The motor gasoline pool is made up of a mixture of blend stocks with specifications that vary region by region throughout the world. In the U.S., the gasoline pool consists of reformate, FCC naphtha, alkylate, poly gas, ethanol and straight run naphtha. To meet local specifications, the various blend stocks have to be treated in some manner. FCC naphtha, for example, has to be hydrodesulfurized to lower the sulfur content to meet current standards. This is preferably done with a “selective” process that retains its octane value, such as Lummus Technology’s CDHydro®/CDHDS® technology. Another example would be the need to decrease the benzene content of reformate at some refinery locations. Lummus Technology’s Benzene CDHydro® technology is an excellent means to do it.
In other parts of the world, ethers are blended into the gasoline pool as a source of oxygenates and octane. Our CDMtbe®, CDTame® and CDEthers® technologies use catalytic etherification to make these valuable blend components. Alkylate is an excellent, high-octane blending component which is well-accepted in the marketplace. Lummus Technology’s CDAlky® and AlkyClean® technologies offer the refiner a means to manufacture alkylate.
The chart illustrates that the FCC unit continues to provide a major portion of the gasoline pool. Lummus Technology is uniquely positioned to offer FCC technology that is unmatched in performance, robustness and flexibility.
