KR20230051170A - Method and plant for producing gasoline from tar-containing raw materials - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process and plant for producing hydrocarbon products boiling in the gasoline boiling range from tar-containing feedstocks, said process and plant comprising hydrotreating and hydrocracking to produce diesel and naphtha, and subsequent processing of naphtha It includes a hydroprocessing stage comprising aromatization, whereby light hydrocarbon gases as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) are also produced, from which a hydrogen stream is produced.

Description

Method and plant for producing gasoline from tar-containing raw materials

The present invention relates to a process and plant for producing high quality gasoline from tar-containing feedstock, said process and plant comprising hydrotreating and hydrocracking to produce diesel and naphtha, and subsequent aromatization of the naphtha. It includes one or more hydroprocessing stages, whereby light hydrocarbon gases as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) are also produced, from which a hydrogen stream can be produced and used in the process.

The quality of gasoline (C5+ hydrocarbons) largely depends on its resistance to engine knocking due to compression ignition of the fuel in engines running on gasoline. This quality is measured by the so-called octane number, which originates from isooctane, which is considered an ideal gasoline hydrocarbon. Pure isooctane defines gasoline with an octane rating of 100, and pure n-heptane defines gasoline with an octane rating of 0. It would be desirable to produce gasoline having a research octane number (RON) of at least 85, such as 90 or greater.

Gasoline in practice is a complex hydrocarbon mixture, for example aromatics contribute to high knocking resistance, whereas saturated alkanes have a high knocking tendency, especially when they have a linear structure. Thus, naphtha hydrocarbon mixtures are less valuable if the aromatics content is very low.

Naphtha with insufficient octane rating can be improved by a catalytic reforming process, which typically involves alkylation of aromatics to increase the octane rating.

Applicant's US 9,752,080 discloses the use of LPG from a downstream FT process as a feedstock in a steam reforming process to produce syngas required in a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process.

WO 2015/075315 A1 discloses the use of LPG or naphtha in a hydrogen production plant integrated in the process of producing hydrocarbons from renewable feedstocks.

US 3,871,993 describes a process for converting virgin naphtha to high octane liquid gasoline products and LPG without hydrogen consumption by increasing the aromatic content of naphtha through the use of zeolites such as ZSM-5 which can be transformed into metals.

WO 2016/054316 A1 discloses aromatic compounds, in particular BTX (benzene, toluene, xylene) discloses a process or plant that produces an enriched product. The process involves the use of a hydrotreating reactor, an aromatization reactor and a hydrogen extraction unit such as a pressure swing adsorption unit (PSA unit). An LPG stream is recovered from the PSA unit.

Applicant's co-pending European patent application EP 20162995.3 describes the production of renewable hydrocarbon products, such as recycled naphtha, in a process comprising the production of hydrogen in a hydrogen generating unit, which converts such recycled naphtha into part of a hydrocarbon feedstock. can be used as

The prior art converts feedstocks originating from tar-containing feedstocks by hydrotreating and hydrocracking into hydrocarbon products boiling in the gasoline boiling range, while simultaneously converting LPG for use in the production of hydrogen that can be used in the process or plant. As such, no mention is made of a process or plant for producing light hydrocarbon gases.

In a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for producing a hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range, the method comprising:

i) converting a tar-containing feedstock, such as coke oven tar (COT), by one or more hydroprocessing stages to hydrocarbon products boiling above 30° C., including a naphtha stream, wherein the one or more hydroprocessing stages hydrotreat and a hydrocracking step followed by a separation stage to produce the naphtha stream;

ii) upgrading the naphtha stream by passing it through an aromatization stage comprising contacting the naphtha stream with a catalyst, preferably comprising an aluminosilicate zeolite, whereby the hydrocarbon product and liquid petroleum oil boiling in the gasoline boiling range generating a separate light hydrocarbon gas stream as a gas (LPG) stream;

iii) directing at least a portion of the LPG stream to a hydrogen generating unit to produce a hydrogen stream;

includes

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the hydrocarbon product boiling above 30° C. comprises said naphtha, diesel and lubricating oil base stock (base oil for lubricating oil).

It will be appreciated that the terms "stage" and "stage" may be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the term “hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range” means boiling in the range of 30-210°C.

As used herein, “naphtha” refers to hydrocarbon products that boil in the range of 30-160°C.

As used herein, “diesel” refers to a hydrocarbon product that boils in the range of 120-360° C., for example 160-360° C.

