ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the three major distinctive catalytic reforming technologies and how they impact planning in oil refineries with respect to operations, fuels, and other product production and routine and turnaround maintenance. The cycle lengths of semiregenerative catalytic reforming unit operations could be in the range of 6 months to 2 years, and the actual cycle length achieved is dependent on naphtha feed qualities, process conditions, and reformate octane targets or severities. Paraffins, naphthenes, and aromatics in heavy naphtha feeds are reformed in catalytic reforming units. Key naphtha feed contaminants and their negative impacts on catalytic performance and fouling and corrosion of materials of construction are reviewed. Sulfur specifications for naphtha feeds to catalytic reformers are usually in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 wept. The specific reformer feed sulfur specification used is dependent on the catalyst type and the requirements of the refiner's catalytic reformer and refinery reliability programs.
