STABILISATION

The top product from the atmospheric distillation column (IBP–140°C cut) is a
mixture of hydrocarbon gases, e.g., methane, ethane, propane, butane, and
naphtha vapours. Methane, ethane, propane, and butane exist in gaseous form,
whereas naphtha vapours liquify at ambient temperature and atmospheric
pressure.
Hence, if the overhead product is kept at atmospheric pressure, these valuable
liquifiable fuel gases will be lost to the atmosphere. The initial boiling point
(IBP) of this mixture will vary due to the relative presence of these gases. These
gases are easily separated from naphtha by distillation in a multiplated column
where the top product is the mixture of gases containing methane to butanes and
the bottom product is stabilised naphtha boiling in the range of C5–140°C. A
typical stabiliser column is shown in Figure 1

Fig.1. A typical stabilisation column.

AMINE ABSORPTION
Gases from the stabiliser go to a gas plant where hydrogen sulfide associated
with hydrocarbons is removed by solvent extraction, usually by diethyl amine
(DEA) solution. In a plated tower, the solvent flows down and the gases flow up
the column countercurrently. Used amine solvent containing hydrogen sulfi de
emerges from the bottom of the tower and the top of the column produces
hydrocarbon gases free of hydrogen sulfide. The amine solution containing
hydrogen sulfide is regenerated in a separate steam stripper. A typical amine
absorber and a regenerator are shown in Figure 2

Fig.2. Diethyl amine absorption and regeneration unit for H2S removal.

DE-ETHANISER
A gas mixture from the amine wash column enters a de-ethaniser column where
methane and ethane are separated from the propane and butanes by distillation.
This is a distillation column where a preheated feed gas mixture is introduced in
the tower, reboiled by a heater at the bottom of the column, and refluxed by the
top product from the reflux drum located at the top of the tower to separate the
methane and ethane gases from the rest. The top product from this column is
sent to a fuel gas system for the furnaces used in the refinery. However, top
gases may also be used as a source of petrochemicals and hydrogen. The bottom
product is a mixture of propane and butanes that are sent to a meroxing unit for
the removal of mercaptans. A typical de-ethaniser is shown in Figure 3

Fig.3. De-ethaniser unit.

MEROXING AND CAUSTIC WASH

Merox is an abbreviation of the words “mercaptan oxidation,” which is done
catalytically in a packed bed reactor. Mercaptans are a sulfur compound of
hydrocarbons and are designated as RSH, where “R” is the alkyl radical, “S” is
the sulfur atom, and “H” is the hydrogen atom. Mercaptans are highly corrosive,
hence their presence in petroleum products is not desirable. Mercaptans can be
extracted by a caustic solution, a process known as extractive merox (as shown
in Figure 4).
 Fig.4. An extractive merox unit.
Mercaptans can also be catalytically converted to disulfides (cobalt salt in the
form of a chelate compound as the catalyst containing in a charcoal packed
bed). Disulfide (RS)2 are not corrosive as mercaptans and remain with the
product. This type of treatment is called sweetening merox (as shown in Fig.5).
The following reaction takes place in a caustic solution.

Fig.5.Sweetening merox treatment for gasoline

NaOH + RSH = NaSR + H2O

Sodium mercaptide “NaSR” formed is further oxidised to disulfide in the
presence of air and the catalyst as
NaSR + RSH + 1/2O2 = NaOH + (RS)2

This step also regenerates sodium hydroxide. Meroxing is usually done for
liquified petroleum gas (LPG), kerosene, and gasoline. Sodium mercaptides of
the low molecular weight mercaptans present in LPG separates out from the gas
mixture and is extracted from the product, a process known as extractive merox.
For gasoline and kerosene, heavier sodium mercaptans remain in the oil phase
and are converted to disulfide in reaction, i.e., sweetening merox is carried out.
Though meroxing is a convenient method for reducing the corrosiveness of the
product, both mercaptans and disulfides produce sulfur compounds of oxygen
(SOx), which is a major pollutant to the environment, therefore, meroxing is
replaced by catalytic hydrodesulfurisation in modern refineries.
LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS SPLITTER
Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) mainly contains a mixture of propane and
butane with traces of methane and ethane left after de-ethanisation. Propane and
butane can be separated from LPG by distillation in a plated tower, the top
product is enriched propane and the bottom product is butane. In refi neries that
use propane as the solvent for the propane deasphalting unit or as a refrigerant,
they can obtain their propane requirement from such a distillation column,
commonly known as an LPG splitter. Butane is either recycled to LPG or
blended in gasoline to adjust the Reid vapour pressure (RVP). A typical LPG
splitter column is shown in Figure 6
 Fig.6. LPG splitter to separate propane and butane

