UPGRADE OF LIGHT CYCLE OIL BY SOLVENT EXTRACTION IN MULTIPLE STAGES

摘要

Transportation requirements account for almost 50% of world oil demand. The demand for transportation energy within industrialized and developing countries is continuously increasing, and this trend is expected that will remain, despite the economic crisis that several developed countries are facing. The continuous increase of automotive diesel consumption, especially in the European Union, demands new sources of diesel fuel. Petroleum derived diesel fuel will play a dominant role in the transport sector for the next few decades. The characteristics of these petroleum derived diesel fuels have significantly changed in the last ten years due to the more stringent environmental regulations set by governments and international authorities. The stringent environmental specifications for exhaust emissions from diesel engines (Euro 4 and Euro 5 emission limits) need cleaner fuels in order to be met. These cleaner diesel fuels are ultra low sulfur diesel (10 mg/kg). It is also desirable that these fuels have low polyaromatic content, and high cetane numbers. [1]