Development of a Novel Transalkylation Catalyst to Enhance Xylene Production

摘要

An in-house novel catalyst was developed and compared to a commercial catalyst for the transalkylation process. The in-house catalyst was selected from a number of screened catalysts and demonstrated significant conversion of Tri-Methyl-Benzene isomers (TMBs) and Methyl-Ethyl-Benzene isomers (MEBs) in producing a substantial yield of xylene in addition to lesser amounts of benzene and toluene, all of which positively impact economics. With respect to the commercial catalyst, the in-house catalyst converts 99% of MEB and 57% of TMB compared to the commercial catalyst, which converts 89% MEB and 48% TMB. This significant increase in conversion will favor the process economics and result in capital cost savings due to reduced reactor size. The in-house developed catalyst produces light hydrocarbons at about 16.5% compared to the commercial catalyst, which produces 7% of light hydrocarbons; and even though this can be used as petrochemical feedstock, it is considered a trade-off for more valuable opportunities. Given this trade-off, research is underway to improve the catalyst performance to yield a viable and competitive economic process. Furthermore, a simulation has been developed in-house to represent the economics of the commercial and in-house catalyst to demonstrate that they are similar in rate of return.