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The Great Thing About the Web Is … It’s Free! Of course, freedom comes at a price. And when it comes to actually finding something on the Web, that price is measured in time. That said, sometimes good things just fall into your lap, as did the item below. I was searching for something else when I found it, but I recognized its value when I saw it. Maybe it will be useful to you, as well.

Beyond Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD): Technology Enhancements to Improve Distillate Product Quality
Salvatore Torrisi
Criterion Catalysts & Technologies Business Manager – Distillate Catalysts Houston, USA Tel: +1 281 874 2605 Fax: +1 281-874-2641
Sal.Torrisi@CRI-Criterion.com
Okke de Boks#
Shell Global Solutions International BV Licensing Technology Manager Amsterdam, Netherlands Tel: +31 20 630 3241 Fax: +31 20 630 2056
Okke.deBoks@shell.com
Ujjwal Manna
Shell Technology India Pvt Limited (Shell Global Solutions Division), HydroProcessing Lead, Bangalore ,
Ujjwal.Manna@shell.com

Highly technical, but worth the effort because of its explanation of already commercialized desulfurization approaches. One technology described is …

Selective Ring Opening (SRO)
“The objective of SRO is to provide three things: an upgraded diesel product quality (density, aromatics, cetane), a distillate selective reaction pathway and a minimum hydrogen consumption alternative. By delivering on all three of these benefits, SRO provides a very economically attractive upgrading route. Similar to aromatic saturation discussed previously, the SRO chemistry is enhanced by the clean nature of the ULSD product. Catalyst acidity is carefully controlled to avoid full hydrocracking that would result in yield shift to naphtha. Like EAS, the SRO catalysis can occur in a single stage reactor system since base metal reaction promoters are typically used. The multi-functional catalysts used in the SRO system permit some naphthenic molecules to “exit” the reversible aromatic saturation loop (Figure 2), increasing the overall conversion, particularly in operating regimes that can be limited by thermodynamic equilibrium. Thus, the SRO catalyst systems can deliver comparable cetane at reduced hydrogen consumption (Figure 5), and are less sensitive to EOR conditions where hydrogenation conditions deteriorate.”

Here is the abstract of the paper …

ABSTRACT
“With the initial wave of ULSD production well established in many areas of the world, attention has turned toward maximizing the use of these new assets as well as looking forward to anticipate future requirements. The ULSD platform is ideal for providing the opportunity to further upgrade diesel quality, since the chemistry/catalysis for cetane improvement, aromatics reduction, cold flow improvement, density reduction, biodiesel processing and conversion can be achieved by applying the right catalyst and process system. Criterion and Shell Global Solutions will discuss a range of commercially proven options for customers to achieve one or more of these additional diesel-upgrading objectives via simple catalyst changes all the way to new unit designs. These solutions can significantly improve overall refinery economics by leveraging this critical ULSD asset, providing flexibility to upgrade heavier feeds to make more diesel, maximize Light Cycle Oil (LCO) into the on-road diesel pool, provide capability to process more difficult crude, and make products to export into higher values markets.”

You can read the full text of the article at …
http://www-static.shell.com/static/criterion-gb/downloads/pdf/ww_newsletter/cct_augsept_09.pdf

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