EP3877084A1

EP3877084A1 - Method for fixed-bed reforming using a catalyst having a particular form

Info

Publication number: EP3877084A1
Application number: EP19787286.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bogdan Harbuzaru; Sylvie Lacombe; Jacques Lavy; Christophe Vallee; Kevin DEBOLT; Pierre-Yves Le Goff
Original assignee: IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN
Current assignee: IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN
Priority date: 2018-11-08
Filing date: 2019-10-21
Publication date: 2021-09-15
Also published as: KR20210076028A; JP2022506608A; FR3088338B1; US20210388272A1; BR112021004765A2; WO2020094378A1; CN113242765A; FR3088338A1

Abstract

Method for fixed-bed reforming of a hydrocarbon feedstock comprising n-paraffin, naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons, at a temperature of between 400 and 700°C, a pressure of between 0.1 and 4 MPa, and a mass flow of feedstock processed per unit mass of catalyst and per hour of between 0.1 and 10 h^-1, by bringing said feedstock into contact with a catalyst comprising platinum, a promoter metal selected from the group consisting of rhenium and iridium, a halogen selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine, and a porous aluminium support in the form of an extrusion characterised by a length 'l' of between 1 and 10 mm, a section comprising four lobes, wherein the largest diameter 'D' of the cross-section of said extrusion is between 1 and 3 mm.

Description

FIXED BED REFORMING METHOD USING A SHAPE CATALYST

SPECIAL

Technical area

The invention applies to the technical field of refining and in particular to reforming. More particularly, the present invention relates to a catalytic reforming process in a fixed bed using a catalyst with specific morphology.

State of the art

The catalytic reforming process is a process widely used by refiners to recover heavy petrol obtained by distillation. The hydrocarbons of the heavy gasoline charge (paraffins and naphthenes) containing from 5 to 12 carbon atoms approximately per molecule are transformed during this process into aromatic hydrocarbons or failing that into branched paraffins. This transformation is obtained at high temperature (of the order of 500 ° C.), at low to medium pressure (3.5 to 25.10 ⁵ Pa) and in the presence of a catalyst. Catalytic reforming produces reformate which improves the octane number of petroleum fractions. The reformate is mainly formed of C5 + compounds (containing at least 5 carbon atoms). This process also produces a hydrogen-rich gas, a combustible gas (formed by C1-C2 compounds) and liquefied gases (formed by C3-C4 compounds). Finally, coke formation also occurs, in particular by condensation of aromatic rings forming a solid product, rich in carbon, which is deposited on the active sites of the catalyst. The reactions which produce C1 -C4 compounds (also called C4-) and coke are detrimental to the reformate yield and the stability of the catalyst. The high activity of the catalyst must be combined with the greatest possible selectivity, that is to say that the cracking reactions leading to light products containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms (C4 -) must be limited.

There are two main categories of reforming catalysts: on the one hand, catalysts for fixed beds (semi-regenerative process), on the other hand, catalysts for mobile beds (continuous process). They are bifunctional catalysts, that is to say that they consist of two functions, a metallic and an acid, each of the functions having a well defined role in the activity of the catalyst. The metallic function essentially ensures the dehydrogenation of naphthenes and paraffins and the hydrogenation of precursors of coke. The acid function ensures the isomerization of naphthenes and paraffins and the cyclization of paraffins. The acid function is provided by the support itself, most often a pure halogenated alumina. The metallic function is provided by a noble metal from the platinum family and at least one additional metal, mainly tin for the continuous process (moving bed), and rhenium in the semi-regenerative process (fixed bed).