As used herein, the term “lubricant base stock” refers to a hydrocarbon product that boils above 390° C.

As used herein, “boiling in a given range” is to be understood as having at least 80 wt% of the hydrocarbon mixture boiling in the stated range.

As used herein, the term “light hydrocarbon gases” means gas mixtures comprising C1-C4 gases, particularly methane, ethane, propane, butane; Light hydrocarbon gases may also include i-C3, i-C4 and unsaturated C3-C4 olefins. A particular light hydrocarbon gas is LPG as defined below.

As used herein, the term “LPG” means liquid/liquefied petroleum gas, which is a gas mixture mainly comprising propane and butanes, ie C3-C4; LPG may also include i-C3, i-C4 and unsaturated C3-C4, such as C4-olefins.

It will be appreciated that the separate light hydrocarbon gas stream in step ii) is a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) stream.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the invention, said hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range has at least 20 wt % C5+ aromatics, such as 20-50 wt % C5+ aromatics, and has an octane number of at least 85, such as 90 or 95 (research method octane number, RON). As used herein, the term "high quality gasoline" is a hydrocarbon product according to these specifications.

Preferably, RON is measured according to ASTM D-2699.

According to the present invention, step i) includes hydrotreating and hydrocracking steps, which allow for deep sulfur and nitrogen removal, aromatic saturation and optional hydrocarbon product character improvement, followed by a separation step to produce the naphtha stream. do. In this separation stage or section, LPG streams as well as other hydrocarbon products such as diesel may also be produced.

Compared to other feedstocks, tar-containing feedstocks have a particularly high aromatic content. For example, coke oven tar may have at least 25 wt % aromatics, such as up to 50 wt % or 60 wt % aromatics. Counterintuitively, the present invention deliberately subject this feedstock to hydrotreating and hydrocracking steps, thereby necessarily reducing the content of aromatics, which are essential compounds to provide higher RON and higher quality gasoline according to the present invention. . Thus, the process of the present invention significantly reduces the amount of aromatics and subsequently increases the amount of aromatics, thereby obtaining high quality gasoline with significant amounts of light hydrocarbon gases, especially LPG.

Materials that are catalytically active in hydrotreating (HDT) typically include active metals (sulfurized non-metals such as nickel, cobalt, tungsten and/or molybdenum, and possibly also elemental noble metals such as platinum and/or palladium) and refractory supports (such as alumina, silica or titania, or combinations thereof).

HDT conditions include a temperature of 250-400 °C, a pressure of 30-150 bar, and a liquid hour space velocity (LHSV) of 0.1-2, optionally with intermediate cooling by quenching to cold hydrogen, feed or product. .

Optionally, a hydrodewaxing (HDW) stage may also be performed. Materials that are catalytically active in the HDW are typically active metals (elemental noble metals such as platinum and/or palladium or sulfided non-metals such as nickel, cobalt, tungsten and/or molybdenum), acidic supports (typically exhibit high shape selectivity and MOR , FER, MRE, MWW, AEL, TON and MTT) and refractory supports (such as alumina, silica or titania, or combinations thereof).

Isomerization conditions include a temperature of 250-400° C., a pressure of 20-100 bar, and a liquid hour space velocity (LHSV) of 0.5-8.

Materials that are catalytically active in hydrocracking (HCR) have properties similar to those that are catalytically active in isomerization, and typically contain active metals (elemental noble metals such as platinum and/or palladium or sulfided base metals such as nickel, cobalt, tungsten and / or molybdenum), acidic supports (molecular sieves that typically exhibit high cracking activity and have phases such as MFI, BEA and FAU) and refractory supports (such as alumina, silica or titania, or combinations thereof). The difference from the catalytically active material in the isomerization is typically the nature of the acidic support, which may have a different structure (amorphous silica-alumina) or may have a different acidity, for example due to the silica:alumina ratio .

HCR conditions include a temperature of 250-400°C, a pressure of 30-150 bar, and a liquid hour space velocity (LHSV) of 0.5-8, optionally with intermediate cooling by quenching to cold hydrogen, feed or product. .

Optionally, other types of hydrotreating are included, such as hydrodearomatization (HDA). The material that is catalytically active in the HDA is typically an active metal (typically elemental noble metals such as platinum and/or palladium and possibly also sulfided non-metals such as nickel, cobalt, tungsten and/or molybdenum) and a refractory support (such as amorphous silica- alumina, alumina, silica or titania, or combinations thereof).

