Simulation of a Catalytic Heavy Naphtha Reformer Using Aspen plus Simulator

The purpose of catalytic reforming unit is the production of high octane gasoline and aromatic components for petrochemical industries which are strategic and economic for Iran. But, the complexity of the naphtha feed, and unavailability of an appropriate kinetic package makes it difficult to simulate this unit using the commercial simulators such as Aspen plus and Hysys. In this research, performed on a fixed-bed catalytic reformer of a real refinery, at first this unit is simulated by using Aspen-plus simulator (ver. 2012), and applying the kinetic coefficients reported in the open literature. Then, the validity of simulation and its accuracy is studied and discussed in comparison with the actual test runs. Results show that the absolute average deviation (AAD%) of output temperatures of 1st, 2nd and 3rd reactors in comparison to actual data are 6.35, 0.79% and 0.74%, respectively. Additionally, the paraffin and aromatic content of produced gasoline in comparison to measured data are 2.17% and 2.46%, respectively. These results confirm the high accuracy of the developed simulator.