CHOSEN PROCESS

CATALYTIC REFORMING
We have chosen the process of catalytic reforming in consideration with:
Comparison between the processes:
Steam cracking

The reaction takes place in a condition with temperature of 700 oC to 800 oC and at

pressures of 34 atm to 68 atm.

Catalysts such as metal oxides and zeolite-based catalysts are used to improve the
performance. It can achieve higher olefin yields at moderate reaction conditions with
reduced energy consumption.

Toluene hydrodealkylation

The reaction takes place in a condition with temperatures of 500 oC to 600 oC and at

pressures of 40 atm to 60 atm.

There are three different types of catalysts used in the process, chromium or copper
chromite, molybdenum or platinum oxide. Sometimes higher temperature are used
instead of a catalyst but it has to be at a similar reaction conditions, but this will surely
result in a higher energy consumption that will cause an increase in the production costs.

Toluene disproportionation

The reaction takes place in a condition with temperatures of 200 oC to 600 oC and at

pressures of 1 atm to 100 atm or sometimes above.

There are two types of catalyst used in the process where both are used in two different
circumstances. Aluminium mordenite is used in a high temperature reaction and alumina
mordenites in a low temperature reaction.

Catalytic reforming

The best process that we have chosen to produce benzene is the catalytic reforming
reaction. There are a few criteria that we looked at in order to choose this particular process. The
most important criteria for selection are technical feasibility and financial stability factors. At the
same time, the selected process must be able to produce a yield that could supply the demands of
the global market.
In terms of the feed that we supply in to the reactor is in a liquid phase. A lot of processes
these days prefer liquid phased feedstock rather than the other two phases. It is mainly because
the liquid phase is easier to handle than solid or gas phase. If we were to use gas phased feed
instead, it will create a disadvantage where the reactor will have to create a pressurized condition
in order to stabilize reactants. A solid phased feed will surely be needed to altered into a liquid
phase so that a chemical reaction can actually take place.
Meanwhile, the catalyst we chose is either a heterogeneous or homogeneous type. There
are advantages and disadvantages in both types but usually a heterogeneous catalyst is more
preferred than homogeneous. The catalysts are usually in the solid form and therefore are easier
to extract and recycle. In addition, products produced are more purer. You can simply filter it out
once the process is done, whilst a liquid catalyst cant simply be filtered because they have been
dissolved in the solution.
For the catalytic reforming, the catalyst we selected to be used in the reaction is carbonsupported platinum catalysts. This is because of the ability that the catalyst has to be reused over
and over again while still be able to produce pure benzene. Even though the cost for even a gram
of platinum is expensive but because it can be used over time with probably more than year of
lifespan, it is quite a good investment.

Reference

https://www.google.com/patents/US4155834?
dq=catalytic+reforming+of+production+of+benzene&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OZk0U46SF8igiQf99Y
GYAQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA
http://www.ihs.com/products/chemical/technology/pep/steam-cracking-for-olefins.aspx
http://m.everythingscience.co.za/grade-11/12-energy-and-chemical-change/12-energy-andchemical-change-02.cnxmlplus