Selective and flexible production of synthetic gasoline

Abstract

A production plant and a method for production of a synthetic gasoline product from a synthetic hydrocarbon mixture produced by post-treatment of a synthetic gasoline product including less than a specified concentration of olefins, such as 6 vol % or 11 vol % from a first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture produced from a mixture of reactive oxygenates, the first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture having T90 of less than 140° C. and including at least the specified concentration of olefins and a second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture, produced from a mixture of reactive oxygenates, the second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture having T90 of more than 150° C., the method including: a. directing the second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture to contact a material catalytically active in hydrocracking under effective hydrocracking conditions, to provide a hydrocracked second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture, b. directing the first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture to contact a material catalytically active in olefin hydrogenation, to provide a hydrogenated hydrocarbon mixture.

1 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product from a first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture produced from a mixture of reactive oxygenates, said first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture having T90 of less than 140° C. and comprising at least 6 vol % or 11 vol % of olefins and a second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture, produced from a mixture of reactive oxygenates, said second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture having T90 of more than 150° C. said method comprising the steps of:
 a. directing the second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture to contact a material catalytically active in hydrocracking under effective hydrocracking conditions, to provide a hydrocracked second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture, and 
 b. directing said first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture to contact a material catalytically active in olefin hydrogenation, to provide a hydrogenated hydrocarbon mixture, 
 wherein said hydrocracked second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture is either added to the first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture upstream contacting said material catalytically active in olefin hydrogenation or it is added to hydrogenated hydrocarbon mixture, downstream contacting said material catalytically active in olefin hydrogenation to provide said synthetic gasoline product comprising less than 6 vol % or 11 vol % olefins. 
 
     
     
         2 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product according to  claim 1 , wherein effective hydrocracking conditions involve a temperature in the interval 250-425° C., a pressure in the interval 30-150 Bar, and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) in the interval 0.5-4, optionally together with intermediate cooling by quenching with hydrogen, feed or product and wherein the material catalytically active in hydrocracking comprises (a) one or more active metals taken from the group platinum, palladium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten and molybdenum, (b) an acidic support showing cracking activity, and (c) a refractory support. 
     
     
         3 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product according to  claim 1 , wherein effective hydrogenation conditions involve a temperature in the interval 220-350° C., a pressure in the interval 30-150 Bar, and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) in the interval 0.5-4, optionally together with intermediate cooling by quenching with hydrogen, feed or product and wherein the material catalytically active in hydrocracking comprises 0.1% to 20% of one or more active metals taken from the group platinum, palladium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten and molybdenum and a refractory support. 
     
     
         4 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product according to  claim 1 , wherein said first synthetic hydrocarbon mixture and said second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture are provided by fractionation of a synthetic hydrocarbon mixture produced from a mixture of reactive oxygenates, optionally after one or both synthetic hydrocarbon mixtures having contacted a material catalytically active in a hydroprocessing process under active hydroprocessing conditions. 
     
     
         5 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product according to  claim 4 , wherein said fractionation provides a third synthetic hydrocarbon mixture, having a T90 above that of said second synthetic hydrocarbon mixture and wherein said third synthetic hydrocarbon mixture is directed to contact a material catalytically active in hydrocracking under active hydrocracking conditions, to provide a hydrocracked third synthetic hydrocarbon mixture, which is included in said synthetic gasoline product, either by addition upstream said fractionation or by addition in a position downstream said fractionation. 
     
     
         6 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product from a synthetic hydrocarbon mixture produced from a mixture of reactive oxygenates comprising the steps of:
 i. fractionating the synthetic hydrocarbon mixture in at least a low boiling hydrocarbon fraction and an intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction,   ii. directing at least an amount of said intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction to contact a material catalytically active in isomerization under effective isomerization conditions to provide an isomerized intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction,   iii. directing at least an amount of said isomerized intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction to contact a material catalytically active in hydrocracking under effective hydrocracking conditions to provide a hydrocracked intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction, and   iv. combining at least an amount of said low boiling hydrocarbon fraction with said hydrocracked intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction to provide a hydrogenation feed stream and directing this hydrogenation feed stream to contact a material catalytically active in hydrogenation under effective hydrogenation conditions providing a hydrogenated hydrocarbon product stream.   
     
