Selective poisoning of aromatization catalysts to increase catalyst activity and selectivity

1. An aromatization reactor vessel comprising:

(i) a reactor wall;

(ii) a catalyst bed positioned within the reactor vessel;

(iii) an outer annulus positioned between the reactor wall and an outer particle barrier, the outer particle barrier and the outer annulus surrounding the catalyst bed;

(iv) a reactor inlet for a feed stream; and

(v) a reactor outlet connected to a center pipe, the center pipe positioned in the reactor vessel and surrounded by the catalyst bed;

wherein the catalyst bed comprises an outer reforming zone and an inner reforming zone, the outer reforming zone comprising a deactivated first aromatization catalyst comprising a first transition metal and a first catalyst support, and the inner reforming zone comprising a second aromatization catalyst comprising a second transition metal and a second catalyst support;

wherein a flow path for the feed stream begins at the reactor inlet; continues to the outer annulus; through the outer particle barrier, the outer reforming zone, and the inner reforming zone; into the center pipe; and to the reactor outlet; and

wherein the deactivated first aromatization catalyst has an aromatics yield of less than 5 wt. %.

2. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein:

the aromatization reactor vessel is configured for a catalytic conversion of a non-aromatic hydrocarbon to an aromatic hydrocarbon comprising benzene, toluene, xylenes, or combinations thereof; and

the deactivated first aromatization catalyst is configured to not catalyze an aromatization reaction.

3. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein:

the first transition metal and the second transition metal comprise platinum;

the first catalyst support and the second catalyst support comprise a KL-zeolite and a binder comprising alumina, silica, a mixed oxide thereof, or a mixture thereof; and

the deactivated first aromatization catalyst and the second aromatization catalyst further comprise chlorine and fluorine.

4. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein:

a weight ratio of catalyst in the outer reforming zone to the inner reforming zone is in a range from about 10:1 to about 1:10;

an amount of carbon on the deactivated first aromatization catalyst is in a range from about 1 wt. % to about 10 wt. %; and

an amount of carbon on the second aromatization catalyst is in a range from about 0.01 wt. % to about 0.5 wt. %.

5. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein the deactivated first aromatization catalyst is configured to not catalyze a cracking reaction.

6. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein:

the aromatization reactor vessel is configured as a radial flow reactor;

the center pipe and the catalyst bed are positioned concentrically; and

the aromatization reactor vessel is configured for decreasing temperature from the outer annulus to the center pipe.

7. An aromatization reactor vessel system comprising from two to eight aromatization reactor vessels in series, wherein at least one is the aromatization reactor vessel of claim 1 .

8. An aromatization reactor vessel comprising:

a reactor wall;

(ii) a catalyst bed positioned within the reactor vessel;

(iii) an outer annulus positioned between the reactor wall and an outer particle barrier, the outer particle barrier and the outer annulus surrounding the catalyst bed;

(iv) a reactor inlet for a feed stream; and

(v) a reactor outlet connected to a center pipe, the center pipe positioned in the reactor vessel and surrounded by the catalyst bed;

wherein the catalyst bed comprises an outer reforming zone and an inner reforming zone, the outer reforming zone comprising a deactivated first aromatization catalyst comprising a first transition metal and a first catalyst support, and the inner reforming zone comprising a second aromatization catalyst comprising a second transition metal and a second catalyst support; and

wherein a flow path for the feed stream begins at the reactor inlet; continues to the outer annulus; through the outer particle barrier, the outer reforming zone, and the inner reforming zone; into the center pipe; and to the reactor outlet;

wherein the deactivated first aromatization catalyst has an aromatics yield of less than 5 wt. %; and

wherein the second aromatization catalyst comprises less than about 0.5 wt. % carbon.

9. The vessel of claim 8 , wherein a weight ratio of catalyst in the outer reforming zone to the inner reforming zone is in a range from about 1:1.5 to about 1:5.

10. The vessel of claim 8 , wherein:

the first transition metal and the second transition metal comprise platinum;

the first catalyst support and the second catalyst support comprise a KL-zeolite and a binder comprising alumina, silica, a mixed oxide thereof, or a mixture thereof; and

the first aromatization catalyst and the second aromatization catalyst further comprise chlorine and fluorine.

11. The vessel of claim 10 , wherein the deactivated first aromatization catalyst and the second aromatization catalyst, independently, comprise from about 0.5 wt. % to about 2 wt. % of platinum.

12. The vessel of claim 8 , wherein the first catalyst support and the second catalyst support comprise a silica-bound KL-zeolite.

13. The vessel of claim 8 , wherein the deactivated first aromatization catalyst comprises from about 1 wt. % to about 10 wt. % carbon.

14. The vessel of claim 13 , wherein the deactivated first aromatization catalyst is configured to not catalyze an aromatization reaction.

15. The vessel of claim 8 , wherein the reactor vessel is configured for an aromatics yield at the reactor outlet that is greater than that obtained using a spent first aromatization catalyst, instead of the deactivated first aromatization catalyst, in the outer reforming zone.

16. The vessel of claim 15 , wherein the spent first aromatization catalyst comprises from about 1 wt. % to about 10 wt. % carbon.

17. The vessel of claim 15 , wherein the spent first aromatization catalyst has a catalyst activity greater than that of the deactivated first aromatization catalyst.

18. The vessel of claim 17 , wherein the reactor vessel is configured for an aromatics selectivity at the reactor outlet that is greater than that obtained using the spent first aromatization catalyst, instead of the deactivated first aromatization catalyst, in the outer reforming zone.

19. An aromatization reactor vessel system comprising from two to eight aromatization reactor vessels in series, wherein at least one is the aromatization reactor vessel of claim 8 .