What are the basic components of a catalytic reforming plant？

Basic components of a catalytic reforming plant，can be divided into two categories according to their production purpose: one for the production of high-octane gasoline blending components and the other for the production of aromatics (benzene, toluene and xylene, or BTX) as basic petrochemical raw materials. Catalytic reformers differ due to the different production purposes. For the production of high octane gasoline blending components, the catalytic reforming unit consists of three parts: raw material pretreatment, catalytic reforming reaction and product stabilisation; for the production of aromatics, in addition to the above three parts, the catalytic reforming unit also includes aromatic extraction and aromatic distillation.

1. Raw material pre-processing section
The precious metal catalysts used in catalytic reforming are very sensitive to the toxic effects of compounds such as sulphur, nitrogen, arsenic and copper. The requirements for impurity limits in the feedstock are also extremely stringent. The aim is to obtain a reforming feedstock with the required fraction range and impurity content.
2. Catalytic reforming section
The catalytic reforming system is used to convert low octane naphtha into high octane gasoline components or to produce chemical feedstocks with high aromatic content, while producing hydrogen by-products. It is carried out under pro-hydrogen conditions at a certain temperature, pressure and catalyst action. There are three main types of catalytic reforming processes, depending on how the catalyst is regenerated: semi-regenerative reforming, cyclic regenerative reforming and continuous reforming.
3. Catalytic reforming stabilisation section
The reforming oil from the reforming reactor contains, in addition to C6+ hydrocarbons, a small amount of C1~C5 light hydrocarbons, which are removed from the reformer before being sent out of the plant through a stabilisation tower (de-butane tower) or a de-pentane tower.

4. Aromatics extraction and distillation section
Aromatic extraction, also known as aromatic extraction, is a liquid-liquid extraction process that separates aromatics from a hydrocarbon mixture using an extractant. It is mainly used to recover light aromatics (benzene, toluene, various xylenes) from de-pentane oil in catalytic reforming stabilisation towers and sometimes naphthalene from catalytic cracked diesel. The non-aromatic residue after the aromatics have been extracted is known as pumped residual oil, and the aromatics extracted are mixed aromatics, including benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes and heavy aromatics. To obtain the monomeric aromatics, they are separated by distillation to obtain a high purity benzene product.