Ionic Liquid Catalyst Distillation for Low Hydrogen Halide Alkylate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing processes struggle to effectively reduce hydrogen halide levels in product streams, particularly in alkylate gasoline, due to the low boiling points of hydrogen halides, which complicates their separation from hydrocarbons and can lead to corrosion issues in equipment.
Innovation Solution
A process involving a reactor with an ionic liquid catalyst, such as a metal halide or organic halide, where the effluent is stripped or distilled to separate into fractions, with the second fraction having reduced hydrogen halide levels, allowing for the recovery of products like propane, n-butane, and alkylate gasoline with less than 25 wppm hydrogen halide, using distillation columns made from metals with poor corrosion resistance without exhibiting corrosion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If distillation is used to separate hydrogen halide from hydrocarbon effluent, then hydrogen halide levels in product streams are reduced, but equipment corrosion increases due to the low boiling points and reactive nature of hydrogen halides
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts hydrogen halide from the hydrocarbon effluent stream through distillation, separating it into a concentrated fraction that can be removed from the system. This extraction approach allows the product stream to achieve low hydrogen halide levels while the corrosion problem is concentrated in specific equipment zones that can be managed through material selection and operational controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the low boiling point parameter of hydrogen halide relative to hydrocarbons to enable separation through distillation. By exploiting this boiling point difference, the process can reduce hydrogen halide levels in product streams while managing corrosion through controlled operational parameters in the distillation system.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional distillation equipment is used to remove hydrogen halide, then separation is achieved, but caustic treatment is still required to meet product specifications
Solution Approach 1:
The distillation process is designed as a preliminary action that removes the majority of hydrogen halide before final product recovery. By performing this separation step early in the process, the subsequent caustic treatment requirement is minimized or eliminated, as the hydrogen halide levels are already reduced to acceptable ranges through the distillation pre-treatment.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple separation steps are implemented to reduce hydrogen halide levels, then product purity increases, but processing time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The distillation process is designed to operate continuously, maintaining a steady state where hydrogen halide is continuously separated from the hydrocarbon stream. This continuous operation achieves consistent product purity levels without requiring multiple batch processing steps, thereby reducing overall processing time while maintaining high manufacturing precision for hydrogen halide removal.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This process achieves low hydrogen halide levels in product streams, reducing the need for caustic treatment and minimizing equipment corrosion, while maintaining high octane values and low volatility in alkylate gasoline, thus simplifying the refining process and lowering costs.
Implementation Method 1
stripping or distilling an effluent from a reactor into a first fraction having an amount of a hydrogen halide, and a second fraction having a reduced amount of the hydrogen halide
Implementation Method 2
stripping or distilling an effluent from a reactor into a first fraction having an amount of a hydrogen halide, and a second fraction having a reduced amount of the hydrogen halide
Data Source
AI summary
A process for making products with low hydrogen halide, comprising: a) stripping or distilling an effluent from a reactor into a first fraction having an amount of hydrogen halide, and a second fraction having a reduced amount of hydrogen halide; wherein the reactor comprises: an ionic liquid catalyst having a metal halide, and a hydrogen halide or an organic halide; and b) recovering one or more product streams, from the second fraction, having less than 25 wppm hydrogen halide. In one embodiment the ionic liquid catalyst has metal halide; and the recovering recovers propane, n-butane, and alkylate gasoline having less than 25 wppm hydrogen halide. In another embodiment the recovering uses a distillation column having poor corrosion resistance to hydrogen halide; and the distillation column does not exhibit corrosion. There is also provided an alkylate gasoline having less than 5 wppm hydrogen halide, a high RON, and low RVP.