HDA conditions include a temperature of 200-350 °C, a pressure of 20-100 bar, and a liquid hour space velocity (LHSV) of 0.5-8.

Tar is a heavy hydrocarbonaceous liquid and is primarily considered an undesirable by-product from coal processing, such as coal gasification, and there is significant cost and effort associated with disposal of the surplus tar. Thus, the present invention produces high quality gasoline by treatment and remediation of highly undesirable industrial by-products.

As used herein, "coal gasification" is to be understood as a process comprising a coking process, which destructively distills a coal feedstock to produce high carbon coke, gaseous and liquid phases, and coal tar. Such coal tar is characterized by a high content of aromatics as well as a high content of heteroatoms (particularly nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen).

Terms such as coal tar and coke oven tar may be used to indicate the source of the tar. For the purposes of this application, tar is typically a product of coal gasification. The terms "coal tar" and "coke oven tar" are used interchangeably in this application.

The term “tar-containing feedstock” may also include products of thermal decomposition of tires, such as waste tires.

In embodiments according to the first aspect of the present invention, the tar-containing feedstock is a product from the pyrolysis of tires, which preferably contains at least 45 wt % aromatics, e.g. as measured by ASTM D-6591 or ASMT D-6729. For example, it contains 50 wt% or more, for example 50-75 wt%.

As is well known in the art, thermal decomposition refers to the thermal decomposition of a material, for example a waste tire, by exposure to high temperatures such as 300° C. to 700° C., 800° C. or 900° C. in an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen.

In embodiments according to the first aspect of the present invention, the tar-containing feedstock preferably contains at least 25 wt% aromatics, such as at least 30%, or at least 40 wt%, as measured by ASTM D-6591 or ASMT D-6729. , for example coke oven tar containing 50 wt% or 60 wt%. Accordingly, significant amounts of aromatics are present in the tar-containing feedstock.

A naphtha stream obtained as an intermediate product by processing a tar-containing feedstock, such as tar in a coke oven, has a high naphthene content. For example, the naphtha stream preferably contains at least 50 wt % naphthenes, such as at least 60 wt %, or at least 70 wt %, such as 75 wt % or 80 wt %; preferably less than 15 wt % n+i paraffins, for example less than 12 wt % i-paraffins and less than 3 wt % n-paraffins; preferably less than 1 wt % olefins, for example less than 0.5 wt % olefins; and for example less than 10 wt % aromatics, such as 6 wt % or 4-5 wt % aromatics. Accordingly, the aromatic content is significantly reduced.

For example, instead of using directly as a source of hydrogen in a hydrogen generation unit and focusing on diesel as the main product, a subsequent aromatization stage of the naphtha stream results in a large amount of aromatics, thereby increasing the octane number (RON) of the naphtha stream to 50- increases from around 60 to at least 85, especially above 90, and at the same time significant amounts of light hydrocarbon gases, especially LPG, are also produced, for example 30-50 wt% LPG. Gasoline yields (C5+ yields) can also be achieved at desirable levels, eg 40-60 wt%.

The hydrogen required in the process will typically be met by using coke oven gas as a hydrogen source or other external source. However, hydrogen is scarce when using coke oven gas, and in step iii) it is possible to approach the hydrogen balance by utilization of light hydrocarbon gases, in particular LPG, to produce hydrogen, even with excess hydrogen produced. The naphtha stream with high naphthenic content is separated into low hydrogen high octane aromatic naphtha and LPG with increased hydrogen density, i.e. H:C ratio, which is used for hydrogen production. This results in high energy efficiency in the process and plant and at the same time a high quality gasoline product from a highly undesirable industrial by-product (tar). The diesel produced in this process is generally the preferred hydrocarbon product and can also be used as part of the hydrocarbon product pool.

Thus, the present invention enables a particularly significant improvement, i.e., an unexpected increase in the octane number (RON) of the naphtha stream, thereby enabling the production of valuable products based on tar-containing feedstocks. A simple and high-level solution is obtained. The aromatics content can be increased from, for example, less than 4-5 wt% in naphtha to at least 20 wt% C5+ aromatics in high quality gasoline, such as 20-50 wt%, 25-45 wt%, or 35-45 wt%. . High quality gasoline with at least 20-45 wt% aromatics has an octane number (RON) of 85 or higher, such as 90 or 95. The higher the aromatics content of the gasoline the lower the C5+ yield, but with the present invention it is possible to strike a balance that significantly increases the octane number without reducing the C5+ yield too much. At the same time, a significant amount of LPG is formed as an additional valuable product due to the dehydrogenation that occurs when the aromatics are formed, which is then converted to hydrogen in a steam reforming process in the hydrogen production unit.

