CATALYTIC REFORMING

IN PETROCHEMICAL
INDUSTRY
BY: BERYL JOHNSON (UR16EI022)
• Catalytic reforming is a chemical process used to convert petroleum refinery distilled
from crude oil (typically having low octane ratings) into high-octane liquid products
called reformates
• Reformates are premium blending stocks for high-octane gasoline
• The process of reforming was developed to raise both the quality and volume of
gasoline produced by refiners
• Most simply, reforming rearranges the naphtha hydrocarbons to create gasoline
molecules. The reforming process produces reformate, which is needed to increase the
octane for today’s cleaner burning fuels.
• Interestingly, hydrogen is also produced by the catalytic reforming process - this
hydrogen is then used in other refining processes such as hydro treating.
Types of Catalytic Reforming Processes:
• Catalytic reforming processes are commonly classified according to the
frequency and mode of catalyst regeneration, into
(1) Semiregenerative
(2) Cyclic regeneration
(3) Continuous regeneration.
• The main difference among the three types of processes is the need of unit
shutdown for catalyst regeneration in the case of a Semiregenerative process,
the use of an additional swing or spare reactor for catalyst regeneration for the
cyclic process, and catalyst replacement during normal operation for the
continuous regeneration type
• The most used process worldwide is the Semiregenerative type
Semi regenerative:
• A semi regenerative catalytic reforming process usually has three or four reactors in
series with a fixed-bed catalyst system and operates continuously (cycle length) from six
months to one year
• During this period, the activity of the catalyst diminishes due to coke deposition
• To minimize the catalyst deactivation rate, the semi regenerative units operate at high
pressure (200 to 300 psig)
• When the end- of-cycle reactor temperatures are reached, the unit is shutdown
• A catalyst cycle ends when the reforming unit is unable to meet its process objective
• Catalyst regeneration is carried out with air as the source of oxygen
• A catalyst can be regenerated five to ten times before it is removed and replaced
Cyclic regeneration:
• Apart from the catalytic reforming reactors, the cyclic regeneration process has an
additional swing reactor, which is used when the fixed-bed catalyst of any of the
regular reactors needs regeneration
• The reactor with the regenerated catalyst then becomes the spare reactor. By this
means, the reforming process maintains continuous operation
• Compared with the semi regenerative type, in the cyclic regeneration process the
overall catalyst activity varies much less with time, so that conversion and
hydrogen purity are kept more or less constant during the entire operation
• The main disadvantage of this type of catalytic reforming is the complex nature of
the reactor switching policy, requiring high safety precautions. Also, to make
switches between reactors possible, they need to be of the same maximal size
Continuous regeneration:
• The deficiencies in cyclic regeneration reforming are solved by a low-pressure (50 psig)
continuous regeneration process
• This type of process uses moving-bed reactor design, in which the reactors are stacked
• The catalyst bed moves by gravity flow from top to bottom of the stacked reactors
• The spent catalyst is withdrawn from the last reactor and sent to the top of the
regenerator to burn off the coke
• The transport of catalyst between reactors and regenerator is done by the gas lift method
• During normal operation, small quantities of catalyst are withdrawn continuously. Fresh
or regenerated catalysts are added to the top of the first reactor to maintain a constant
inventory of catalyst
• In the catalytic reforming process there are four principal variables that affect the
performance of the unit, either semi regenerative or continuously regenerative:
1. Reactor pressure
2. Reactor temperature
3. Space velocity
4. H2/oil molar ratio.

• Pressure: A reduction in the reactor pressure increases the hydrogen and reformate
yield, decreases the required reactor temperature to achieve a constant product
quality. Due to the pressure drop, the reactor pressure declines across the various
reaction stages. The average pressure of the various reactors is generally referred to
as the reactor pressure. Typical reactor pressures are 200 to 500psig (semi
regenerative and cyclic regeneration) and 60 to 150 psig (continuous regeneration)
• Temperature: The reaction temperature is the most important variable in catalytic
reforming, since the product quality and yields are highly dependent on it. WABT
(weighted-average bed temperature) and WAIT (weighted-average inlet temperature) are
the two main parameters to express reforming reactor average temperature. The difference
between WABT and WAIT is that the former represents the integrated temperature along
the catalyst bed, and the latter is calculated with the inlet temperature of each reactor

• Space Velocity: The greater the space velocity, the higher the temperature required to
produce a given product octane. The severity of the catalytic reforming unit can be
increased either by increasing reactor temperature or by lowering the space velocity. Since
the amount of catalysts loaded to the reactors is constant, the reduction of space velocity
during operation can be reduced only by decreasing the feed flow rate

• H2/Oil Ratio: An increase in H2/oil ratio causes an increase in the hydrogen partial
pressure. The global effect of this is increased catalyst life.
Weaknesses:
• The sensitivity of catalytic reforming to contamination by sulfur and nitrogen
• The cost and complexity of the process
• Dehydrogenation, an important component of reforming, is a strongly
endothermic reaction, and as such, requires the reactor vessel to be externally
heated. This contributes both to costs and the emissions of the process
• Catalytic reforming has a limited ability to process naphthas with a high content
of normal paraffins
• Most catalytic reforming catalysts contain platinum or rhenium on a silica or
silica-alumina support base, and some contain both platinum and rhenium. The
catalyst can be regenerated perhaps 3 or 4 times before it must be returned to the
manufacturer for reclamation of the valuable platinum and/or rhenium content.
THANK YOU !!!