     
         7 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product from a synthetic hydrocarbon mixture produced from a mixture of reactive oxygenates according to  claim 6 , further comprising the steps of:
 v. further separating the synthetic hydrocarbon mixture in a higher boiling fraction comprising at least 70% of the molecules comprising 10 or more carbon atoms present in the hydrocarbon mixture,   vi. directing at least an amount of said higher boiling hydrocarbon fraction as a hydrocracking feedstock to contact a material catalytically active in hydrocracking under effective hydrocracking conditions providing a hydrocracked hydrocarbon stream, and   vii. separating said hydrocracked hydrocarbon stream, in the same or an additional separation step, to provide a high boiling hydrocracked hydrocarbon stream and an intermediate boiling hydrocracked hydrocarbon stream,   wherein at least an amount of said intermediate boiling hydrocracked hydrocarbon stream, is added to at least an amount of either said intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction or said isomerized intermediate boiling hydrocarbon fraction.   
     
     
         8 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product according to  claim 7 , wherein effective hydrocracking conditions involve a temperature in the interval 250-425° C., a pressure in the interval 30-150 Bar, and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) in the interval 0.5-4, optionally together with intermediate cooling by quenching with hydrogen, feed or product and wherein the material catalytically active in hydrocracking comprises (a) one or more active metals taken from the group platinum, palladium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten and molybdenum, (b) an acidic support showing cracking activity, and (c) a refractory support. 
     
     
         9 . A method for providing a synthetic gasoline product according to  claim 6 , wherein effective isomerization conditions involves a temperature in the interval 250-350° C., a pressure in the interval 30-150 Bar, and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) in the interval 0.5-8 and wherein the material catalytically active in isomerization comprises one or more active metals in their active form taken from the group elemental platinum, elemental palladium, elemental nickel, sulfided nickel, sulfided cobalt, sulfided tungsten and sulfided molybdenum, one or more acidic supports, and an amorphous refractory support comprising one or more oxides taken from the group comprising alumina, silica and titania. 
     
     
         10 . A process for production of a synthetic gasoline product from a feedstock comprising methanol, said process comprising the steps of:
 A. directing a stream comprising methanol to contact a material catalytically active in methanol to gasoline conversion providing a raw synthetic gasoline,   B. stabilizing said raw synthetic gasoline by separating a fraction boiling below 40° C. from the raw synthetic gasoline, thereby providing a synthetic hydrocarbon mixture, and   C. directing said synthetic hydrocarbon mixture to react according to a method according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         11 . A gasoline post-treatment unit for combining and post-treating two streams of synthetic hydrocarbons, a low boiling hydrocarbon inlet, comprising an intermediate boiling hydrocarbon inlet and an upgraded synthetic gasoline product outlet, an post-treatment hydrocracking unit, having an inlet and an outlet and a hydrogenation unit having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the intermediate boiling hydrocarbon inlet is in fluid communication with said post-treatment hydrocracking unit inlet and said post-treatment hydrocracking unit outlet is in fluid communication with either said hydrogenation unit inlet or said upgraded synthetic gasoline product outlet, and said low boiling hydrocarbon inlet is in fluid communication with said hydrogenation unit inlet and the hydrogenation unit outlet is in fluid communication with the upgraded synthetic gasoline product outlet. 
     
     
         12 . A process plant for production of a synthetic gasoline product comprising a gasoline post-treatment unit according to  claim 11 , and a hydrocarbon synthesis section having an oxygenate inlet and a synthetic hydrocarbon outlet, a gasoline splitter section, having an inlet and at least a low boiling hydrocarbon outlet, an intermediate boiling hydrocarbon outlet and a high boiling hydrocarbon outlet and a hydrocracking section having an inlet and an outlet, and an optional isomerization section having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the gasoline splitter section inlet is in fluid communication with the synthetic hydrocarbon outlet, wherein if the optional isomerization section is absent, the intermediate boiling hydrocarbon outlet is in fluid communication with the low boiling hydrocarbon inlet of the gasoline post-treatment unit or wherein if the optional isomerization section is present, the intermediate boiling hydrocarbon outlet is in fluid communication with the inlet of the optional isomerization section and the outlet of the optional isomerization section is in fluid communication with the low boiling hydrocarbon inlet of the gasoline post-treatment unit, wherein the high boiling hydrocarbon outlet is in fluid communication with the hydrocracking section inlet and the hydrocracking section outlet is in fluid communication with the gasoline splitter section inlet, or in fluid communication with a further means of separation having an high boiling hydrocarbon outlet in fluid communication with the gasoline splitter section inlet and an intermediate boiling hydrocarbon outlet in fluid communication with either the intermediate boiling hydrocarbon outlet of the gasoline splitter section or the intermediate boiling hydrocarbon inlet of the gasoline post-treatment unit.