In addition, the present invention allows for a simpler approach than catalytic reforming of naphtha, for example, as the aromatization stage can be carried out under milder conditions and using cheaper catalysts and cheaper process equipment. More specifically, no precious or rare earth metals on the catalyst are required, there is no chlorine, and the catalytic reactor can be operated in fixed bed reactor operation, making it a much simpler solution than conventional catalytic reformers.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the invention, the method comprises

iv) directing at least a portion of the hydrogen stream to either the hydrotreating stage of step i) and/or the aromatization stage of step ii).

more includes

Thus, the hydrogen stream produced can be used as make-up hydrogen to provide hydrogen during production of gasoline, thereby improving the energy efficiency of the overall process and plant. As used herein, the term "overall process and plant" refers to the process and plant used to convert a tar-containing feedstock into a hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range according to steps i)-iv) above. It will be understood that this also includes any of the following embodiments.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the tar-containing feedstock is passed through an acid washing step before being sent to said step i). This removes impurities in the feedstock that can be harmful to the downstream catalyst.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the invention, step i) comprises a conditioning step comprising the use of one or more guards, e.g. layer guards, for metal removal, diolefin removal, and bulk sulfur and nitrogen removal. do.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the invention, in step ii) the catalyst is comprised in an aluminosilicate zeolite, for example supported, such as a zeolite having an MFI structure, in particular ZSM-5, preferably Zn-ZSM- 5, ZnP-ZSM-5, Ni-ZSM-5, or a combination thereof; The temperature is in the range of 300-500 ° C, such as 300-460 ° C or 300-420 ° C, the pressure is 1-30 bar, such as 2-30 bar or 10-30 bar, optionally hydrogen is added, i.e. optionally Aromatization is carried out in the presence of hydrogen. In certain embodiments, the liquid time space velocity (LHSV) is 1-3, such as 1.5-2.

As used herein, the term "MFI structure" means a structure established and maintained by the International Zeolite Association Structure Committee in the type of zeolite framework type, see http://www.iza-structure.org/databases/ or, for example, also defined in "Atlas of Zeolite Framework Types" (Ch. Baerlocher, L.B. McCusker and D.H. Olson, Sixth Revised Edition 2007).

As used herein, the term "Zn-ZSM-5" refers to Zn contained in zeolite ZSM-5, and includes Zn supported on ZSM-5. The same interpretation applies when using ZnP or Ni.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, step ii) comprises providing an isomerization stage after said aromatization stage, said aromatization stage producing a crude improved naphtha stream, which is The hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range is formed by passing through a nitration stage. The isomerization conditions recited above may be used in this isomerization.

In certain embodiments, the process further comprises converting a light hydrocarbon gas stream, e.g. an LPG stream, in particular a portion of a light hydrocarbon stream obtained in step ii), or a portion of a naphtha stream, to heat to quench the crude refined naphtha stream. and using it as an exchange medium.

Thereby, a stepwise feed of raw material to the isomerization stage is achieved to improve isomerization and increase aromatization. Isomerization is favored at lower temperatures than aromatization. Additionally, make-up hydrogen, for example hydrogen produced in a hydrogen generating unit, may be added to isomerization, i.e. hydroisomerization (HDI). This gives the product of the aromatization stage a much higher octane rating than is possible without isomerization.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the hydrogen generating unit comprises feeding a hydrocarbon feedstock such as natural gas. Apart from using light hydrocarbon gas, LPG as the feedstock, the hydrogen generating unit may also use other hydrocarbon feedstocks such as natural gas.

Optionally, in step i) a separate LPG stream is also formed, which is also used as hydrocarbon feedstock in the hydrogen production unit. Preferably, in step i) the naphtha stream and the LPG stream are recovered from the same unit, such as a separation unit, eg a distillation unit.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the hydrogen generating unit is subjected to cleaning on the light hydrocarbon gas stream and the hydrocarbon feedstock in a cleaning unit, which is preferably a sulfur-chlorine-metal absorption or catalytic unit; optionally pre-reforming in a pre-reforming unit; catalytic steam methane reforming in a steam reforming unit; water gas movement conversion in the water gas movement unit; optionally CO ₂ - carbon dioxide removal in a separator unit; and optionally undergoing hydrogen purification in a hydrogen purification unit. It will be appreciated that the provision of the other or separate hydrocarbon feedstock, such as natural gas, is optional.

