ABSTRACT
Hydrotreatment originally included hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrification, and some hydrogenation. Gradually the hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons became specific with original processes and catalysts. Interest in these specific processes began during World War II (hydrofining ofalkylation feedstocks) but the kick-offwas in the sixties, with the booming growth of napththa cracking for olefins. These nonselective thermal processes produced a full range of unsaturated hydrocarbons. Hydrotreatment (as hydro-
TABLE 1 Various Hydrogenation Processes
Valuable Source Cut Impurity Product Use
Steam cracking C2's Acetylene Ethylene Petrochemistry C3's Methylacetylene/ Propylene Petrochemistry
propadiene C4's Vinylacetylene Butadiene Petrochemistry C4's Butadiene Butenes Petrochemistry C4's Butadiene I-Butene Petrochemistry Pyrolysis Dienes Olefins Gasoline pool Naphtha Aromatics
Catalytic cracking C3's Methylacetylene/ Propylene Gasoline pool or propadiene petrochemistry
(Dimersol)a C3's, C4's Methylacetylene/ Butenes Gasoline pool or
propadiene petrochemistry (Dimersol)a
Propylene (Alkylation or Butadiene oligomerization)
Fluid coking C3's C4's Butadiene Propylene Petrochemistry or gasoline pool
Pyrolysis Dienes Olefins Gasoline pool Naphtha
Hydrodealkylation B.T.x. Dienes Benzene Petrochemistry Olefins Thiophene
fining) was used for the removal of impurities by selective hydrogenation, e.g., selective hydrogenation ofacetylene in the ethylene-rich cut.
