It is critical for refineries to maintain certain specifications and standards for aviation turbine fuel. So, it is essential to have aviation turbine fuel treated/processed to remove mercaptans using clay bed refining in the Merox process.
Merox, also known as mercaptan oxidation, is a process that removes mercaptans from products like jet fuel and kerosene. It helps in meeting the regulatory norms for aviation turbine fuel that requires lesser sulphur levels.The process of Merox needs an alkaline environment. It is possible by adding ammonia or caustic to the kerosene feed. The mixture then needs to go through a reactor over a catalyst. The mercaptans get converted to hydrocarbon disulphides and washed out in filter beds. It is also known as a sweetening process as the sour odour of sulphurous compounds gets removed.
What is mercaptan extraction?
A simple sweetening process is enough for multiple purposes. However, if you need to reduce the sulphur content of the fuel, some additional methods are required. Often, a combination of solutizers like sodium cresylate and potassium isobutyrate with caustic soda works.
The higher mercaptans experience an increase in solubility, and it becomes possible to extract them from oil. The oil also gets pre-treated with caustic soda to remove alkylphenols and hydrogen sulphide. The mixture then gets settled and washed with water before storage.
Selective removal of mercaptan from aviation turbine fuel through clay bed refining
The demand for air turbine fuel is increasing due to economic growth and other developments in the aviation industry. Air travel will also continue getting popular in the coming years. Refineries offering jet fuel that meets environmental standards and is cost-friendly will get the most business.
It is possible to produce turbine aviation fuel by distilling crude oil. It needs further post-treatment through hydroprocessing or the Merox process. Merox can produce aircraft turbine fuel from certain crude oils and requires only caustic.
Removing certain polar compounds can be tough with regular processes. However, clay treating helps overcome that. The fuel passes through a clay bed in this process. Polar compounds that act as surfactants get adsorbed to the clay surface. They thus get separated from the fuel. Using clay for post-treatment methods to remove surfactants from hydrocarbon distillate is also common.
Bottom line
Clay bed refining process is ideal to sweeten aircraft turbine fuel and other distillates. At Copia, we have CP Jet 100 30/60 and CP Jet 100 B 16/30 that helps in the refining process of aviation turbine fuel. It helps remove surfactants, water traces, and other impurities to improve the life of the engine.
Interested in knowing more details about CP Jet 100 30/60 and CP Jet 100 B 16/30 ? Contact us today for a free, no-commitment call.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]