These reforming catalysts are extremely sensitive, in addition to coke, to various poisons or inhibitors capable of degrading their activity: in particular nitrogen, metals and water. The coke, when deposited on the surface of the catalyst, results in a loss of activity over time which leads to higher operating temperatures, a lower reformate yield, and a shorter cycle time. It is therefore important to seek to increase the activity of the catalysts in order to obtain high yields of C5 + at the lowest possible temperature, so as to maximize the cycle time of the catalyst. It is necessary after a certain period of time to regenerate the catalyst in order to remove the coke and the inhibitors which have deposited on its active sites. The regeneration of reforming catalysts essentially comprises a controlled combustion step to first remove the coke and an oxychlorination step which essentially allows the metals to be redispersed and the acidity of the alumina to be adjusted by adding oxidizing medium to chlorine or chlorinated organic compounds. The catalyst regeneration treatments are carried out under very severe conditions which can lead to its degradation due to the high temperature and the presence of combustion water. It is therefore important to seek to improve the stability of the catalyst by limiting the formation of coke in order to be able to space these regeneration phases as much as possible.

Generally, reforming catalysts are in the form of balls, cylinders or, more rarely, trilobes. It is well known to those skilled in the art that the step of shaping the reforming catalyst is of importance because of its impact on the pressure drop undergone during the passage of the effluent through the catalyst bed. It is indeed desirable to minimize this pressure drop so as to control on the one hand the operational pressure of the process which has an impact on the yields of C5 + and on the other hand to limit the energy consumption of the pumps and compressors of unity. Likewise, it is generally known that the activity of the catalyst increases with the reduction in the size of the balls, cylinders or trilobes, in the event of internal diffusional limitations. However, as the size of the balls, cylinders or trilobes decreases, the pressure drop normally increases until reaching intolerable levels. Thanks to the use of specific catalyst morphology, the pressure drops can be reduced for smaller balls, cylinders or trilobes, which increases the activity.

Objects of the invention

However, to date, no differentiation has really been made on the advantage of the morphology of a catalyst on its stability. Surprisingly, the Applicant has discovered that the use of a catalyst in the form of a four-lobed extrudate, ie of section comprising four lobes, in a reforming process in a fixed bed makes it possible to obtain improved performance in terms of stability. compared to those of the catalysts in the form of a cylinder, or in the form of extrudates with other geometries, and in particular in the form of a trilobe, while retaining good performance in terms of activity.

An object according to the invention relates to a process for reforming a fixed bed of a hydrocarbon charge comprising n-paraffinic, naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons containing from 5 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule at a temperature between 400 and 700 ° C, a pressure of between 0.1 and 4 MPa, and a mass flow rate of charge treated per unit mass of catalyst and per hour of between 0.1 and 10 h ¹ , by bringing said charge into contact with a catalyst comprising at least platinum, at least one promoter metal chosen from the group formed by rhenium and iridium, at least one halogen chosen from the group formed by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine, and a porous support for alumina in the form of an extruded characterized by a length "I" of between 1 and 10 mm, a section comprising four lobes, and preferably consisting of four lobes, section called quadrilobed, and such that the largest diameter "D" of the cross section of said extruded is between 1 and 3 mm.

Preferably, the largest diameter "D" of the cross section of said extruded quadrilobed section, between 1, 1 and 2.2 mm.

Preferably, said extruded quadrilobed section has a length "I" of between 2 and 7 mm.

In an embodiment according to the invention, said section of the quadrilobed section extrudate has symmetrical lobes.

In another embodiment according to the invention, said section of the extrudate of quadrilobed section has asymmetrical lobes. In an embodiment according to the invention, said extruded quadrilobed section is an axial extruded.

In another embodiment according to the invention, said extruded quadrilobed section is a helical extruded having a pitch of rotation between 10 and 180 ° per mm.

Preferably, the platinum content of said catalyst relative to the total weight of the catalyst is between 0.02 to 2% by weight.

Preferably, the rhenium or iridium content of said catalyst is between 0.02 and 10% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

Preferably, said catalyst further comprises at least one dopant chosen from the group formed by gallium, germanium, indium, tin, antimony, thallium, lead, bismuth, titanium, chromium , manganese, molybdenum, tungsten, rhodium, zinc and phosphorus.

Preferably, the content of said dopant is between 0.01 and 2% by weight relative to the weight of the catalyst.