NAPHTHA REDISTILLATION
As already mentioned , a naphtha stream is obtained from the stabiliser bottom,
which is normally liquid boiled in the range of C5–140°C, which means
hydrocarbons having carbon number five and hydrocarbons boiling up to 140°C
are present in the mixture. This is further separated into two fractions in a
column where the top is the lighter fraction, C5–90°C, and the bottom is 90°C–
140°C. This lighter fraction is suitable for petrochemical plants in the
production of olefins and hydrogen because of the presence of paraffinic
hydrocarbons, whereas the heavier naphtha is suitable for the production of high
octane gasoline and valuable petrochemicals like benzene (B), toluene (T), and
xylenes (X). A typical naphtha redistillation column is shown in Figure 7.
 Fig.7.A naphtha redistillation unit

NAPHTHA PRETREATMENT
A catalytic reforming unit uses platinum as the catalyst to convert naphtha into
high octane gasoline or aromatics. As a platinum catalyst is easily poisoned by
the presence of sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, and metallic components, it is essential
to pretreat naphtha before reforming. This, in fact, is done simultaneously in a
catalytic hydrogen pretreatment reactor.
Naphtha stream, i.e., 90°C–140°C fraction, from the naphtha redistillation
column is usually desulfurised in a catalytic hydrogenation unit and is then sent
to a platinum reforming unit where high octane gasoline or aromatics (BTX) are
produced. In this unit, naphtha is preheated by a train of heat exchangers and
further heated in a pipe-still heater to a temperature of 350°C in the presence of
hydrogen under a pressure of 20–25 kg/cm2 over a catalyst (Co-Mo sulfides
supported on alumina) packed bed reactor.
The following types of reactions take place in the reactor.
Desulfurisation reaction:
RSH + H2 = RH + H2S ↑.
Deoxygenation reaction:
ROH + H2 = RH + H2O ↑.
Denitrogenation reaction:
RNH + H2 = RH + NH3 ↑.
Demetallation reaction:
RM + H2 = RH + *MH.
*MH indicates metals adsorbed on the surface of catalyst.

The feed naphtha is premixed with hydrogen and heated by preheaters and a
tubestill heater to raise the temperature up to 350°C at a pressure of 20–25
kg/cm2. The product mixture from the reactor is cooled to 50°C and fl ashed in a
separator vessel to release unreacted hydrogen, which is then recycled back to
the reactor. The product mixture containing hydrocarbon gases (C1–C4),
hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, moisture, etc., are steam stripped in a plated
column. Desulfurised naphtha comes out as the bottom product which is further
cooled before it is sent to storage. A flow sheet of naphtha pretreatment is
shown in Fig.8.
 Fig.8.A naphtha pretreatment unit.

NAPHTHA PLATINUM REFORMING (PLATFORMING)

Desulfurised naphtha (90°C–140°C) is catalytically converted to high octane
gasoline by the reaction of a platinum (now platinum–rhenium) catalyst in a
reactor in a hydrogen environment. This type of treatment is also known as
platforming. The major reactions involved during platforming are
dehydrogenation, isomerisation, and dehydrocyclisation along with a small
amount of hydrocracking and hydrogenation reactions. The following are
examples.

