46
H. K. Timken et al.
2.12 Conclusions
After many years of R&D and scale-up efforts, the ISOALKY Alkylation Technology has become a commercially viable alternative that offers a compelling economic
solution compared to conventional liquid acid technologies. The ISOALKY Catalyst
exhibits superior performance with a wide range of olefin feeds compared to conventional acid catalysts. The ionic liquid catalyst has negligible vapor pressure and
can be regenerated on-site, resulting in a lower environmental impact compared to
other technologies.
With the advancement of fracking, abundant supply of low-cost LPG becomes
available in the industry and this gives new opportunities for refiners. It is a revolutionary new technology that offers refiners the ability to upgrade low-value butanes
and refinery olefins to high-value alkylate and to improve the quality of their gasoline
pool. The ISOALKY Technology is expected to make a significant impact on global
production of clean fuels in the years to come.
Acknowledgements We thank many of our colleagues who contributed to the development of
ISOALKY Technology ranging from researchers for strategic research and sub-process development, operators and constructors of various units, chemists for fundamental data collection, and
process engineers for design and operation of various scale-up plants. We thank the Chevron Salt
Lake City refinery for hosting the demo plant, providing operational resources, and leading the commercial plant implementation. Finally, we thank the Chevron and Honeywell UOP management for
strong support and commitment throughout the development and commercialization process.
References
1. Medina J, Chuanhua Z, van Broekhoven EH (2016) Successful start-up of the first solid catalyst
alkylation unit. AFPM annual meeting presentation report, AM-16-22
2. KBR New release of first licensing contract for K-SAAT solid alkylation technology. In: Hydrocarbon Processing, 17 Feb 2016. https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2016/02/kbrlicenses-new-alkylation-technology-in-china
3. Liu Z, Zhang R, Meng X, Liu H, Xu C, Zhang X, Chung W (2018) Composite ionic liquid
alkylation technology gives high product yield and selectivity. Hydrocarbon Processing, March
2018, p 35
4. Elomari S, Trumbull S, Timken HKC, Cleverdon R (2008) Alkylation process using
chloroaluminate ionic liquid catalysts. US Patent 7,432,409
5. Martins S, Nafis D, Bhattacharyya A (2015) Alkylation process using phosphonium-based
ionic liquids. US Patent 9,156,028
6. Timken HKC, Elomari S, Trumbull S, Cleverdon R (2008) Integrated alkylation process using
ionic liquid catalysts. US Patent 7,432,408
7. Ma M, Johnson KE (1995) Carbocation formation by selected hydrocarbons in trimethylsulfonium bromide–AlCl 3 /AlBr 3 –HBr ambient temperature molten salts. J Am Chem Soc 117:1508.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja00110a007
8. Campbell JLE, Johnson KE (1995) The chemistry of protons in ambient-temperature ionic
liquids: solubility and electrochemical profiles of HCl in HCl:ImCl:AlCl 3 ionic liquids
as a function of pressure. J Am Chem Soc 117:7791. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/
ja00134a026
H. K. Timken et al.
2.12 Conclusions
After many years of R&D and scale-up efforts, the ISOALKY Alkylation Technology has become a commercially viable alternative that offers a compelling economic
solution compared to conventional liquid acid technologies. The ISOALKY Catalyst
exhibits superior performance with a wide range of olefin feeds compared to conventional acid catalysts. The ionic liquid catalyst has negligible vapor pressure and
can be regenerated on-site, resulting in a lower environmental impact compared to
other technologies.
With the advancement of fracking, abundant supply of low-cost LPG becomes
available in the industry and this gives new opportunities for refiners. It is a revolutionary new technology that offers refiners the ability to upgrade low-value butanes
and refinery olefins to high-value alkylate and to improve the quality of their gasoline
pool. The ISOALKY Technology is expected to make a significant impact on global
production of clean fuels in the years to come.
Acknowledgements We thank many of our colleagues who contributed to the development of
ISOALKY Technology ranging from researchers for strategic research and sub-process development, operators and constructors of various units, chemists for fundamental data collection, and
process engineers for design and operation of various scale-up plants. We thank the Chevron Salt
Lake City refinery for hosting the demo plant, providing operational resources, and leading the commercial plant implementation. Finally, we thank the Chevron and Honeywell UOP management for
strong support and commitment throughout the development and commercialization process.
References
1. Medina J, Chuanhua Z, van Broekhoven EH (2016) Successful start-up of the first solid catalyst
alkylation unit. AFPM annual meeting presentation report, AM-16-22
2. KBR New release of first licensing contract for K-SAAT solid alkylation technology. In: Hydrocarbon Processing, 17 Feb 2016. https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2016/02/kbrlicenses-new-alkylation-technology-in-china
3. Liu Z, Zhang R, Meng X, Liu H, Xu C, Zhang X, Chung W (2018) Composite ionic liquid
alkylation technology gives high product yield and selectivity. Hydrocarbon Processing, March
2018, p 35
4. Elomari S, Trumbull S, Timken HKC, Cleverdon R (2008) Alkylation process using
chloroaluminate ionic liquid catalysts. US Patent 7,432,409
5. Martins S, Nafis D, Bhattacharyya A (2015) Alkylation process using phosphonium-based
ionic liquids. US Patent 9,156,028
6. Timken HKC, Elomari S, Trumbull S, Cleverdon R (2008) Integrated alkylation process using
ionic liquid catalysts. US Patent 7,432,408
7. Ma M, Johnson KE (1995) Carbocation formation by selected hydrocarbons in trimethylsulfonium bromide–AlCl 3 /AlBr 3 –HBr ambient temperature molten salts. J Am Chem Soc 117:1508.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja00110a007
8. Campbell JLE, Johnson KE (1995) The chemistry of protons in ambient-temperature ionic
liquids: solubility and electrochemical profiles of HCl in HCl:ImCl:AlCl 3 ionic liquids
as a function of pressure. J Am Chem Soc 117:7791. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/
ja00134a026