flow rate of the liquid partially-hydrogenated feedstock and the superficial mass flow rate of gas (Ul/Ug) at the inlet of the reactor is between 70 and 300.

19. Process according to claim 1 , in which the catalyst of stage b) comprises nickel, and the mean diameter of the nickel particles measured by magnetic granulometry is between 20 angstroms and 60 angstroms.

20. Process according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a stage for intermediate separation of the partially-hydrogenated hydrocarbon feedstock in liquid form and gas from the effluent that is obtained from stage a), and
a stage for intermediate distillation of the partially-hydrogenated feedstock in liquid form that is obtained from the intermediate separation stage, which is carried out in such a way as to separate a first fraction that has a boiling point of between the boiling point of the hydrocarbons with five carbon atoms and T x ° C., and a second fraction that has a boiling point that is higher than T x ° C., with T x between 150 and 250° C.,
wherein the second fraction from the intermediate distillation is treated in stage b).

Assignees

• Axens

Inventors

• Candelon Jean-Christophe
• Le Peltier Fabienne
• Pucci Annick

Classifications

• C10G65/08 Primary

  at least one step being a hydrogenation of the aromatic hydrocarbons · CPC title

• C10G45/50

  in combination with chromium, molybdenum or tungsten metal, or compounds thereof · CPC title

• C10G45/48

  containing nickel or cobalt metal, or compounds thereof · CPC title

• C10G45/52

  containing platinum group metals or compounds thereof · CPC title