January 2020
Process Optimization
A new liquid-phase isomerization process for xylene loop debottleneck and energy savings
In a typical xylene loop, C8 aromatics are fractionated out of a heavy reformate C8+ aromatics stream and collected in the xylene column overhead. Then, paraxylene (PX) from the C8 aromatics stream is recovered as product—usually by an adsorption or crystallization process—in the PX recovery section.
The Authors
Sachin Mhatre is the Group Lead at RIL’s Center of Excellence for Aromatics and LAB. He holds a BTech degree in technology in chemical engineering from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University in India. He has more than 15 yr of experience in operations and technology. His current role is to provide high-end technology support to process units and capital projects.
Vasant Warke is a Technology Head for aromatics and LAB units at Reliance Industries Ltd. He has more than 20 yr of experience in operations and technical services. He is responsible for providing high-end services to process units and ensuring performance and reliability compliance. He holds an MChem degree in engineering from Mumbai University in India.
Arnold Choi is the Technology Leader for the Rotterdam Chemical Plant in the Netherlands. He joined ExxonMobil in 2003 as a process engineer and has since worked in various positions in multiple international locations within manufacturing and technology. Mr. Choi has held several leadership roles in turnarounds, project development, execution and startups, and has held global leadership roles in multiple aromatics technology areas. He now leads improvement initiatives in Rotterdam and supports major global ventures. Mr. Choi holds a BS degree in chemical engineering and applied chemistry from the University of Toronto.
Michel Molinier is a Technical Sales Manager with EMCL, currently handling technical sales for all ExxonMobil xylenes processes licensed by EMCL or its partner Axens. He has nearly 20 yr of experience in petrochemical processes and 30 yr of experience in heterogeneous catalysis. Dr. Molinier joined ExxonMobil Chemical Co. in 2001 as a senior chemist and worked on several research projects prior to transferring to licensing activities in 2005. He has since held various commercial and technical positions within EMCL. He earned an MS degree in physical chemistry from the University of Bordeaux in France, along with a PhD in solid state chemistry from Philipps Universität Marburg in Germany.
Avinash Saple is the Aromatics Synergy Project Lead with ExxonMobil Singapore. He has more than 20 yr of experience in the petrochemical industry, most of it related to aromatics. Mr. Saple joined ExxonMobil Chemical Co. as an Aromatics Process Technology Support engineer in 2008 and has worked in multiple aromatics technology areas. Mr. Saple holds a BTech degree in petrochemical engineering from DBATU–India and an MTech degree in chemical engineering from IIT in Mumbai.
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