Preferably, the halogen content of said catalyst is between 0.1 and 15% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

Preferably, the halogen is chlorine and its content is between 0.5 and 2% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

Preferably, the specific surface of said porous support is between 150 and 400 m ² / g.

Preferably, the volume of the pores of the support, the diameter of which is less than 10 microns is between 0.2 and 1 cm ³ / g, and the mean diameter of the mesopores is between 5 and 20 nm.

Detailed description of the invention

Definitions

In the following, the groups of chemical elements are given according to the CAS classification (CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC press editor, editor-in-chief D.R. Lide, 81st edition, 2000-2001). For example, group IB according to the CAS classification corresponds to the metals in column 1 1 according to the new IUPAC classification.

In the following description of the invention, the term "specific surface" means the BET specific surface determined by nitrogen adsorption in accordance with standard ASTM D 3663-78 established from the BRUNAUER-EMMETT-TELLER method described in the periodical "Journal of the American Chemical Society", 60, 309, (1938).

The largest diameter “D” is understood to mean the largest diameter of the equivalent circle passing through the ends of two opposite lobes.

List of Figures

Figure 1 is a graph illustrating the temperature profile:

- a catalyst A (non-conforming) comprising a support in cylindrical extruded form (succession of points in the form of a circle);

- a catalyst B (non-conforming) comprising a support in trilobed extruded form (succession of points in the form of a diamond);

- A catalyst C according to the invention comprising a support in extruded quadrilobed form (succession of points in the form of a triangle).

The abscissa represents the time under load (in hours) and the ordinate represents the temperature of the catalytic bed (in ° C). From this graph it is possible to characterize the stability of the catalyst by calculating the slope of the temperature between two times under given load. The slope is thus expressed in ° C / day (° C / d). The lower the slope, the more stable the catalyst is considered.

FIGS. 2a, 3a and 4a are cross-sectional representations of examples of quadrilobe type catalysts used in the context of the process according to the invention. More particularly, FIG. 2a is a sectional representation of an example of a symmetrical quadrilobe catalyst, FIG. 3a is a representation in section of an example of an asymmetric quadrilobe catalyst of the “Butterfly” type, and FIG. 4a is a representation of section of an example of an asymmetric quadrilobe catalyst of the “Batman” type.

Figures 2b, 3b and 4b show photographs of the catalysts shown in Figures 2a, 3a and 4a.

detailed description

In the sense of the present invention, the various embodiments presented can be used alone or in combination with each other, without limitation of combination. The reforming process increases the octane number of gasoline fractions from the distillation of crude oil and / or other refining processes. The aromatic production processes provide the bases (benzene, toluene and xylene) usable in petrochemicals. These processes are of additional interest by contributing to the production of large quantities of hydrogen essential for the hydrotreatment or hydroconversion processes of the refinery. The hydrocarbon feedstock used in the context of the process according to the invention contains n-paraffinic, iso-paraffinic, naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons containing from 5 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule. This load is defined, among other things, by its density and its weight composition.

The reforming process in a fixed bed according to the invention is carried out by bringing a hydrocarbon feedstock (detailed below) into contact with a specific reforming catalyst (detailed later in the description) at a temperature between 400 and 700 ° C, preferably between 350 and 550 ° C, a pressure between 0.1 and 4 MPa, preferably between 1 and 3 MPa, and a mass flow rate of feed treated per unit mass of catalyst and per hour between 0 , 1 and 10 h ¹ , preferably between 0.5 and 6 h ¹ . Part of the hydrogen produced is recycled according to a molar recycling rate (flow of recycled hydrogen over flow of hydrocarbon feedstock) of between 0.1 and 8, preferably between 2 and 7.

