Catalytic Aromatization of Paraffin-Rich Oil under Methane Environment

Abstract

Naphtha fractions obtained from petroleum refinement contain an abundant mixture of hydrocarbons including paraffins, naphthenes, aromatics, and even olefins. n-paraffins are the largest constituents of such oils and are the most undesirable because of their poor octane values and low economic value as chemical feeds. Thus, scientific research aims to convert these components into more valuable components with higher octane numbers for fuels and/or high value chemical precursors used for chemical synthesis. Current naphtha reforming processes require an element of hydrocracking to reduce the number of larger carbon number components but hydrogen is expensive to obtain through the current process of steam reforming natural gas and so an alternative source of hydrogen is also desirable. One such source of hydrogen is methane, a naturally, occurring, and cheap alternative. However, the activation of methane, the most stable of the hydrocarbons, is difficult to achieve. This research aims at the conversion of naphtha feeds (rich in n-paraffins) to more valuable benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) whilst using methane as a hydrogen source through heterogenous catalysis. Catalysts are screened to gauge those with the highest performance and then the effect of methane is also probed. This approach was conducted for two different fractions of naphtha as provided by the petrochemical industry with very different components. A model compound study was also conducted to enable a more comprehensive understanding of the processes involved during upgrading.