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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalytic reforming | 4/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalytic_reforming | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:46:30.409156+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Weaknesses and competition == The sensitivity of catalytic reforming to contamination by sulfur and nitrogen requires hydrotreating the naphtha before it enters the reformer, adding to the cost and complexity of the process. Dehydrogenation, an important component of reforming, is a strongly endothermic reaction, and as such, requires the reactor vessel to be externally heated. This contributes both to costs and the emissions of the process. Catalytic reforming has a limited ability to process naphthas with a high content of normal paraffins, e.g. naphthas from the gas-to-liquids (GTL) units. The reformate has a much higher content of benzene than is permissible by the current regulations in many countries. This means that the reformate should either be further processed in an aromatics extraction unit, or blended with appropriate hydrocarbon streams with low content of aromatics. Catalytic reforming requires a whole range of other processing units at the refinery (apart from the distillation tower, a naphtha hydrotreater, usually an isomerization unit to process light naphtha, an aromatics extraction unit, etc.) which puts it out of reach for smaller (micro-)refineries. Main licensors of catalytic reforming processes, UOP and Axens, constantly work on improving the catalysts, but the rate of improvement seems to be reaching its physical limits. This is driving the emergence of new technologies to process naphtha into gasoline by companies like Chevron Phillips Chemical (Aromax and NGT Synthesis (Methaforming,).
== Further reading == Lichtarowicz, Marek. "Cracking and related refinery". Retrieved 2017-12-03.
== References ==
== External links ==
Oil Refinery Processes, A Brief Overview Colorado School of Mines, Lecture Notes (Chapter 10, Refining Processes, Catalytic Refinery by John Jechura, Adjunct Professor) Students' Guide to Refining (scroll down to Platforming) Modern Refinery Website of Delft University of Technology, Netherlands (use search function for Reforming) Major scientific and technical challenges about development of new refining processes Archived 2006-11-24 at the Wayback Machine (IFP website)