Application: Process to produce white oils and waxes.
Feeds: Nonrefined as well as solvent- or hydrogen-refined naphthenic or paraffinic vacuum distillates or deoiled waxes.
Products: Technical- and medical-grade white oils and waxes for plasticizer, textile, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. Products are in accordance with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and the German Pharmacopoeia (DAB 8 and DAB 9) specifications.
Description: This catalytic hydrotreating process uses two reactors. Hydrogen and feed are heated upstream of the first reaction zone (containing a special presulfided NiMo/alumina catalyst) and are separated downstream of the reactors into the main product and byproducts (hydrogen sulfide and light hydrocarbons). A stripping column permits adjusting product specifications for technical-grade white oil or feed to the second hydrogenation stage.
When hydrotreating waxes, however, medical quality is obtained in the one-stage process. In the second reactor, the feed is passed over a highly active hydrogenation catalyst to achieve a very low level of aromatics, especially of polynuclear compounds. This scheme permits each stage to operate independently and to produce technical- or medical-grade white oils separately. Yields after the first stage range from 85% to 99% depending on feedstock. Yields from the second hydrogenation step are nearly 100%. When treating waxes, the yield is approximately 98%.
Licensor: Uhde GmbH.