Desulfurised naphtha and hydrogen are mixed and preheated by heat exchangers
followed by heating in a tube-still furnace to raise the temperature of the vapour
mixture to around 500°C. The reaction temperature is 470°C at the start of the
run (SOR), i.e., when the catalyst is fresh or regenerated. A traditional reformer
catalyst contains 0.3–0.35% wt of platinum. Since, during the reaction, coke
formation takes place over the surface of the catalyst, the reactivity of the
catalyst comes down and the temperature has to be raised to maintain the
uniform reactivity. When the catalyst is used for about a year, the temperature
has to be maintained near 520°C. The temperature is not raised further to avoid
permanent damage to the catalyst. However, deactivation due to coke laydown
is temporary and can be removed by burning the coke in the presence of air
during regeneration. However, damage due to high temperatures above 600°C is
permanent because of the sintering of the catalyst; hence the temperature at the
end of the run (EOR) is never allowed to increase above 520°C. Traces of
sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen present in the feed naphtha permanently deactivate
the catalyst and that is why naphtha pretreatment (as discussed earlier) is carried
out before reforming. In order to reduce coke formation, it is essential to
maintain hydrogen circulation at a desired partial pressure. Usually a minimum
of 5 mol of hydrogen per mole of feed naphtha must be maintained during the
reaction. The total pressure of the system is about 25–30 kg/cm2. Usually, three
reactors in a series are employed while regeneration is carried out for all the
reactors after complete shutdown of the unit. Alternatively, four reactors may be
employed while three reactors, in fact, are in service and the fourth reactor
(swing reactor) is taken out for regeneration. This unit does not require
complete shut down and hence production is not affected. A typical reforming
unit is shown in Figure 9. Three reactors are used in this flow sheet; the first
two are spherical in shape while the last one is cylindrical. The catalyst is
loaded and distributed in these reactors in the ratio of 15:35:60 by percent
weight of the total weight of the catalyst loaded, respectively. Since the overall
reactions are endothermic in nature, the product temperature falls while exiting
from a reactor and is reheated by the intermediate furnace before it enters the
second and third reactor. Finally, the product mixture is cooled and separated
from hydrogen by flashing in a vessel at a temperature of 50°C. Hydrogen from
this vessel is partly recycled back to the reactors and a part is sent to other
hydrogen consuming units in the refinery. The product from the bottom of the
separator vessel is sent to a plated column to separate the butane and lighter
hydrocarbons from the final product, known as the debutanised reformate,
which is cooled before storage.

Fig.9. A naphtha reforming unit for gasoline

KEROSENE HYDRODESULFURISATION
Straight run kerosene (SKO, ATF, MTO, RTF) fractions from the atmospheric
unit contain sulfur as compounds of hydrocarbons. This sulfur is catalytically
hydrogenated to hydrogen sulfi de and is thus removed from the kerosene
fractions. This process is similar to the naphtha pretreatment process. Here,
kerosene feed is mixed with hydrogen and preheated to 250°C–260°C followed
by heating in a tube-still furnace to raise the temperature further to around
350°C. This hot mixture then enters a fixed bed reactor containing a bed of
cobalt or nickel-molybdenum catalysts. The products are hydrogen sulfide,
ammonia, and moisture, which are formed due to reactions with hydrogen and
sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen-containing hydrocarbons. A small amount of C1–
C5 hydrocarbon gases may also be formed due to the cracking reactions. Excess
hydrogen is always used to maintain sufficient partial pressure of hydrogen for
the reactions and also to suppress coke formation. Excess hydrogen is separated
from the cooled products in a high-pressure separator drum and recycled.
Desulfurised liquid kerosene, containing dissolved hydrogen sulfide, moisture,
ammonia, and hydrocarbon gases, is then stripped off in a stabiliser column.
Gases from the top of this stabiliser may be treated in an amine absorption unit
before it is used as a refinery fuel. A flowsheet diagram of a kerosene
hydrodesulfurisation unit (KHDS) is shown in Figure 10. Usually, hydrogen
consumption in a KHDS unit and the naphtha pretreatment unit is not much,
however, hydrogen generated in a reforming unit is more than suffi cient and, in
fact, excess is used elsewhere, as in the lube hydrofinishing unit in a refinery.

Fig.10. A kerosene hydrodesulfurisation unit.

DIESEL HYDRODESULFURISATION
The main ingredient of diesel oil is the straight run atmospheric gas oil, i.e., the
straight run diesel fraction. However, many other fractions, such as distillates
from a vacuum distillation unit (vacuum gas oil (VGO), spindle oil (SO)
fraction), by-products from a vis-breaking unit (VB gas oil), light cycle oil from
a fl uid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, and heavy naphtha fractions, join in a
diesel pool. Thus, diesel contains a lot of sulfur that is removed in a catalytic
hydrogenation unit similar to the KHDS unit described. The only difference is
that higher hydrogen pressure (about 40–50 kg/cm2) is required to remove
sulfur from the heavier sulfur-containing hydrocarbons present in the diesel oil.
Because of this, mild hydrocracking reactions may occur and produce cracked
C1–C5 hydrocarbon gases. High-pressure separation of hydrogen and
stabilisation of the final product is also similar to the KHDS unit. A typical
diesel hydrodesulfurisation (DHDS) unit is shown in Figure 11. Since hydrogen
consumption is larger and variable with the rate of production of diesel
fractions, a separate hydrogen generation unit is required.

