Two-step process for aromatics production from natural gas/shale gas condensates
The aromatics production system is useful for producing an aromatics-rich system product from a liquid hydrocarbon condensate includes a hydroprocessing reactor, an aromatization reactor system and a hydrogen extraction unit. The method for producing the aromatics-rich system product from the wide boiling range condensate includes introducing the wide boiling range condensate into the hydroprocessing reactor, operating the aromatics production system such that the hydroprocessing reactor forms a naphtha boiling temperature range liquid product, such that the aromatization reactor system forms the aromatics-rich system product, and such that the hydrogen extraction unit forms a high-purity hydrogen.
1. A method for producing an aromatics-rich system product from a wide boiling range condensate, the method comprising the steps of:
introducing the wide boiling range condensate and a high-purity hydrogen into a hydroprocessing reactor of an aromatics production system, where a volume ratio of the high-purity hydrogen to the wide boiling range condensate introduced is in a range up to 10:1;
operating the aromatics production system such that:
the hydroprocessing reactor forms both a light product gas mixture and a naphtha boiling temperature range liquid product, where the naphtha boiling temperature range liquid product consists of naphtha boiling temperature range liquid product components having true boiling point temperatures no greater than 220° C.;
the naphtha boiling temperature range liquid product passes to an aromatization reactor system and the light product gas mixture passes to a hydrogen extraction unit;
the aromatization reactor system forms the aromatics-rich system product, a hydrogen-rich gas product, and a non-aromatic liquid product, where the non-aromatic liquid product comprises C 9+ paraffins and naphthenes and less than 5 wt. % aromatics;
the hydrogen-rich gas product passes to the hydrogen extraction unit and at least a portion of the non-aromatic liquid product passes to the aromatization reactor system;
the hydrogen extraction unit forms the high-purity hydrogen and a mixed hydrogen-poor gas, where the mixed hydrogen-poor gas comprises no less than 70 wt. % C 1-5 alkanes; and
the high-purity hydrogen passes to the hydroprocessing reactor.
2. The method of claim 1 where a portion of the wide boiling range condensate has a true boiling point (TBP) temperature greater than 233° C.
3. The method of claim 2 where the portion of the wide boiling range condensate comprises up to 75 wt. % of the wide boiling range condensate.
4. The method of claim 1 where the wide boiling range condensate has a final boiling point (FBP) temperature in a range of from about 400° C. to about 565° C.
5. The method of claim 1 where a portion of the wide boiling range condensate has a true boiling point (TBP) temperature of less than 25° C.
6. The method of claim 5 where the portion of the wide boiling range condensate comprises up to 20 wt. % of the wide boiling range condensate.
7. The method of claim 1 where the wide boiling range condensate comprises paraffins in a range of from 60 wt. % to 100 wt. % of the wide boiling range condensate.
8. The method of claim 1 where the wide boiling range condensate comprises naphthenes in a range of from 60 wt. % to 100 wt. % of the wide boiling range condensate.
9. The method of claim 1 where the wide boiling range condensate comprises aromatics in a range up to 40 wt. % of the wide boiling range condensate.
10. The method of claim 1 where the aromatics production system is operated such that the aromatics-rich system product comprises benzene in a range of from 2 wt. % to 30 wt. % of the aromatics-rich system product.
11. The method of claim 1 where the aromatics production system is operated such that the aromatics-rich system product comprises toluene in a range of from 10 wt. % to 40 wt. % of the aromatics-rich system product.
12. The method of claim 1 where the aromatics production system is operated such that the aromatics-rich system product comprises xylenes in a range of from 8 wt. % to 30 wt. % of the aromatics-rich system product.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of operating the aromatics production system such that the high-purity hydrogen also passes to the aromatization reactor system.
14. The method of claim 13 where the volume ratio of the high-purity hydrogen to the feeds introduced into the aromatization reactor system is maintained in a range up to 6.
15. The method of claim 1 where the aromatics production system is operated such that all of the non-aromatic liquid product produced by the aromatization reactor system is reintroduced into the aromatization reactor system.
16. The method of claim 1 where the aromatics production system is operated such that at least a portion of the non-aromatic liquid product passes to the hydroprocessing reactor.