Development and improvement of extraction processes for separation and purification of petroleum products

Abstract

At present, more than 150 industrial installations for extraction of aromatic hydrocarbons with sulfolane from products formed in pyrolysis and catalytic reforming of gasoline fractions are in use in the world. About 9 million tons of benzene, toluene, and xylene is annually produced by extractive rectification (Morphylane) and extraction (Morphylex) with N-formylmorpholine on 55 industrial installations [1]. Mixtures of N-formylmorpholine and N-acetyl-morpholine are also used in the Morphysorb process for absorption purification of natural gas and industrial gases with high content of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide [2]. The Sulfinol process is widely used for absorption of hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur-bearing compounds from hydrocarbon gases and hydrogen. This process employs a mixed absorbent composed of a chemisorbent (diisopropanolamine), water, and sulfolane as a physical solvent [3].