Objective
Objectives
Gasoline together with diesel fuel are the most important fuels in the transportation sector. A number of refinery processes are relevant to the manufacture of gasoline: fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), catalytic reforming, alkylation and isomerisation. From these processes alkylation has started to play an increasingly significant role in the strategic planning and operation of modern refinery plants.
Alkylate is manufactured via a liquid acid-catalyzed coupling of isobutane with butenes. The liquid catalysts used today in the oil refineries are hydrofluoric (HF) and sulphuric (H2SO4) acids. In order to operate safely with less toxic and corrosive liquid catalysts extensive safety measures are taken. These measures, however, are responsible for the high cost of the alkylation process.
The development of solid acid catalysts for paraffin alkylation has been a dream for decades both in industry and academia. Recently there has been a tremendous growth of activity in this area. A breakthrough has been realized by applying modern zeolites (i.e. BEA, EMT) in a well-mixed two-phase slurry reactor.
The overall objective of this proposal is to arrive at a base case for a commercial demonstration of a solid acid-catalyzed alkylation process in the period after 1998.
Technical Approach
Essential elements of the proposed programme are (1) development of improved zeolite catalysts and fundamental diffusion investigations, (2) optimal design and scale up of a two-phase slurry reactor and catalyst regeneration system, and (3) process integration and economic evaluation.
Expected Achievements and Exploitation
After development of the base case, the process will be demonstrated in a pilot plant set-up. Upon successful demonstration of the process, OMV and Statoil, two large refinery companies in Europe, will apply the results of the research within their refineries. The reseach institutes SINTEF, University Twente and CPERI-FORTH will use the results of the project for additional research purposes. The solid acid alkylation process will be commercialized by Kinetics Technology International B.V.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels liquid fuels
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry inorganic compounds
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
2715 CA Zoetermeer
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.