Process and apparatus for alkylating and hydrogenating a light cycle oil (UOP)

CATEGORY: ALKYLATION 

Process and apparatus for alkylating and hydrogenating a light cycle oil (UOP)

Type	Patent
Inventor	Deng-Yang Jan
Inventor	Vasant P. Thakkar
URL	Free Full Text Source:  http://www.google.com/patents/US20140213835
Assignee	Uop Llc
Patent Number	US20140213835 A1
Issue Date	Jul 31, 2014
Abstract	One exemplary embodiment can be a process for alkylating and hydrogenating a light cycle oil. The process can include passing the light cycle oil, one or more C2-C6 alkenes, and hydrogen through a reaction vessel containing an alkylation zone and a hydrogenation zone. Generally, the hydrogen is at least partially comprised from a hydrocarbon product stream from a fluid catalytic cracking zone. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to a process and apparatus for alkylating and hydrogenating a light cycle oil. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART Generally, some of the demand for transportation fuel has been shifting toward a middle distillate, such as diesel fuel. A light cycle oil (hereinafter may be abbreviated “LCO”) can have a boiling point range that may fall within the diesel range. The LCO is typically blended into the diesel pool. However, the quantity of blended LCO may be limited because the typical level of contaminates in the LCO can be high and the cetane number may be low, making LCO undesirable as a diesel fuel. One approach to upgrading LCO may include hydrotreating. Unfortunately, although this approach can reduce sulfur amounts to meet specifications, a significant amount of hydrogen may be required. In many refineries, hydrogen may be in a limited supply and can be a relatively valuable commodity. Another approach may be subjecting the LCO to hydrotreating followed by selective ring opening. The hydrogen consumption may be even higher than for deep hydrotreating, and significant amounts of gasoline may be produced along with the desired diesel fraction. Gasoline may be co-produced because the activation energy for the ring opening may be greater than for the dealkylation or side chain cracking Therefore, it is difficult to open the aromatic rings without dealkylating the side chains. However, refineries may have significant amounts of light alkenes, e.g., C2-C6 alkenes, generated by units such as fluid catalytic cracking Generally, it would be beneficial to convert C2-C6 olefins to a middle distillate fuel product, such as diesel, instead of gasoline in some instances. At a minimum, it would be advantageous to provide the refinery the flexibility to manufacture a desired fuel to meet the current demand.