Zeoforming

1
Siberian Technological Company Zeosit
Zeoforming A catalytic process for production
of unblended high-octane gasolines
Glimar Refinery, Poland. The process of
Zeoforming is started in February 1997.
Rustavi, Georgia. The process of Zeoforming is
started in March 2002.
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PREHISTORY (1990-1997)
The Zeoforming technology is developed and
applied in industry in construction of autonomous
installations for high-octane (RON 92-96) motor
gasoline production of capacity 5 to 350-500
thousand tons per year with respect to the raw
material straight-run gasoline fraction (SRG)
for a fixed catalyst bed process. For a process
using moving catalyst bed, the possibility is
proved to increase capacity up to one million
tons per year with respect to straight-run
gasoline fraction.
The industrial technology of Zeoforming and the
catalyst production technology are developed by
SEC Zeosit SB RAS and protected by more than 30
RF patents. SEC Zeosit possesses the exclusive
right of licensing the use of Zeoforming and
develops Basic Engineering for installations of
motor fuel production through the Zeoforming
process.
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THE CHEMICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE PROCESS
The process of Zeoforming is based on the
reactions of catalytic conversion of paraffins
and naphthenes over zeolite-containing catalysts.
During the Zeoforming process the reactions of
C-C bonds splitting, isomerization, hydrogen
redistribution, and alkylation of the initial
hydrocarbons and of the intermediate compounds
result in conversion of low-octane hydrocarbons
(naphthenes and unbranched paraffins) into
high-octane components (iso-paraffins, arenes).
Due to molecular-sieve properties of the
catalyst, the branched high-octane paraffins
undergo practically no conversion. The sulphuric
compounds of the raw material are also converted
into high-octane components during the Zeoforming
process, e.g. via demercaptanization, with H2S
emission into the gaseous phase. As a results,
Zeoforming increases the octane number of the
straight-run gasoline from 45-60 MON to 72-86 MON
(76-95 RON) and decreases the content of sulphur
to 0.02-0.05 wt.
The yield of the final products depends on type,
quality, and fractional composition of the raw
material and on the mode of operation of the
installation. For the mode of normal gasoline
production, the yield of gasoline reaches 80-92
and in case of regular gasoline it is 70-80 of
the raw material fed. The second final product is
liquefied gas.
Besides straight-run gasoline fractions,
olefin-containing gases of cracking and pyrolysis
and oxygen-containing organic compounds may also
be used as raw material in Zeoforming.
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ADVANTAGES
As compared with the conventional processes,
Zeoforming has a number of considerable
advantages

• The catalysts are developed on the basis of an
  environmentally safe system containing no
  expensive noble and heavy metals
• The catalyst is insensitive to sulphur content,
  so no hydrofining of the raw material of sulphur
  and nitrogen-containing compounds is required
• The reactions converting the sulphuric compounds
  of the raw material, including demercaptanization,
  result in the total sulphur content in the
  liquid products not exceeding 0.02-0.05 wt.
• Through the process of Zeoforming, a wide range
  of hydrocarbon raw material can be converted
• Zeoforming doesnt use hydrogen and the related
  compressor equipment
• The process proceeds under lower pressures
  (0.5-1.5 MPa) and temperatures (340-450?C) thus
  decreasing power consumption by 20-30
• Due to essentially lower content of aromatic
  hydrocarbons and, particularly, of benzene
  meeting the modern international standards, the
  gasolines produced are more ecologically safe
• The gasolines produced dont require any
  blending
• The process is profitable for capacities above 5
  000 ton/year with respect to the raw material.

