Q&A

(2017) Question 1: How do you manage organic fluoride compounds in effluent and recycle streams in an HF alkylation unit? How do you detect upsets, and how are the impacts on downstream units mitigated?

Typically, organic fluorides are managed in the butane and propane effluent streams from an HF alkylation unit. Treatment of the isobutane recycle stream is not needed. The propane and butane products are typically treated in alumina treaters to remove the organic fluorides and then in KOH treaters to remove moisture (which is created in the alumina treaters) and any HF “slip”.

(2017) Question 2: Iron is one of the most common contaminant metals seen on naphtha reforming catalyst. What is the source, what is the impact to yields and operation, and what can be done to mitigate these effects?

Naphtha feed-based iron is typically removed in the upstream hydrotreaters, but breakthrough of iron to the reformer can occur due to insufficient operating severity in the hydrotreater once the hydrotreater catalyst bed is saturated.

(2017) Question 3: What are your Best Practices for unloading solid phosphoric acid (SPA) catalyst from a catalytic polymerization unit, and what safety issues do they address?

There are two types of Honeywell UOP Cat Poly reactors: chamber and tubular. Each has different unloading concerns, and there are several different unloading options available for each.

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Q&A

(2017) Question 1: How do you manage organic fluoride compounds in effluent and recycle streams in an HF alkylation unit? How do you detect upsets, and how are the impacts on downstream units mitigated?

(2017) Question 2: Iron is one of the most common contaminant metals seen on naphtha reforming catalyst. What is the source, what is the impact to yields and operation, and what can be done to mitigate these effects?

(2017) Question 3: What are your Best Practices for unloading solid phosphoric acid (SPA) catalyst from a catalytic polymerization unit, and what safety issues do they address?