Fig.11. A typical DHDS unit.

SOLVENT EXTRACTION
Vacuum distillates (SO, IO, HO) and also the deasphalted oil from the residue
(bright stock) are suitable for the production of LOBS, which are the main
ingredients of finished lubes (which are, in fact, obtained by blending metallic
soaps and additives along with the LOBS). In order to meet the desired quality
of lubes, certain properties, such as viscosity, viscosity index, pour point, fl ash
point, carbon residue, foaming tendencies, sulfur content, and colour, must be
adjusted by secondary processing after vacuum distillation. Solvent extraction is
the traditional process for adjusting the viscosity index of the oil by partially
removing the aromatic hydrocarbons, which are high viscosity and low
viscosity index components. Solvents, such as phenol, furfural, and nitro methyl
pyrolodine (NMP), are commonly used in refineries. These solvents have a high
affi nity to aromatic hydrocarbons, which are solubilised by these and form a
different layer or phase, called extract.
The rest of the oil lean with aromatics are separated as the raffinate. The amount
of separation of aromatic hydrocarbons by the solvent depends mainly on the
operating parameters, such as solvent-to-oil ratio, temperature, partial solubility
with the nonaromatic compounds present in the oil, or selectivity. Solvent and
oil are contacted in a plated column usually in a rotating disc contactor (RDC)
type gentle agitator provided over the plates through a common rotating shaft.
The down coming stream is gradually enriched with aromatics and finally
drawn from the bottom of the column as the extract. The uprising stream is
gradually lean with aromatics and rich with paraffins and other non-aromatics
and finally emerges as the raffinate stream. In fact, complete removal of
aromatics from oil is not desirable as aromatics are the main contributors to the
viscosity of the oil and hence removal of aromatics is carefully selected based
on the required adjustment of the viscosity and viscosity index of the final
product. Solvent from both the extract and raffinate phases is recovered by
steam strippers and is recycled back to the extraction column. A typical furfural
extraction unit is shown in Figure 12.
 Fig.12. A furfural extraction unit

PROPANE DEASPHALTING
Liquid propane is a good solvent for hydrocarbon oil and mainly rejects heavy
hydrocarbons (asphaltenes) and non-hydrocarbons present as asphalt in the
vacuum residue. Hence, propane is used as a solvent for extracting oil from
vacuum residue or SR. The extracted oil is known as deasphalted oil, which is
suitable LOBS (Lube oil base stock) for making high viscous lubricants, the
viscosity index is then corrected by selective solvent extraction of aromatics, as
discussed in the previous section. A deasphalting column is also a plated tower
where the down coming stream becomes rich with asphalt and emerges from the
bottom of the tower as the raffinate and uprising stream becomes rich with the
deasphalted oil and finally emerges as the extract. Propane is separated by
vaporising both the extract and raffi nate streams in separate steam strippers. A
typical propane deasphalting unit is shown in Figure.13.
 Fig.13.A propane deasphalting unit.

