Abstract
The catalytic naphtha reforming process is key to producing high-octane gasoline. Dozens of components are involved in this process in hundreds of individual catalytic reactions. Calculations of concentrations at equilibrium, using equilibrium constants, are commonly performed for a small number of simultaneous reactions. However, the Gibbs free energy minimization method is recommended for the solution of complex reaction systems. This work aims to analyze, from the point of view of thermodynamic equilibrium, the effect of temperature, pressure, and the H2/HC ratio on the reactions of the catalytic reformation process and evaluate their impact on the production of high-octane gasoline. Gibbs’s free energy minimization method was used to evaluate the molar concentrations at equilibrium. The results were compared with those obtained in the simulation of a catalytic reforming process to evaluate the optimal conditions under which the process should operate.
Highlights
The maximum amounts of products formed from a specific reaction are achieved at equilibrium under specific pressure and temperature [1]
Catalytic reformers are designed for flexibility in operation, and changes in operating parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and H2/HC ratio, which affect reformate quality and yield
The effect of temperature, pressure, and H2/HC ratio on the products obtained from the naphtha reforming process was studied at equilibrium conditions and in the presence of Pt/Al2O3 catalyst
Summary
The maximum amounts of products formed from a specific reaction are achieved at equilibrium under specific pressure and temperature [1]. There are two general approaches for calculating chemical equilibrium compositions for multi-reaction systems based on the minimum free energy: the constant equilibrium method and the free energy minimization method. The overall reactions are written, and their equilibrium constants are calculated. The mathematical expressions for the equilibrium reaction equations are usually non-linear, and their number and complexity increase as the number of species in a reaction increases. Some of the disadvantages of this method are complications for the appropriate component selection; numerical troubles with compositions that become extremely small; inconvenience in testing for the presence of some condensed species; difficulties in extending the generalized method to non-ideal equations of state [1,2,3]
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