How to protect the catalyst in hydrogenation reactions and extend the turnaround period? ?

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As is well known, the coking issue in hydrogenation reactors has always been a difficult problem to solve. Over a normal operating cycle of 3 years, the pressure difference within the reactor increases due to coking, which forces catalyst replacement midway through the cycle. This not only delays production but also incurs significant costs associated with replacing the catalyst, representing a waste of human resources, time, and money. So this issue remains unresolved. Taking reforming pre-hydrogenation as an example: the reason for the blockage of the reactor in reforming pre-hydrogenation is the presence of solid impurities, gumbitumen, soluble salts, alkaline solutions or amine solutions, as well as other impurities in the feedstock. There are usually two sources for the naphtha used as raw material in reformation: self-supply and procurement from outside. For self-sourced naphtha, one naturally knows its quality and the processing procedures it has gone through; it is also clear what treatments are required before it is used in reactions, so no further explanation is needed. The key to the problem lies in the purchased naphtha: with purchased naphtha, it’s not clear what processing it has undergone, what the specific levels of gums and asphaltenes are, whether it has been washed with alkali, and what the level of free water is. Given this, the purchased naphtha must be treated before it is fed into the reformer. What needs to be treated? The entire purification process is required, which includes removing gelatinous substances, asphaltenes, and solid impurities, as well as eliminating free water and free salts. Wouldn’t that be a very large investment? Answer: Not at all! The naphtha purification system was developed precisely to protect the catalyst in the reactor. This system is capable of effectively removing solid impurities, gums, water-soluble salts, alkaline solutions, or amine solutions from naphtha, thereby providing effective protection for the catalyst and extending its service life! We can proudly assure you that with our purification system in place, the reactor will not require any shutdowns during a normal operating cycle of 3 years. It can of course also be used for the purification of other hydrogenation feedstocks. If any of you sea friends have other methods for protecting reactor catalysts, please share them for everyone’s reference!