Study of Industrial Naphtha Catalytic Reforming Reactions via Modelling and Simulation

Abstract

Steady state and dynamic modelling and simulation of catalytic reforming unit of Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company, NNPC (Nigeria) was carried to find out the behaviour of the reactions under both steady and unsteady state conditions. The basic model together with kinetic and thermodynamic parameters and properties were taken from the literature but is developed in gPROMs (an equation oriented modelling software) model building platform for the first time rather than in MATLAB or other modelling platform used by other researchers in the past. The simulation was performed using gPROMs and the predictions were validated against those available in the literature. The validated model was then used to monitor the behaviour of the temperature, concentrations of paraffins, naphthenes and aromatics with respect to both time and height of the reactor of the industrial refinery of Nigeria. Hydrogen yield, Research octane number (RON) and temperature profiles are also reported. The components behave similarly in terms of reactions in the reactors but the time to attain quasi-steady state is different. The results are in good agreement with the industrial plant data.

Chemical and Process Engineering

“…With advent in importance of hydrogen as a source of energy and also due to its reducing nature, implication of an external supply of nitrogen is common in many semi-regenerative facilities. This ensures purity of hydrogen obtained and also guarantees safety and the uniformity required in heating the catalyst, so that the coke deposits burn off uniformly (Yusuf et al, 2019). Besides physical removal, coke can also be removed by oxidizing it in a controlled manner.…”

Synthesis and Determination of Active Acidic/Basic Sites on Zn Loaded Zeolite (ZSM-5) Catalyst & Its Role in Catalytic Reforming of Naphtha Using HPMR Reactor

“…However, in zeolites, aluminium typically exists in the 3+ oxidation state so that aluminium-oxygen tetrahedra form centres that are electrically deficient one electron. Thus, zeolite frameworks are typically anionic [12], and charge compensating cations populate the pores to maintain electrical neutrality. These cations can participate in ion-exchange processes, and this yields some important properties for zeolites.…”

Modeling and Parameter Tuning for Continuous Catalytic Reforming of Naphtha in an Industrial Reactor System

“…For example, Iranshahi et al have simulated an industrial CCR configuration involving four reactors in series [6], which leads to a system of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) in radial and vertical directions. By contrast, Al-Shathr et al and Yusuf et al have modeled industrial SRR configurations (four reactors) [37,53], which lead to nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in the vertical direction in their steady state models [37,53] and partial differential equations in their dynamic model [37]. Also, some researchers have modeled other novel reactor configurations, e.g., thermally coupled reactors in CCR pilot plants [4,47] and a membrane moving-bed reactor [10].…”