Better alky from treated olefins

This paper discusses mild hydroprocessing of the olefin feed to alkylation units to give substantial improvements in unit performance. For example, the alkylate product can have increased octane ratings and the unit's acid consumption can be reduced. The results are credited to the treatment that reduces the feed's butadiene content and isomerizes butene-1 into butene 2. Strong demand for higher octane gasoline dictates that most refiners operate their fluid catalytic cracking units (FCCU) at as high a reactor temperature as possible. Such change in temperature generally results in an increase in butadiene production. The impact of higher butadiene levels is discussed.