SOLVENT DEWAXING
Solvent-treated vacuum distillates and deasphalted oil, as discussed in the
previous sections, are further treated to adjust the pour point of the oil. Normal
paraffinic hydrocarbons present in the oil have a high solidifi cation temperature
and form wax as the solid or semi-solid mass of hydrocarbons. There are paraffi
nic molecules that can solidify even at room temperature. Since lubricating oil
is used at various temperatures, ranging from very low to very high
temperatures, it is essential that lubricating oil does not solidify in this range of
temperatures. Hence, the pour point (a few degrees above the solidifi cation
temperature) of lube oil must be low. Though paraffins (mainly normal
varieties) are responsible for wax formation, wax is defined as the hydrocarbon
matter that solidifi es at a temperature below –20°C (or the lowest temperature
of the environment determined by the usage). Wax-forming hydrocarbons are
selectively removed by low temperature freezing and separation. This is usually
carried out by mixing the feed oil with a solvent, such as methyl ethyl ketone,
benzene, or toluene, mixed in various proportions to prevent crystallisation of
the wax-forming molecules in the precoolers and chillers, until they are
separated from the solvents along with the desired oil components through a
filter. A typical dewaxing plant, as shown in Figure 14, uses a vacuum drum
filter where the solvent–oil mixture is sprayed over a fi lter cloth on a rotary
drum enclosed in an inert atmosphere. The wax crystallises over the fi lter cloth
and is scraped out with a scraping blade (also known as doctor’s knife) in a
continuous manner. The drum is divided into four chambers, for fi ltering,
washing, purging, and scraping. Each section is connected separately with the
vacuum, inert gas or steam, solvent, and filtrate oil collection systems through a
rotary valve arrangement. The drum is partially submerged in a vessel
containing the oil–solvent mixture and, as it rotates, the various chambers come
in contact in succession. When the filtering zone comes in contact with the oil–
solvent mixture, separation of the wax from oil starts and a wax layer is
developed on the surface of the filter cloth. As this section is about to leave the
oil–solvent level, the wax cake is completely developed over the filter cloth and
the majority of oil is dewaxed. As the drum enters the washing section, an
additional solvent is sprayed over the wax cake, which removes the entrapped
oil, if any, and is removed by the vacuum connection of that section. As the
cake reaches the purging section, inert gas purges the cake adhering to the cloth
surface in order to loosen the wax cake to aid easy removal of the wax in the
next section. This helps prevent the pores of the filter cloth from being plugged
by wax. As the scraping section is entered, loose wax cake travels under a blade
and is scraped from the cloth. Sometimes, steam is also purged to free the pores
of the cloth. The scraped wax is then passed over a steam-heated screw
conveyor to a wax collection pit.
 Fig.14.A solvent dewaxing unit.

HYDROFINISHING
Dewaxed oil from the dewaxing unit contains sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, and
organometallic compounds, which must be removed to improve the quality of
LOBS. Sulfur is present as mercaptans and as heteroatomic hydrocarbons in oil
and is responsible for the corrosive effects. Nitrogen compounds are responsible
for the colour of the lube. Metallic compounds are responsible for unwanted
deposition and may cause degradation of metallic surfaces in contact with the
lube. Corrosiveness due to the presence of oxygen compounds for the formation
of acid may occur. High molecular weight olefinic or unsaturated compounds,
especially diolefi ns, may give rise to poor oxidation stability.
In the hydrofinishing unit, catalytic hydrogenation is carried out in a fi xed bed
reactor. A nickel–molybdenum or tungsten catalyst is used at a high partial
pressure of hydrogen. Temperature and pressure are maintained at around
350°C and 50–80 kg/cm2, depending on the feedstock to be treated.
The reactions involved over the catalyst are similar to those already discussed in
the naphtha pretreatment unit. A typical hydrofinishing unit for dewaxed oil is
shown in Figure 15. It is to be noted that in a lube processing plant extraction,
dewaxing and hydrofi nishing operations are carried in a chain for each distillate
separately, e.g., IO cycle, HO cycle, and BS cycle. The capacity of the units in a
chain must be designed to handle the maximum production of the desired
vacuum distillates

Fig.15.A catalytic lube hydrogen finishing unit.

