Hydroconversion of liquid hydrocarbons in a staged autothermal reactor Original Research Article

An autothermal staged reactor was assembled containing a top stage of Rh-Ce/α-Al2O3 which generated heat and H2 by reacting CH4 and air that passed through a downstream stage containing 0.5 wt% Pt/γ-Al2O3 mixed with either HBEA, HZSM-5, or USY in a heat-integrated non-isothermal reactor. The H2 produced subsequently reacts in a 20:1 ratio with a co-feed of hexane or decane or 2-decanone fed to the reactor between the stages. The large-sized pores of HBEA and USY allowed deoxygenation of 2-decanone to form decene isomers which can crack or cyclize to form up to a 36% yield of methylated and ethylated monoaromatics. The medium-sized pores of HZSM-5 restricted decene formation from 2-decanone by catalyzing cracking reactions to C2−6 compounds which can cyclize to form aromatics. By contrast, the reactor effluent from non-oxygenated reactants decane and hexane contained less than 5% aromatics. Thus, we extend the scope of staged autothermal reactor functionality to hydrocracking and hydroisomerization of higher saturated and oxygenated hydrocarbons.