Modeling of Naphtha Reforming Reactors with Deactivation Parameter of Catalyst

In this work a naphtha catalytic reforming unit with three down flow reactors in series has been analyzed. A physical model is proposed to describe the catalytic reforming reactors. Two models have been selected for analyzing the process. The first model is a simple method based on the idealizing complex naphtha mixture by representing the paraffin, naphthene and aromatic groups as a single component. In the second model each of the previous three groups consist of C6-C9 hydrocarbon molecules, so in each group, there are four components, and paraffins are divided to iso and normal paraffins. Also in the present study, for industrial catalytic naphtha reforming catalyst a deactivation model is developed. The parameters for the deactivation model have been estimated using plant data. The results of the deactivation model show that increasing the weighted average inlet temperature (WAIT) can offset the decrease in the catalyst activity. By using the activity parameter (a) in the simulation models the obtained results are in a good accordance with actual operation unit data.

Keywords:

kinetic simulation , naphtha reforming , modeling