Thermal Integration of Sulfuric Acid and Continuous Catalyst Regeneration of Naphtha Reforming Plants

Abstract

An optimal reactor design is proposed that simultaneously improves the naphtha reforming reactor performance and increases sulfur trioxide production. In this new configuration, the naphtha reforming process as an endothermic reaction is coupled with the oxidation reaction of sulfur dioxide, which is an exothermic reaction. The differential evolution optimization technique is applied to maximize the produced amounts and yields of aromatics and hydrogen. The results obtained with the optimized thermally coupled reactor are compared with those of the conventional and thermally coupled reactors, proving the superiority of the proposed configuration.