Alkad operations at Texaco`s El Dorado plant
- Texaco Inc., Houston, TX (United States)
- Texaco Refining and Marketing Inc., El Dorado, KS (United States)
- Texaco Inc., Nederland, TX (United States)
- UOP, Des Plaines, IL (United States)
Motor fuels alkylation technology using hydrogen fluoride (HF) as the catalyst has been widely used for over five decades. Texaco became concerned about the potential for HF impact upon neighboring communities following an Alkylation Unit incident at Texas City on October 30, 1987. In this incident, approximately 40,000 pounds of HF was accidentally released. After the Texas City incident Texaco joined a group of companies concerned about how to further improve HF Alkylation Unit safety. Tests showed that release of superheated HF liquid at typical Alkylation Unit temperatures and pressures will result in 100% of the HF forming an aerosol cloud that is denser than air. Additional tests confirmed that large amounts of spray water directed around a leak could reduce the amount of the HF aerosol moving downwind by about 90%. Due to concern about the ability to quickly detect a leak and immediate deliver large amounts of water to the leak location, Texaco pursued development of an additive to reduce HF aerosol formation. By 1994 Texaco and UOP had developed the HF Alkylation Additive Technology which will be licensed under the Alkad servicemark. The key to this technology is a class of additives that form stable complexes, onium polyhydrogen fluorides, with HF. The presence of this HF-complex both significantly reduces the aerosol-forming tendency of the Alkylation Unit circulating acid and improves the quality of the product alkylate. These benefits are achieved without decreasing unit throughput or increasing total acid inventory. The first commercial trial of the Alkad Technology began on September 14, 1994 at Texaco`s 11,500 BPOD Alkylation Unit in the El Dorado, Kansas Refinery.
- OSTI ID:
- 93354
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9503162-; TRN: IM9537%%398
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 93. annual meeting of the National Petroleum Refiners Association (NPRA), San Francisco, CA (United States), 19-21 Mar 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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