The hydrocarbon charge to be treated generally contains paraffinic, naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons containing from 5 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule. This load is defined, among other things, by its density and its weight composition. These fillers can have an initial boiling point of between 40 ° C and 70 ° C and a final boiling point of between 160 ° C and 220 ° C. They can also be constituted by a fraction or a mixture of gasoline fractions having initial and final boiling points of between 40 ° C and 220 ° C. The charge to be treated can thus also consist of a heavy naphtha having a boiling point of between 160 ° C. and 200 ° C.

The catalyst used in the context of the process according to the invention comprises at least platinum. The platinum content relative to the total weight of the catalyst can be between 0.02 to 2% by weight, preferably between 0.05 and 1.5% by weight, even more preferably between 0.1 and 0.8 % weight. The catalyst comprises one or more promoter metals which have the effect of promoting the dehydrogenating activity of platinum, of limiting the parasitic reactions of CC bond breakage and of stabilizing the metallic phase. The promoter metals are chosen from the group formed by rhenium and iridium. The content of each promoter metal may be between 0.02 and 10% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst, preferably between 0.05 and 5% by weight, even more preferably between 0.1 and 2% by weight.

The catalyst used in the context of the process according to the invention can also comprise at least one dopant chosen from the group formed by gallium, germanium, indium, tin, antimony, thallium, lead, bismuth, titanium, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, tungsten, rhodium, zinc and phosphorus. Preferably, several dopants are used in the context of the process according to the invention. The content of each dopant may be between 0.01 to 2% by weight, preferably between 0.01 to 1% by weight, more preferably between 0.01 to 0.7% by weight, relative to the total weight of the catalyst. .

The catalyst used in the process according to the invention can also comprise at least one halogen used to acidify the alumina support. The halogen content can represent between 0.1 to 15% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst, preferably between 0.2 to 5% relative to the total weight of the catalyst. Preferably, only one halogen is used, in particular chlorine. When the catalyst comprises a single halogen which is chlorine, the chlorine content is between 0.5 and 2% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

The porous support of the catalyst used in the process according to the invention is based on alumina. The alumina (s) of the porous support used in the catalyst can be of type c, h, g or d. Preferably, they are of type g or d. Even more preferably, they are of the y type.

Advantageously, the specific surface of said porous support is between 150 and 400 m ² / g, preferably between 150 and 300 m ² / g, even more preferably between 160 and 250 m ² / g. The volume of the pores with a diameter of less than 10 microns is preferably between 0.2 and 1 cm ³ / g, preferably between 0.4 and 0.9 cm ³ / g. The average diameter of the mesopores (pores with a diameter between 2 and 50 nm) is preferably between 5 and 20 nm, more preferably between 7 and 16 nm. According to an essential aspect of the invention, the specific morphology of the porous support makes it possible to unexpectedly increase the stability of the catalyst while preserving an activity at least as good as the activity of the reforming catalysts in the form of extruded type cylinder or three-lobed.

The porous support is in the form of extrudates, the section of which comprises four lobes, and preferably consists of four lobes. The section of the extrudate (perpendicular to the extrusion axis) may have symmetrical lobes. By way of example and without limitation, FIGS. 2a and 2b show an example of a quadrilobe extrudate having symmetrical lobes (the four lobes are identical). The section of the extrudate (perpendicular to the extrusion axis) may also have asymmetrical lobes. By way of example and without limitation, FIGS. 3a to 4b show an example of a quadrilobe extrudate having asymmetrical lobes (that is to say that at least one lobe is different from the other lobes).

The porous support can be in the form of an extrudate of straight quadrilobed section or in the form of a helical extrudate having a pitch of rotation of between 10 and 180 ° per mm.

More particularly, the length of the quadrilobed section extrudate is between 1 and 10 mm, preferably between 2 and 7 mm.

The largest diameter "D" of the cross section of the quadrilobed section extrudate is preferably between 1 and 3 mm, more preferably between 1, 1 and 2.2 mm. The largest diameter “D” is understood to mean the largest diameter of the equivalent circle passing through the ends of two opposite lobes.

The porous alumina support can be synthesized by various methods known to those skilled in the art.