In certain embodiments, the hydrogen purification unit is a pressure swing adsorption unit (PSA unit), which produces an offgas stream, which is used as a fuel in the steam reforming unit of the hydrogen production unit, and/or step i) in the hydroprocessing stage of step ii), and/or in the combustion heater in any of the aromatization stages of step ii), and/or for steam generation. This allows a further reduction in hydrocarbon consumption, whereby the energy consumption figures are improved, ie the PSA offgas which has to be burned (burned) is properly used in the process, resulting in high energy efficiency.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the invention, the steam reforming unit is a convection reformer in which the heat for reforming is transferred by convection together with radiation, preferably a reformer comprising one or more bayonet reforming tubes, such as an HTCR reformer, i.e. Topsoe bayonet reformer; a tubular reformer in which heat for reforming is transferred mainly by radiation from a radiant furnace, that is, a conventional steam methane reformer (SMR); an autothermal reformer (ATR) in which catalytic reforming is performed after partial oxidation of a hydrocarbon raw material by oxygen and steam; electrothermal steam methane reformers (e-SMRs) where electrical resistance is used to generate heat for catalytic reforming; or a combination thereof. In particular, when using an e-SMR, electricity from green sources, such as electricity generated by wind, hydro and solar sources, can be utilized, thereby further minimizing the carbon dioxide footprint.

Further information on these modifiers is provided in detail in the applicant's patents and/or literature. For example, tubular and autothermal reforming are described in "Tubular reforming and autothermal reforming of natural gas - an overview of available processes" (Ib Dybkjaer, Fuel Processing Technology 42 (1995) 85-107) and HTCR in EP 0535505. do. For ATR and/or SMR for large-scale hydrogen production, see, for example, the paper "Large-scale Hydrogen Production" (Jens R. Rostrup-Nielsen and Thomas Rostrup-Nielsen, CATTECH 6, 150-159 (2002)). . The more state-of-the-art e-SMR is specifically mentioned in WO 2019/228797 A1.

In one embodiment, the catalyst of the steam reforming unit is a reforming catalyst, such as a nickel-based catalyst. In one embodiment, the catalyst of the water gas shift reaction is any catalyst active in the water gas shift reaction. The two catalysts may be the same or different. Examples of the reforming catalyst are Ni/MgAl ₂ O ₄ , Ni/Al ₂ O ₃ , Ni/CaAl ₂ O ₄ , Ru/MgAl ₂ O ₄ , Rh/MgAl ₂ O ₄ , Ir/MgAl ₂ O ₄ , Mo ₂ C , Wo ₂ C, CeO ₂ , Ni/ZrO ₂ , Ni/MgAl ₂ O ₃ , Ni/CaAl ₂ O ₃ , Ru/MgAl ₂ O ₃ , or Rh/MgAl ₂ O ₃ , Al ₂ O ₃ noble metals on carriers, but , other catalysts suitable for reforming may also be considered. The catalytically active material may be Ni, Ru, Rh, Ir, or a combination thereof, and the ceramic coating may be Al ₂ O ₃ , ZrO ₂ , MgAl ₂ O ₃ , CaAl ₂ O ₃ , or a combination thereof. It can be mixed with oxides of Y, Ti, La, or Ce. The maximum temperature of the reactor may be 850-1300 °C. The pressure of the source gas may be 15-180 bar, preferably about 25 bar. Steam reforming catalysts are also denoted steam methane reforming catalysts or methane reforming catalysts.

In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the make-up hydrogen stream is passed through a make-up compressor and optionally also a recycle compressor before sending the hydrogen stream to either the hydrotreating stage of step i) and/or the aromatization stage of step ii). The make-up compressor also produces a hydrogen recycle stream, which is added to the hydrogen generation unit and/or to the cleaning unit of the hydrogen generation unit.

