ABSTRACT

Catalytic naphtha reforming (CNR) process was pioneered by UOP in the late 1940s to meet the burgeoning demand for high-octane motor fuels and has been a pivotal unit in petroleum refineries all over the world since its inception. The CNR process is specifically designed to convert naphtha to high-octane gasoline blending components called reformate. In the beginning of the 1950s, commercial naphtha reforming catalysts consist of monometallic platinum catalysts supported on chlorinated alumina. Moreover, the impurities in the different types of naphtha feedstock heavily affect the catalyst performance. The semiregenerative CNR process was developed as the first technology to meet the high-octane gasoline specification. One of the advantages of the cyclic CNR process is that it can be operated for a broader boiling point range of the feed, at lower pressures and hydrogen-to-feed ratios than the semiregenerative CNR process. The major reactions of the CNR process are dehydrogenation, dehydrocyclization, isomerization, and hydrocracking.