Methaforming: Novel Process for Producing High-Octane Gasoline from Naphtha and Methanol at Lower CAPEX and OPEX

摘要

Gasoline should continue to be the major automobile transportation fuel for the foreseeable future. The International Energy Agency predicts a 30% increase in global energy demand to 2040 which the agency reckons will be fueled by an increase in the consumption of all modern fuels (International Energy Agency, 2016). Even though there has been a gradual decline in gasoline consumption in developed countries, global gasoline consumption continues to be spurred by growth in automobile markets in China, India and other rapidly urbanizing countries. Oil consumption is up 33%, in non-OECD countries since 2005 (Covert et al., 2016). Concurrently with this growth in demand for gasoline, stricter environmental regulations are being enforced in most countries to regulate benzene content, vapor pressure, content of olefins and dienes in gasoline. While shale-derived oil will have some impact on overall crude oil quality, the average quality of global crude oil is expected to gradually decline. This, among other factors, may force refineries to utilize streams with increasing sulfur content and lower octane. This scenario can put a strain on existing technologies to economically meet product requirements. This provides the incentive to develop novel catalytic processes for producing high-octane, low-olefin streams.