GTC Technology (Houston; www.gtctech.com) has provided its low-temperature Isomalk-2 process technology for the successful startup of a light naphtha isomerization unit at the Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Ltd. (BPCL) refinery in Mumbai, India. The unit will produce an isomerate gasoline blend stock component. The overall process includes a naphtha hydrotreating and fractionation section, isomerization section and a first-of-a-kind GT-TDWC (Top Dividing Wall Column) installation.
While most operating DWCs are characterized by a wall placed in the middle of the column, this was a unique application with the dividing wall running from the top of the column. In this configuration, the column has two separate sets of condensing systems and offers significant flexibility in terms of producing different levels of food grade hexane.
Unit operation started in March 2017. GTC provided a single-source responsibility for process license, basic engineering design, catalysts and chemicals, equipment supply and process guarantees. “We are glad to announce the start-up of the first light naphtha isomerization unit in India based on the high-performance non-chlorinated SI-2 mixed metal oxide catalyst,” said Joseph C. Gentry, GTC’s Vice President, Licensing and Technology. “We are confident that BPCL will enjoy the robust, reliable performance of the Isomalk-2 process alongside the CAPEX and OPEX benefits of GT-TDWC.”
GTC Technology, based in Houston, Texas, is a global licensor of aromatics and polyester intermediates processes, offering many novel and cutting-edge processes. These include Isomalk-2, Isomalk-3, Isomalk-4, GT-BTX PluS, GT-TolAlk and others.