Operation Problems and Countermeasures of Continuous Reforming Unit

Catalytic reforming technology is one of the pillar technologies of modern oil refining and chemical industry. The catalytic reforming unit is an important unit for the production of high-octane gasoline, the deep processing of aromatics, and the supply of cheap hydrogen. It can adapt to market demand and transform from the production of fuel oil to the production of xylene. Hydrogen is a by-product in the reforming reaction process, and more than 50% of the hydrogen used by refineries comes from reforming units, and the cost is relatively low.

In 2018, the production and sales of China's auto market were lower than expected. For the first time, the production and sales of traditional fuel vehicles fell. However, new energy vehicles still showed a high-speed growth trend against the trend, and both production and sales exceeded 1 million for the first time. It is predicted that there will be about 5 million electric vehicles in 2020, and the consumption of alternative refined oil will be 6 million to 10 million tons, which is equivalent to 15 million tons/year of refining capacity. Therefore, the huge impact brought by new energy will force the transformation and adjustment of traditional oil refining business. Catalyzed gasoline is mainly used in gasoline pools of domestic refining and chemical enterprises, and catalytic gasoline accounts for about 70% of the gasoline pool. More stringent gasoline product indicators are coming soon, and the proportion of reformed high-octane gasoline transferred to the gasoline pool will be limited due to the high content of aromatics. In the future, reforming units will face challenges such as shrinking refined oil market and upgrading gasoline quality. 

Suggestions for optimization of reforming raw materials:

First, change from simple distillation range management to "distillation range + components" refined management mode. Due to the different naphtha compositions of different types of crude oil, the distillation range suitable for reforming feed varies greatly. The company's management of distillation range is component management to ensure that the content of C5 components in the reforming feed is not more than 0.5%, and the content of C11 components is not more than 2%, so as to improve the feed properties of the reforming unit and increase the efficiency of the unit.

The second is to optimize the production increase of reforming raw materials. Measures such as optimizing the operation of atmospheric and vacuum units, purchasing crude oil with high naphtha aroma potential, etc., increase the production of reforming raw materials; appropriately increase the conversion rate of hydrocracking units, and control the appropriate distillation range of heavy naphtha to optimize reforming raw materials; After hydrogen upgrading and hydrocoking naphtha meet the index requirements, it enters the reforming unit to broaden the source of reforming raw materials.

The third is to optimize regional raw materials and carry out mutual supply of naphtha raw materials in the region to maximize regional benefits; enterprises with two or more reforming units should improve the mutual supply process between devices to achieve zero emissions and shorten the start-up time.