HYDROGEN GENERATION
Hydrogen is essential for the various processing units in any modern refinery,
e.g., catalytic hydrogen-aided processes, such as desulfurisation,
denitrogenation, demetallation, hydrogenation of aromatic and unsaturates,
hydroisomerisation, and hydrocracking. Although hydrogen is obtained as the
by-product from platforming reaction from naphtha, it is not suffi cient for all
the hydrogen-aided processes. Hence, a separate hydrogen plant is essential to
produce hydrogen of the required quantity and purity. Electrolysis of water
produces purest hydrogen but at an enormous cost, hence commercial hydrogen
is obtained from petroleum or coal. Depending on the type of feed used,
commercial hydrogen processes are gas-, naphtha-, or coal-based plants. Coal-
based hydrogen plants are the oldest and are mainly used for the production of
water gas, producer gas, and synthesis gas. Gas-based plants use methane as the
raw material, which reacts with steam in the presence of a catalyst to generate
hydrogen. Naphtha-based plants use naphtha with a low aromatic content as the
raw material, which generates hydrogen in the presence of steam and a catalyst.
These processes were mainly developed for the production of synthesis gas (a
mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen) required for ammonia production in fertiliser
plants. Hydrogen yield is maximum from methane and it decreases with heavier
feedstocks (C: H ratio increases). Since heavier petroleum produces coke,
catalysts are quickly deactivated; therefore methane is preferred in most
commercial processes. Alternatively, carbon monoxide from partial oxidation of
heavy petroleum is used to produce hydrogen in the presence of steam. Hence,
the selection of the routes of hydrogen manufacturing processes depends on the
availability of the raw material, the purity and yield of the hydrogen, and the
cost of separation of the by-products and their value. Catalyst are mainly nickel
based, usually supported on alumina. Since sulfur, arsenic, and some other
elements are found to be permanent poisons to this catalyst, raw material must
be desulfurised and treated to remove the poisons before reforming. A steam
reforming plant consists of a feed desulfurisation unit, a primary reformer, a
secondary reformer, shift converters, a carbon dioxide absorber, a methanator,
and a hydrogen purifi cation unit. The purpose of each unit is described in brief
in the following subsections.
FEED DESULFURISATION
When the feed is methane or hydrocarbon gases, sulfur compounds are mainly
present in the form of hydrogen sulfi de and mercaptans, hence the gases must
be treated with amine solution to absorb the hydrogen sulfi de, followed by
catalytic desulfurisation using a cobalt–molybdenum oxide catalyst in the
presence of hydrogen. The reactions are similar to those described earlier in the
catalytic hydrodesulfurisation processes. For naphtha or heavier petroleum
feedstocks, the second step of desulfurisation is carried out
PRIMARY REFORMING
Desulfurised gas or naphtha preheated and mixed with steam is passed through
a catalyst-packed (nickel) tube-still furnace where hydrogen is obtained due to
the following reactions.
Dehydrogenation reactions:

Cracking reactions:

where n < 5 for gases other than methane and n > 4 for naphtha and heavier hydrocarbons.
Each dehydrogenation reaction is endothermic and proceeds at a temperature of around
850°C. The above reactions are also associated with coke formation and condensation of
aromatics and unsaturates. Suppression of the generation of coke and unsaturates is done by
high partial pressure of hydrogen. By-product aromatics and cracked hydrocarbons are
always formed and further reformed in the secondary reformer.
SECONDARY REFORMING
At this stage, unconverted methane or hydrocarbons are partially oxidised to
carbon monoxide and hydrogen. In a fertilizer plant, ammonia is obtained from
nitrogen and hydrogen (1:3 ratio) as the feed gas mixture, known as synthesis
gas. Nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are obtained
from steam reforming reactions with hydrocarbons. While oxygen is consumed
to oxidise the hydrocarbons to carbon monoxides and nitrogen as the inert.
Reactions are simply incomplete combustion reactions and are highly
exothermic in the presence of excess steam.

The overall reaction is, therefore

The temperature of the reaction is maintained above 1000°C in the absence of a

catalyst.
SHIFT REACTORS
Carbon monoxide formed in the secondary reformer is converted to an
additional hydrogen at this stage by reacting with steam.

This is an exothermic reaction and in order to dissipate the heat, this reaction is
carried out at two temperature ranges, one at high temperature (HT) between
400°C and 450°C and the other at low temperature (LT) between 200°C and
300°C. In the HT reactor, an iron oxide–chromium oxide catalyst is used and in
the LT reactor, a copper-zinc catalyst is used. About 65%–80% of the carbon
monoxide is converted to hydrogen in the HT reactor and the balance takes
place in the LT reactor.
HYDROGEN PURIFICATION
Gas mixture coming from the LT shift reactor contains much steam, carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, unconverted hydrocarbons, nitrogen, and hydrogen.
Cooling of the gas mixture separates the steam as water and the dehydrated gas
mixture is then passed through a series of adsorbers cyclically operated to
adsorb the gases, except hydrogen, in a pressure swing adsorption unit.
Hydrogen purifi ed by this method produces 99.99% pure hydrogen. A naphtha
steam reforming plant for the production of hydrogen is shown in Figure 16

Fig.16. A modern plant for hydrogen manufacture by steam reforming of naphtha.