This allows the integration of a hydrogen production plant with a plant for the production of hydrocarbon products boiling in the gasoline boiling range, for example a separate or dedicated compressor for recycling hydrogen within the hydrogen production unit for hydrogenation of sulfur in a scrubbing unit. because it doesn't need

In a second aspect, the present invention is a plant for producing hydrocarbon products boiling in the gasoline boiling range, i.e. a process plant, said plant comprising:

- a hydroprocessing section arranged to receive a tar-containing feedstock and optionally also to receive a compressed hydrogen stream for producing a naphtha product, the hydroprocessing section comprising a hydrotreating unit and a hydrocracking unit;

- a reactor containing a catalyst, preferably comprising an aluminosilicate zeolite, for producing a light hydrocarbon gas stream as said hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range and a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) stream, said naphtha product an aromatization section arranged to receive the;

- a hydrogen generating unit (HPU) arranged to receive said light hydrocarbon gas stream and optionally also arranged to receive a separate hydrocarbon feedstock stream, such as a natural gas stream, for producing a hydrogen stream.

includes

Any of the above embodiments and associated benefits of the first aspect of the invention may be used with the second aspect of the invention.

The single figure shows a schematic flow diagram of the entire method/plant according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a block flow diagram of the entire process/plant 10 is shown, wherein a tar-containing feedstock 12, such as a coke oven tar feedstock or a pyrolysis product of a tire, e.g., waste tire, is hydrogenated is introduced into the processing stage (110). This stage or section 110 includes a reactor section including a raw material section and a conditioning step or section including the use of one or more guards, eg bed guards, for metal removal, diolefin removal, and bulk sulfur and nitrogen removal ( 110'). Stage or section 110 also includes one or more hydrotreating (HDT) units (reactors) as well as one or more downstream hydrocracking (HCR) units, thereby enabling deep sulfur and nitrogen removal and aromatic saturation. Selective hydrocarbon product property improvements may also be provided. The hydroprocessing stage or section 110 includes a separation stage 110″, which includes an intermediate product naphtha stream 14, diesel 16 and bottoms products 18 such as a lubricating oil base stock (base oil for lubricating oil). Hydrocarbon products are produced in the form of LPG stream 20 is also produced.

Naphtha stream 14 is then passed to aromatization stage 120 comprising a reactor containing a catalyst comprising an aluminosilicate zeolite, whereby the aromatic content of the naphtha is increased, resulting in boiling in the gasoline boiling range. The octane number of the hydrocarbon product 22 is significantly increased to form a high quality gasoline product having an octane number (RON) of 85 or higher, such as 90 or higher. The aromatization stage may also include an isomerization stage (not shown). A light hydrocarbon gas stream, in particular LPG stream 24, is produced from the aromatization stage 120, which is then an optional separate hydrocarbon feed such as natural gas used as make-up gas for steam reforming in the hydrogen generation unit 130. Together with feed stream 26, it is used as a feed for hydrogen generating unit 130. As shown in the figure, LPG stream 20 from separation section 110" may also be added. The LPG stream(s) may be mixed and then combined with natural gas stream 26 to a hydrogen production unit ( 130) can be supplied.

As is well known in the field of hydrogen production, the hydrogen production unit 130 comprises a cleaning unit such as a sulfur-chlorine-metal absorption or catalytic unit, one or more pre-reformer units, a steam reformer, preferably a convection reformer (eg HTCR), and a first section 130' comprising the water gas movement unit(s); These units are not shown in the drawings. A hydrogen purification unit, such as PSA unit 130″, is optionally provided to further enrich the gas and produce hydrogen stream 28. Offgas from the PSA unit (PSA offgas) 30 is transferred from the hydrogen generation unit. It is used as a fuel, in particular as a fuel for an HTCR unit, more specifically as a burner fuel for an HTCR unit, and is also used in the hydroprocessing stage 110.

Hydrogen stream 28 may be exported as product and/or used as make-up hydrogen in the process. For use in the process, hydrogen stream 28 is directed to compressor section 140 which includes a make-up gas compressor and optionally also a recycle compressor (not shown). Next, the optional hydrogen-enriched stream (not shown) and the make-up hydrogen stream 28, which may have been produced in the hydroprocessing stage 110, are compressed by a recycle compressor and a make-up compressor, respectively, and delivered to the hydroprocessing stage 110. As make-up hydrogen stream 30, it is optionally also used to add hydrogen to an aromatization stage 120 (not shown). Hydrogen stream 32 from the makeup compressor is recycled to hydrogen generation unit 130.