According to one embodiment, the porous support based on alumina is prepared from a boehmite powder obtained by hydrolysis of aluminum alcoholates. Examples of boehmite powder prepared by hydrolysis of aluminum alcoholates can be found in patents FR 1391644 or US 5,055,019. This boehmite powder is then shaped, for example by mixing and extrusion. One or more heat treatments can then lead to obtaining alumina. Preferably, the heat treatment is calcination in dry air at a temperature between 540 ° C and 800 ° C. According to another embodiment, the porous support based on alumina is prepared from a boehmite powder obtained by a precipitation reaction from aluminum salts. Boehmite powder can for example be obtained by precipitation of basic and / or acid solutions of aluminum salts induced by change of pH or any other method known to those skilled in the art. This gel is then shaped, for example by kneading-extrusion. Then a series of heat treatments of the product is carried out, leading to the production of alumina. This method is also described in the section entitled "Alumina" by P. Euzen, P. Raybaud, X. Krokidis, H. Toulhoat, JL Le Loarer, JP Jolivet and C. Froidefond, in "Handbook of Porous Solids" (F. Schüth, KSW Sing and J. Weitkamp, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2002).

Preferably, the porous support is prepared from a boehmite powder obtained by hydrolysis of alcoholates.

The catalyst used in the process according to the invention can be prepared by depositing its various constituents on the alumina support. The deposition of each constituent can be carried out on the alumina support before or after shaping thereof. The constituents can be introduced successively in any order, from a solution or from separate solutions. In the latter case, intermediate drying and / or calcination can be carried out.

The deposition of the various constituents of the catalyst can be carried out by conventional techniques, in the liquid phase or in the gas phase, using suitable precursor compounds. When the deposition of the various constituents of the catalyst is carried out before the shaping of the support, the techniques used can be, for example, dry or excess impregnation on boehmite powder, or else the mixture of the solution (s) ) containing the constituent during the kneading or mixing stage before extrusion. When the deposition is carried out on the shaped alumina support, the techniques used can be for example dry impregnation, impregnation by excess of solution. Washing and / or drying and / or calcination steps may possibly be carried out before each new impregnation step.

The deposition of platinum can be carried out by conventional techniques, in particular impregnation from an aqueous or organic solution of a precursor of platinum or containing a salt or a platinum compound. Examples of salts or compounds which can be used include hexachloroplatinic acid, ammonia compounds, ammonium chloroplatinate, platinum chloride, dicarbonyl platinum dichloride and hexahydroxyplatinic acid. The ammoniacal compounds can be, for example, the platinum II tetraamine salts of formula Pt (NH ₃ ) ₄ X ₂ , the platinum complexes with the halogen-polyketones and the halogenated compounds of formula H (Pt (acac) ₂ X) in which element X is a halogen chosen from the group formed by chlorine, fluorine, bromine and iodine, and preferably chlorine, and the acac group represents the remainder of formula C ₅ H ₇ 0 ₂ derived from l acetylacetone. Among the organic solvents which can be used, mention may be made of paraffinic, naphthenic or aromatic hydrocarbons, and halogenated organic compounds having for example 1 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule. Mention may be made, for example, of n-heptane, methylcyclohexane, toluene and chloroform. Mixtures of solvents can also be used. The deposition of platinum can occur at any time during the preparation of the catalyst. It can be carried out in isolation or simultaneously with the deposition of other constituents, for example promoter metal (s).

The deposition of the dopant (s) and / or the promoter (s) can also be carried out by conventional techniques from precursor compounds such as phosphorus compounds, halides, nitrates, sulfates, acetates, tartrates, citrates, carbonates, oxalates of doping metals and amine complexes. In the case of metal dopants or precursors, any other salt or oxide of these metals soluble in water, acids, or in another suitable solvent, is also suitable as a precursor. Examples of such precursors include perrhenic acid, perrhenates, chromates, molybdates, tungstates, gallium chloride, gallium nitrate, thallium acetate, thallium nitrate , indium acetylacetonate, indium nitrate, indium acetate, indium trifluoroacetate, indium chloride, bismuth acetate, bismuth nitrate, H ₃ P0 ₄ , a solution of (NH ₄ ) ₂ HP0 ₄ , a solution of Na ₂ HP0 ₄ and a solution of Na ₃ P0 ₄ . It is also possible to introduce the dopant (s), by mixing an aqueous solution of their precursor compound (s) with the support before it is shaped.

