HYDROGEN AND OCTANE BOOSTING THROUGH A NOVEL CONFIGURATION CONSISTS OF ISOTHERMAL AND MEMBRANE NAPHTHA REFORMING REACTORS -A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The increasing demand for hydrogen and high octane gasoline in refineries can be addressed via utilizing alternative configurations for conventional catalytic naphtha reactors (CTR). In this regard, two case studies for a combination of isothermal and tubular membrane reactors are investigated in naphtha reforming process. The isothermal reactors are fabricated as a multi tubular reactor in a furnace. Some key parameters such as aromatic and hydrogen production rates and the aromatic content of reformate are investigated and some guidelines are proposed for the selection of a proper combination according to the desired aim of production. The simultaneous enhancement in products yield due to applying the Pd-Ag membrane layer and a slight temperature drop under an isothermal circumstance are achieved. The modeling results show that the combination of tubular membrane-isothermal-tubular membrane (MIM) reactors is a promising configuration for aromatic and hydrogen enhancement as well as achieving a desired aromatic content of the reformate.