Claims (15)

A process for producing hydrocarbon products that boil in the gasoline boiling range, comprising:
i) converting the tar-containing feedstock to hydrocarbon products boiling above 30° C. comprising a naphtha stream by one or more hydroprocessing stages, the one or more hydroprocessing stages comprising hydrotreating and hydrocracking; a separation stage is then performed to produce the naphtha stream;
ii) upgrading the naphtha stream by passing it through an aromatization stage comprising contacting the naphtha stream with a catalyst, preferably comprising an aluminosilicate zeolite, whereby the hydrocarbon boiling in the gasoline boiling range; producing separate light hydrocarbon gas streams as product and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) streams;
iii) directing at least a portion of the light hydrocarbon gas stream to a hydrogen generating unit to produce a hydrogen stream;
How to include. 2. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that the tar-containing feedstock is a product from the pyrolysis of tires containing at least 45 wt% aromatics, such as greater than 50 wt% aromatics. 2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the tar-containing feedstock is coke oven tar containing at least 25 wt% aromatics, such as at least 30%, or at least 40 wt%, for example 50 wt% or 60 wt% aromatics. How to. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
iv) directing at least a portion of the hydrogen stream to either the hydrotreating stage of step i) and/or the aromatization stage of step ii).
A method characterized in that it further comprises. 5. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the tar-containing feedstock is passed through an acid washing step before being passed to said step i). 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein step i) comprises a conditioning step comprising the use of one or more guards, eg layer guards, for metal removal, diolefin removal, and bulk sulfur and nitrogen removal. A method characterized by comprising. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein in step ii) the catalyst is comprised in an aluminosilicate zeolite, such as a zeolite with MFI structure, in particular ZSM-5, preferably Zn/ZSM-5, ZnP/ a catalyst included in ZSM-5, Ni/ZSM-5, or a combination thereof; The process is characterized in that the temperature is in the range of 300-500 ° C, the pressure is 1-30 bar, optionally hydrogen is added. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein step ii) comprises providing an isomerization stage after the aromatization stage, wherein the aromatization stage produces a crude improved naphtha stream, which characterized in that the hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range is formed by passing through the isomerization stage. 9. The process of claim 8 further comprising using a portion of the light hydrocarbon gas stream or a portion of the naphtha stream as a heat exchange medium for quenching the crude refined naphtha stream. 10. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the hydrogen generating unit comprises feeding a hydrocarbon feedstock such as natural gas. 11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the hydrogen generating unit cleans the light hydrocarbon gas stream and the hydrocarbon feedstock in a scrubbing unit, which is preferably a sulfur-chlorine-metal absorption or catalytic unit; optionally pre-reforming in a pre-reforming unit; catalytic steam methane reforming in a steam reforming unit; water gas movement conversion in the water gas movement unit; optionally CO ₂ - carbon dioxide removal in a separator unit; and optionally purifying the hydrogen in a hydrogen purification unit. 12. The process of claim 11, wherein the hydrogen purification unit is a pressure swing adsorption unit (PSA unit), said PSA unit producing an offgas stream, which is used as fuel in the steam reforming unit of the hydrogen production unit, and/or step i ) in the hydrotreating stage, and/or in any of the aromatization stages in step ii) for combustion heaters, and/or for steam generation. 13. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the steam reforming unit is a convection reformer, a tubular reformer, an autothermal reformer (ATR), an electrothermal steam methane reformer (e-SMR), or a combination thereof. . 14. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the hydrogen stream is subjected to a make-up compressor and optionally also a recycle compressor before passing the hydrogen stream to either the hydrotreatment stage of step i) and/or the aromatization stage of step ii). wherein the makeup compressor also produces a hydrogen recycle stream, which is added to the hydrogen production unit and/or to a cleaning unit of the hydrogen production unit. A plant for producing hydrocarbon products boiling in the gasoline boiling range,
- a hydroprocessing section arranged to receive a tar-containing feedstock and optionally also to receive a compressed hydrogen stream for producing a naphtha product, the hydroprocessing section comprising a hydrotreating unit and a hydrocracking unit;
- a reactor containing a catalyst, preferably comprising an aluminosilicate zeolite, for producing a light hydrocarbon gas as a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) stream and the hydrocarbon product boiling in the gasoline boiling range; an aromatization section arranged to receive;
- a hydrogen generating unit (HPU) arranged to receive said light hydrocarbon gas stream and optionally also arranged to receive a separate hydrocarbon feedstock stream, such as a natural gas stream, for producing a hydrogen stream.
A plant containing a.

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