The deposition of the dopant (s) and / or the promoter (s) can be carried out using a solution of an organometallic compound of said metals in an organic solvent. In this case, this deposition is carried out for example after that of the platinum, then the solid is calcined and optionally performs a reduction under pure or diluted hydrogen at high temperature, for example between 300 and 500 ° C. The organometallic compounds are chosen from the group consisting of the complexes of said promoter metal and the hydrocarbylmetals such as alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkylaryl and arylalkyl metals. Compounds of the alcoholate type or organohalogenated compounds can also be used. Mention may in particular be made of tetrabutyltin in the case where the dopant is tin, and triphenylindium in the case where the dopant is indium. The impregnating solvent can be chosen from the group consisting of paraffinic, naphthenic or aromatic hydrocarbons containing from 6 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule and halogenated organic compounds containing from 1 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule. Mention may be made, for example, of n-heptane, methylcyclohexane and chloroform. It is also possible to use mixtures of the solvents defined above.

Halogen, preferably chlorine, can be introduced into the catalyst at the same time as another metallic constituent, for example in cases where a halide is used as a precursor compound of the metal of the platinum family, of the promoter metal or doping metal.

The halogen can also be added by impregnation with an aqueous solution of the corresponding acid, for example hydrochloric acid, at any time during the preparation. A typical protocol is to impregnate the solid so as to introduce the desired amount of halogen. The catalyst is kept in contact with the aqueous solution for at least 30 minutes to deposit this amount of halogen.

Chlorine can also be added to the catalyst using an oxychlorination treatment. Such a treatment can for example be carried out between 350 and 550 ° C for two hours under an air flow containing the desired amount of chlorine and possibly containing water.

When the various precursors used in the preparation of the catalyst do not contain halogen or contain insufficient halogen, it may be necessary to add a halogenated compound during the preparation. Any compound known to a person skilled in the art can be used and incorporated in any of the steps for preparing the catalyst. In particular, it is possible to use organic compounds such as methyl or ethyl halides, for example dichloromethane, chloroform, dichloroethane, methyl chloroform or carbon tetrachloride. The shaping of the porous support by extrusion, a method well known to those skilled in the art, can be carried out before or after the deposition of all the constituents on said porous support. The geometry of the die, which gives their shape to the extrudates, is such that the extrudate has a section comprising four lobes and whose largest diameter “D” of the cross section of said extrudate is between 1 and 3 mm. After the porous support has been formed and all the constituents have been deposited, a final heat treatment is carried out between 300 and 1000 ° C., which may comprise only a single step at a temperature of 400 to 900 ° C. preferably, and under an oxygen-containing atmosphere, and preferably in the presence of free oxygen or dry air. This treatment corresponds to the drying-calcination step following the deposition of the last constituent.