The said advantages result in a considerable
decrease of capital and operational costs.
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) The second desired product is LPG. The ratio
of the gasoline and LPG yields is provided
according to the market demands.
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SEC Zeosit SB RAS has two versions of the
technology of Zeoforming.
Version I.
The main products of the process are high-octane
gasoline (HOG, the yield is 65-80) and liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG, the yield is 20-30).
Version II.
The main products of the process are HOG (the
yield is 85-90) and LPG (the yield is 8-10).
According to the results of the expertise
performed by the American company Purvin Hertz
Inc., in the countries with a high demand for LPG
import (e.g. the countries of South America,
China, Poland etc.), the first version of
Zeoforming has good economical and technological
prospects while in the countries with a limited
market for LPG, the main product should be HOG
and the second version is to be applied.
In both versions, HOG meets the international
standards which are coming into force since 2003,
namely
the content of
doesnt exceed
After analysis of the group and fractional
composition and other properties of the raw
material proposed, SEC Zeosit can determine the
possible yields of HOG and LPG for each version
of the Zeoforming process.
In both cases, desulfurization of the raw
material is achieved during the process of
Zeoforming without using hydrogen or hydrogen
facilities.
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In the course of high-octane gasoline
production through Zeoforming technology
desulphurization of the raw material proceeds
simultaneously.
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INDUSTRIAL IMPLEMENTATION
I
Since 1992 the first industrial Zeoforming
installation of 5 thousand ton/year capacity with
regard to raw material is in operation at
Nizhnevartovsk Gas-Processing Plant.
II
In February, 1997 a Zeoforming installation of
40 thousand ton per year capacity was put into
operation at Glimar Refinery in Gorlice, Poland.
The installation had been designed and
constructed by Lurgi Company (Germany) with the
use of license and Basic Engineering of SEC
Zeosit SB RAS.
The raw material of the installation is a stable
gas gasoline. The final product of the
installation is unblended normal-grade gasoline.
If the installation is switched to another raw
material straight-run gasoline, the yield of
motor gasoline grows up to 82-85 wt. The
lifetime of the catalyst is over 1.5 years.
The installation is designed to produce unblended
motor gasoline Eurosuper-95 from straight-run
gasoline of octane number 45-65 MON. The second
desired product of the installation is liquefied
gas.
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PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF ZEOFORMING
INSTALLATION AT GLIMAR REFINERY
On the basis of analysis of 5-year run factual
results, an expert commission made the following
conclusions

• The desired products of the process are
  high-octane motor gasoline ready for use without
  blending and liquefied gas, the total yield of
  the desired products being not less 92-95 wt.
• The high-octane components of the gasolines
  produced are iso-paraffins (30-50) and aromatic
  hydrocarbons (25-45), the content of benzene not
  exceeding 1.5 wt. Such composition meets the
  modern European quality standards. In the process
  of conversion, the ON of gasoline increases from
  45 MON to 82-86 MON, or 92-95 RON.
• The obtained liquefied gas contains 40-42
  propane, 30-32 n-butane, and 26-28 wt.
  isobutane, the content of olefins not exceeding
  1. Such composition of the liquefied gas allows
  its use as a fuel both for domestic purposes and
  for automobiles.
• Due to simultaneously proceeding reactions of
  conversion of sulphuric compounds in the raw
  material including demercaptanisation, the
  process goes steadily without previous
  desulphurisation and hydrogen application.
• The switching reaction-to-regeneration system is
  completely automatic at all stages and has proved
  its high reliability by a 5-year
  trouble-free operation.
• The installation meets all the requirements of
  economical and technological efficiency and
  reliability. The investments were completely
  repaid in 1.5 years after starting the
  installation.

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DYNAMICS OF COSTS AND PROFITS DEPENDING ON THE
INSTALLATION CAPACITY (the data concern the
production of regular to premium gasolines)
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE NET PRESENT VALUE
(NPV) FOR THE INSTALLATIONS OF HIGH-OCTANE
GASOLINE PRODUCTION VIA ZEOFORMING AND REFORMING
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Diagram of conversion of oil fractions or gas
condensate into motor fuels through different
processes
Diagram 1. Conventional scheme (Reforming and
isomerization)
Diagram 2. Zeoforming technology
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III
An industrial Zeoforming installation of capacity
40 thousand ton/year is started in Rustavi,
Georgia in March 2002.
IV
Industrial production of the catalyst is put into
operation at JSC Novosibirsk Plant of Chemical
Concentrates. Catalyst supply is guaranteed for
the whole period of operation.
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PROSPECTS
An industrial Zeoforming installation of capacity
40 thousand ton/year is designed and constructed
by IRV Corporation in Bishkek, Kirghizia using
license and Basic Engineering of SEC Zeosit and
is now prepared for being started. Its feedstock
is gasoline fraction of oil or of gas condensate.
In November 2001 a demonstrational Zeoforming
installation of capacity 0.2 ton/day with respect
to the raw material using moving catalyst bed
technology was put into operation in Daejeon
city, South Korea.
The installation was constructed by Samsung
Engineering Company, Ltd. (South Korea) with the
use of Basic Engineering, technology, and
catalyst developed by SEC Zeosit SB RAS.
Starting this demonstrational installation opens
the opportunity to increase the capacity of the
Zeoforming process up to 1 million ton/year.
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POLYFUNCTIONAL CATALYSIS
I.
Petroleum fractions T boiling 180-450?C
II.
A number of technologies for motor fuels
production from non-petroleum raw materials are
developed and tested at the pilot level
The above technologies open a possibility to
solve a number of problems, both ecological (CO2
discharge reduction and wastes utilization) and
strategical in the framework of the general GTL
(gas to liquid) strategy.