(106a) Integrated LPG Upgrading Process Using Divided Wall Columns

Divided Wall Columns can be used to effectively implement Process Intensification (PI). This paper will look at the application of DWC to form a novel combination of technologies to convert components of LPG, propane and butane into gasoline and diesel blendstocks. The increase in shale oil and gas operations in North America is generating abundant and low-cost supplies of LPG while also increasing the market for high-octane gasoline and low-temperature diesel blendstocks.

The new supplies of LPG and increased pricing differentials between oil, gas and LPGs has provided an economic incentive to review advancements in individual technologies and look at them using process intensification techniques. The use of a Divided Wall Column with a coupled reactor is shown to significantly simplify a process for converting LPGs into higher value products.