Before its use, the catalyst is subjected to a treatment under hydrogen and to a treatment using a sulfur precursor in order to obtain an active and selective metallic phase. The procedure for this treatment under hydrogen, also called reduction under hydrogen, consists in maintaining the catalyst in a stream of pure or diluted hydrogen at a temperature between 100 and 600 ° C, and preferably between 200 and 580 ° C, for 30 minutes to 6 hours. This reduction can be carried out immediately after calcination, or later at the user. It is also possible to directly reduce the dried product at the user. The treatment procedure using a sulfur precursor is carried out after reduction. It makes it possible to obtain a sulfur-containing catalyst whose total sulfur content is between 700 and 1600 ppm relative to the total weight of the catalyst, preferably between 800 and 1400 ppm and even more preferably between 800 and 1300 ppm. By "total sulfur content" is meant in the sense of the present invention, the total amount of sulfur present on the final catalyst obtained at the end of the sulfurization step, the sulfur possibly being in the form of sulfate and / or sulfur in the reduced state. The sulfur treatment (also called sulfurization) is carried out by any method well known to those skilled in the art. For example, the catalyst in reduced form is brought into contact with a sulfur precursor for 1 hour at a temperature between 450 and 580 ° C. in the presence of pure or diluted hydrogen. The sulfur precursor can be dimethyl disulfide, dihydrogen sulfide, light mercaptans, organic sulfides such as, for example, dimethyldisulfide. Thus, according to a nonlimiting example, the catalyst can be prepared by a manufacturing process comprising the following steps:

1) a porous alumina support is prepared;

2) optionally, said porous alumina support is impregnated with a solution containing a chlorine precursor;

3) impregnating said alumina support obtained in step 1) or 2) with at least one solution of at least one platinum precursor;

4) impregnating said support obtained in the previous step with at least one solution of at least one promoter metal precursor;

5) impregnating said support obtained in the previous step with at least one solution of at least one dopant, this step being optional;

6) drying and calcining said support obtained in step 4) or 5) to obtain a catalyst in the form of oxide;

7) the catalyst in the form of oxide obtained in the preceding step is reduced under pure hydrogen at a temperature of for example between 100 and 600 ° C. and for 30 minutes to 6 hours to obtain a reduced catalyst;

8) the reduced catalyst obtained in the preceding step is brought into contact with at least one sulfur precursor for example, for at least one hour at a temperature between 450 ° and 580 ° C.

Steps (2), (3), (4) and (5), the order of which can be reversed, can be carried out simultaneously or successively. At least one of steps (2), (3), (4) and (5) can be carried out before the step of shaping the support. Thus, if the porous alumina-based support according to step 1) is not supplied directly in the form of an extrudate of length "I" between 1 and 10 mm and of section comprising four lobes such as the largest diameter "D" of the cross section of said extruded is between 1 and 3 mm, then the shaping of the support can be carried out between one of steps 1) to 6) (that is to say before the final drying-calcination step).

The invention will now be described in the following exemplary embodiments given by way of illustration and not limitation. EXAMPLES

of a non-conforming catalyst A (support in the form of an extruded in

A commercial boehmite powder, resulting from a hydrolysis reaction of aluminum alcoholates, is kneaded with water and then extruded through a cylindrical die with a diameter of 2 mm and calcined at 740 ° C. 20 g of this support are brought into contact for 3 hours with 100 cm ³ of an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution comprising 0.2 g of chlorine. The impregnation solution is then withdrawn. The solid thus obtained is dried for 1 hour at 120 ° C. and then calcined for 2 hours at 450 ° C. 100 cm ³ of an aqueous solution of hexachloroplatinic acid comprising 0.07 g of platinum are then brought into contact with the support obtained at the end of the preceding step for 3 hours. The amount of hydrochloric acid is adjusted in order to have a chlorine content of 1.1% by weight in the final catalyst. The impregnation solution is then withdrawn. 60 cm ³ of an aqueous solution comprising 0.09 g of rhenium introduced in the form of ammonium perrhenate are then brought into contact with the support obtained at the end of the previous step for 3 hours. The impregnation solution is then withdrawn. The catalyst thus obtained is dried for 1 hour at 120 ° C., calcined for 2 hours at 520 ° C. and then reduced under hydrogen for 2 hours at 520 ° C. The catalyst is then sulfurized with a hydrogen / H ₂ S mixture (1% vol. Of H ₂ S) for 9 minutes at 520 ° C. (flow rate: 0.15 l / min under normal conditions of temperature and pressure).

