UOP has been granted a license from Chevron for ion liquid alkylation technology
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UOP has been granted a license for Chevron’s ion liquid alkylation technology. According to reports from the Global Refining Business Digest Weekly, the Hydrocarbon Processing website, and Honeywell’s website, UOP, a subsidiary of Honeywell, has recently received a license for ISOALKY, the ion liquid alkylation technology developed by Chevron. This technology uses an ionic liquid catalyst to convert typical feedstocks from catalytic cracking units into high-octane alkylation oils at 100°C, significantly reducing the environmental impact of the alkylation process. This ionic liquid catalyst can be regenerated on-site, and there is no catalyst evaporation. Compared with the liquid acid alkylation technology that is already in industrial use, ion liquid alkylation technology offers better economic efficiency and requires less catalyst to achieve the same yield of alkylated oil and octane number. This technology has been in operation for 5 years in a small demonstration unit at Chevron’s refinery in Salt Lake City, USA. It can replace the currently widely used sulfuric acid or HF acid alkylation techniques, and can be applied in new refineries or for upgrading existing liquid acid alkylation units. Chevron plans to convert the 220,000 tons per year (0.504 million barrels per day) HF acid alkylation unit at its Salt Lake City refinery into an ISOALKY ionic liquid alkylation unit. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2017, with operation set to start in 2020. This is the third ion liquid-based alkylation technique to move toward industrial application, following the ion liquid alkylation technology developed by China University of Petroleum (Beijing) and the ion liquid-assisted isooctane synthesis technology developed by the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences – it is indeed worth looking forward to!
This is definitely a pretty impressive approach. But then again, it can only be done in the south; it’s easier for crystallization to occur there, right?
For now, Zhida is still the more reliable option
Is there an industrial-scale facility for the ion liquid-assisted synthesis of isooctane using the technology from the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences? How is it performing? Does the product contain chlorine?
I’m sorry, I just saw related reports. For more details, please contact Processso directly! http://www.mpcs.cn/newspaper/2254.htm
The product contains no chlorine, but it’s too expensive!
If the acidity is not sufficient, the temperature can be increased. For ionic liquids with relatively low acidity, the reaction temperature can be quite high; for example, the chlorooctanoic acid ionic liquid used by Qingdao University of Science and Technology requires a reaction temperature of 60°C, but this is only for laboratory-scale tests, and the starting materials are isobutylene and isobutane.
Where is ZhiDa Petrochemical’s alkylation facility located?