Henrick Rasmussen - Haldor Topse Inc.
With the new low sulfur gasoline spec of 10 wtppm going into effect earlier this year most US refiners are having to increase the hydrotreating severity of the FCC naphtha, which will result in additional octane loss.
Selective catalysts and feed manipulation can lessen the octane loss and the overall impact on the refinery economics. This paper will describe the levers available to the refinery to reduce the octane loss. We will also illustrate the comprehensive process model that Topsoe uses to calculate the octane loss for various feedstock and feed components. The model is molecular based and sums up the octane impact on each molecule processed through the hydrotreating unit.
The presentation will also highlight a new process technology for gasoline post treatment to 10 wtppm product sulfur that will significantly reduce the octane loss. Topsoe licenses this process technology for grassroots units, but can revamp existing gasoline post treatment units to utilize this technology. The octane savings obtained is typically about 2/3 to 3/4 of the octane loss observed with today’s conventional process technology at the same product sulfur.
Henrik Rasmussen graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1989 with a degree in chemical engineering before relocating to the United States in 1991. He has worked at Haldor Topsoe for more than 25 years and has held a number of technical and management positions for all of Topsoe’s business units. Mr. Rasmussen is currently the Vice President of Catalyst and Technology and, in that capacity, is responsible for the catalyst and license technology business for the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.