【Ten Years of Great Progress in Chemical Technology】The world’s first aromatic-type mobile-bed light naphtha aromatization unit was successfully commissioned between 2009 and 2020
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Ten years of rapid development in chemical technology – praise for the prosperous and strong China. By contributing our ideas, we can encourage more people to participate and make the discussions more lively. Haichuan becomes even better with your involvement; we welcome everyone to take an active part in the forum discussions. Everyone should pay attention to safety and know how to handle emergencies. *********************************************On July 8, 2020, the reaction unit of the 500,000-ton/year aromatic-type moving-bed light hydrocarbon aromatization plant at CNOOC Ningbo Daxie Petrochemical, which was jointly developed by the Shihezi Institute of Science and Technology and the Guangzhou (Luoyang) Engineering Group of the Refining and Chemical Engineering Corporation and for which they were responsible for the engineering design, began to receive feed. Qualified products were produced on the 10th, and on the 12th, the catalyst continuous regeneration system was successfully put into operation. This marked the successful commissioning of the world’s first aromatic-type moving-bed light hydrocarbon aromatization plant, one that possesses entirely independent intellectual property rights in China. This device primarily uses a mixture of light hydrocarbons in the C3–C7 range as raw material to produce benzene, toluene, and mixed xylene, while generating hydrogen as a by-product. As early as April 2016, the Institute of Rock Mechanics and Guangzhou (Luoyang) Engineering took on the feasibility study work for this project. In November of that year, after the project was approved, the two parties worked closely together to carry out research and development on the complete set of technologies. The Institute of Petrochemistry is responsible for the development of the moving-bed light hydrocarbon aromatization process and specialized catalysts, while the Guangzhou (Luoyang) Engineering Team handles the development of the plant engineering technologies.
In recent years, the feedstocks processed in traditional light hydrocarbon aromatization units have mainly been C4 unsaturated hydrocarbons, with the products being primarily components used in gasoline blending, resulting in low economic efficiency. The Institute of Petrology seized the overall trend of the shift from oil refining to chemical manufacturing in a timely manner, conducted in-depth research on reaction pathways and the mechanisms of catalyst action, and developed a new generation of catalysts and process technologies for light hydrocarbon aromatization. This enabled the use of light hydrocarbon aromatization feedstocks to produce lower-value saturated hydrocarbon products such as light naphtha and liquefied gas; the resulting products consisted mainly of high-value materials such as aromatics, propane, and hydrogen, thereby significantly improving the technical and economic efficiency. To overcome the drawbacks of fixed-bed light hydrocarbon aromatization processes, such as low aromatic yield, rapid carbon deposition, and short operation cycles, and to meet the requirements of moving-bed technology regarding catalyst circulation and regeneration, the China Institute of Petroleum Science has developed, for the first time, small spherical light hydrocarbon aromatization catalysts that contain non-precious metals and polymer sieves. These catalysts feature high activity, high aromatic selectivity, high strength, good hydrothermal stability, a low rate of carbon deposition, and excellent regeneration properties. In terms of process technology development, leveraging its strengths in mobile-bed technology platforms and taking advantage of the unique reaction and regeneration characteristics of light hydrocarbon aromatization catalysts, the Institute of Petrochemical Sciences has developed mobile-bed reaction and continuous regeneration technologies. These technologies enable the light hydrocarbon aromatization reaction to proceed continuously under highly demanding conditions, while the structure of both raw materials and products can be adjusted flexibly according to market demands. This significantly enhances the adaptability and market competitiveness of this technology, opening up a new technical pathway for the efficient utilization of light hydrocarbon resources.