The final catalyst contains 0.25% by weight of platinum, 0.25% by weight of rhenium, and 1.1% by weight of chlorine relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

Example 2: Preparation of a non-conforming catalyst B (support in the form of an extrudate

The catalyst is prepared according to a protocol identical to Example 1 except that the extrusion is carried out through a three-lobed die whose largest diameter "D" is 2 mm.

of a conforming catalyst C (support in the form of an extruded

The catalyst is prepared according to a protocol identical to Example 1 with the exception that the extrusion is carried out through a symmetrical four-lobe die (as shown in FIG. 2a) whose largest diameter "D" is 2 mm. Example 4: Catalytic test

Catalysts A to C are tested for the transformation of a naphtha-type hydrocarbon feedstock from petroleum distillation, the characteristics of which are as follows:

density at 15 ° C: 0.761 kg / dm ³

paraffins / naphthenes / aromatics: 44.1 / 38.7 / 17.2% vol

This transformation is carried out in a pilot test unit in a crossed bed in the presence of hydrogen. The test is carried out using the following operating conditions:

total pressure: 1.2 MPa

charge rate: 4.8 kg per kg of catalyst per hour

Research octane number: 102

molar ratio of recycled hydrogen to hydrocarbon feedstock: 2.5.

All the tests of the catalysts were carried out at a variable temperature but making it possible to obtain a research octane number (RON number) constant and equal to 102.

The temperature profile of catalysts A to C is shown in Figure 1. From this graph it is possible to characterize the stability of the catalyst by calculating the slope of the temperature between two times under given load. The slope is thus expressed in ° C / day (° C / d). The lower the slope, the more stable the catalyst is considered. Catalyst C is more stable than catalysts A and B, the slope representative of the temperature growth as a function of the time under load being the lowest (cf. table 1 below). This better stability is also correlated with a lower carbon content (representative of the coke deposited on the catalyst) at the end of the test (see Table 1 below).

Table 1: Stability of catalysts A to C and carbon content

Claims

1. Method for reforming a fixed bed of a hydrocarbon feedstock comprising n-paraffinic, naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons containing from 5 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule at a temperature between 400 and 700 ° C., a pressure between 0, 1 and 4 MPa, and a mass flow rate of charge treated per unit mass of catalyst and per hour of between 0.1 and 10 h ¹ , by bringing said charge into contact with a catalyst comprising at least platinum, at least one promoter metal chosen from the group formed by rhenium and iridium, at least one halogen chosen from the group formed by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine, and a porous alumina support in the form of an extruded product characterized by a length “I” of between 1 and 10 mm, a section comprising four lobes and such that the largest diameter “D” of the cross section of said extruded product is between 1 and 3 mm.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the largest diameter "D" of the cross section of said extruded is between 1, 1 and 2.2 mm.

3. Method according to claims 1 or 2, wherein said extruded has a length "I" between 2 and 7 mm.

4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said section of the extrudate has symmetrical lobes.

5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said section of the extrudate has asymmetrical lobes.

6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said extruded is an axial extruded.

7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said extruded is a helical extruded having a pitch of rotation between 10 and 180 ° per mm.

8. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the platinum content of said catalyst relative to the total weight of the catalyst is between 0.02 to 2% by weight.

9. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the rhenium or iridium content of said catalyst is between 0.02 and 10% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

10. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said catalyst further comprises at least one dopant selected from the group formed by gallium, germanium, indium, tin, antimony, thallium, lead, bismuth, titanium, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, tungsten, rhodium, zinc and phosphorus.

1 1. The method of claim 10, wherein the content of said dopant is between 0.01 and 2% by weight relative to the weight of the catalyst.

12. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 1 1, wherein the halogen content of said catalyst is between 0.1 and 15% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

13. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 12, in which the halogen is chlorine and its content is between 0.5 and 2% by weight relative to the total weight of the catalyst.

14. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the specific surface of said porous support is between 150 and 400 m ² / g.

15. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, in which the volume of the pores of the support whose diameter less than 10 microns is between 0.2 and 1 cm ³ / g, and the average diameter of the mesopores is included between 5 and 20 nm.