On June 20, 2019 the project “Development and commercial application of the reforming catalyst” jointly undertaken by the SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Processing (RIPP), the SINOPEC Catalyst Company, Ltd., and the Qingdao Petrochemical Limited Liability Company had passed the technical appraisal of achievements organized by the Science and Technology Division of the SINOPEC Corp. In comparison with the existing technology at home and abroad, this technology obviously has an innovative nature to reach the international leading level.

The project team in the course of development of SR-1000 reforming catalyst has broken through the conventional wisdom, and has for the first time pioneered “the in-situ sustained-release sulfidation technology" while systematically working on the pseudoboehmite ASIA powder and engaging in the production and optimization of special carrier with unique pore structure, the preparation of SR-1000 catalyst, and the regeneration of spent catalyst, which have formed a package technology for the preparation and application of the SR-1000 reforming catalyst, including the catalytic materials and the catalyst application process. This technology is designed to use the domestic pseudoboehmite powder to prepare the said reforming catalyst, which has been relieved of the dependence on imported powder from abroad for a long time. There is no need for pre-sulfidation of the catalyst during commissioning of the catalytic reforming unit, and the startup method is simple, green and environmentally friendly.

Application of the SR-1000 catalyst in the 250 kt/a catalytic reforming unit at the Qingdao Petrochemical Company has revealed that when the naphtha blended with 40% of coker gasoline serving as the feedstock having similar composition was processed in the catalytic reforming unit under similar operating severity, the octane-yield of stabilized gasoline obtained over the SR-1000 catalyst increased by more than 1.5 percentage points and the coke deposition rate reduced by more than 30%, as compared to those achieved over the domestic PRT-C/PRT-D catalyst. These results have demonstrated the higher activity, selectivity, stability and good regenerability of the SR-1000 catalyst, which is better than PRT-C/PRT-D catalyst in terms of its comprehensive performance.

RIPP has been engaging in R&D of catalytic reforming for more than 60 years and is the only patentee in China, who can provide both continuous reforming catalysts and semi-regenerative reforming catalysts at the same time and has made important contributions to the development of catalytic reforming technology in China to create remarkable economic and social benefits. The SR-1000 catalyst is the fourth-generation semi-regenerative reforming catalyst, and the research team has applied for 20 Chinese invention patents on the said package technology, among which 11 patents have been granted to RIPP. Furthermore, the research team has applied for 5 SINOPEC’s proprietary technologies, which have been approved with independent intellectual property rights.