What is the difference between aromatization and reforming?
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What is the difference between aromatization and reforming? What are the differences between the two in terms of reaction raw materials, principles, reaction conditions, and the purposes of each reaction? Reforming is mainly used for naphtha reforming; then what kind of feedstocks are primarily processed through aromatization?
1. Catalytic reforming (abbreviated as reforming) is a process in which light gasoline fractions such as atmospheric distillation light gasoline, hydrocracked naphtha, hydrogen-treated coker (viscosity-reduced coker) naphtha, raffinate from ethylene cracking gasoline, and hydrogenated catalytic cracking gasoline are converted into reformate gasoline with a high aromatic content, under conditions of specific temperature, pressure, the presence of a catalyst, and hydrogen. If the feedstock is the fraction obtained at 60°C–145°C (referred to as light naphtha), the products are mainly aromatics such as benzene, toluene, and xylene ； If the feedstock is the fraction obtained at 60°C–180°C (referred to as light naphtha), the product consists mainly of high-octane gasoline components ； When used as a feedstock for steam cracking to produce ethylene or for ammonia synthesis, the fraction with a initial boiling point up to 220°C can be utilized. Hydrogen is produced as a by-product of the reformation process, and can be used as a hydrogen source for hydrogenation operations in refineries. The reaction conditions for reformation are: a reaction temperature of 490–525°C, and a reaction pressure of 1–2 MPa. The reforming process can be divided into two parts: raw material pretreatment and reforming. 2. The aromatization process is primarily a technique for producing aromatics through aromatization using light hydrocarbons such as straight-run gasoline, hydrotreated coker gasoline, oil field condensate, reformation raffinate, and pyrolysis gasoline as raw materials. Aromatization consists of a reverse reaction system, a product separation system, and a regeneration system.
The aromatization unit requires a reaction system, a stabilization system, and a catalyst regeneration system; knowledge of reforming is limited in this regard
The carbon tetra-aromatization process offers two product options: gasoline and aromatics. This is achieved by controlling the temperature of the catalyst bed.
Reforming mainly utilizes the naphthenes in naphtha. Aromatization primarily utilizes olefins in light hydrocarbons for aromatization