The origins of catalytic reforming and alkylation technologies

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The origins of alkylation technology: World War II demanded large quantities of high-octane aviation fuel. Many large oil companies are researching and developing new processes for producing high-octane gasoline. 　　The alkylation process was developed in 1935. Five oil companies — British-Iranian Petroleum Company, Humble Oil and Refining Company (a subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey), Shell Development Company of the United States, Standard Oil of Indiana’s Development Company, and Texas Company — developed the alkylation technology in their respective laboratories almost at the same time. 　　Alkylation refers to the chemical reaction in which an alkyl group is attached to an organic compound e-~lA. Under the action of a certain acid, olefins (mainly butylene) and isoparaffins (mainly isobutane) react to produce industrial isooctane, which is used as a blending component in high-octane gasoline. Five companies joined forces to develop it together and bring it to industrial production. 　　By November 1939, the United States had 6 commercial sulfuric acid alkylation plants in operation, capable of producing 560 cubic meters of alkylated oil per day. Another 8 units are under construction, with a production capacity of 14,300 cubic meters per day. They use sulfuric acid as a catalyst. 　　Global Oil Products Company and Phillips Petroleum Company developed an alkylation process using hydrofluoric acid as a catalyst. The first commercial hydrofluoric acid alkylation plant was located in Bog, Texas, and came online on Christmas Day 1942, with a production capacity of 310 cubic meters per day. 　　At the end of the 1930s and the beginning of the 1940s, an isomerization process was developed to convert butane into isobutane. Isobutane is also used to blend aviation gasoline to increase its octane rating. Global Oil Products Company, Shell Petroleum Company of the United States, and Phillips Petroleum Company played a major role. They built the first isomerization units before the start of World War II. The raw material is butane gas, and the catalyst is aluminum chloride; antimony trichloride may also be added. The reaction takes place in the presence of hydrogen chloride to produce isobutane. The temperature and pressure of the reaction are moderate. But the conversion rate is very high. 　　During World War II, 40 isomerization units were in operation in the United States. 　　Later, various improvements were made to this isomerization process. The products have been extended to isopentane, isohexane, and isooctane, all of which can be used as blending components for aviation gasoline. The origin of catalytic reforming technology: Meanwhile, the technicians at Universal Oil Products were researching and developing catalytic reforming technology. On March 29, 1949, the company announced a method for producing high-quality gasoline through catalytic cycloalkane dehydroisomerization, opening up a new approach to increasing the octane rating of gasoline. 　　The key to the new process is finding a highly efficient catalyst. After years of effort, they developed a platinum catalyst. On October 28, 1949, the world’s first platinum reforming unit was installed at the ‘Old Dutch’ refinery in Muskegon, Michigan, United States. Its initial processing capacity is 238.5 cubic meters per day. This system is still in operation after 10 years, with its processing capacity having increased to 477 cubic meters per day. 　　Everyone is also thinking hard and trying to find solutions. Global Oil Products Company announced another platinum catalyst in 1951, and another unit came online by the end of 1953. 　　In 1955, two new catalytic reforming processes appeared. One is Hudley catalytic reforming, which operates under moderate conditions and enables the recovery of aromatic hydrocarbons from the products. Another is Rex reforming by Global Oil Products Company, which combines platinum reforming with aromatic extraction. Various catalysts were developed in the 1960s. 　　At the end of the 1960s, Universal Oil Products developed the platinum reforming process into a continuous regenerative catalytic reforming process, and in 1971 it successfully put the first such unit into operation, which included an upright heat exchanger, a box-type heater, and an upright chimney-type reactor. This process enables higher operating rates for both the reaction system and the regeneration system, resulting in a higher octane number for the product.