IsoTherming® Hydroprocessing Technology

IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology is a commercially proven breakthrough process that gives petroleum refiners a more economical and flexible means to produce today’s ultra-low-sulfur transportation fuels. IsoTherming® technology streamlines the reaction process by providing hydrogen through a saturated liquid recycle stream that eliminates the need for a recycle gas compressor or associated equipment—making the flow through the reactor a single, liquid phase. The hydrotreated liquid recycle stream also acts as a heat sink, resulting in less unwanted cracking, less coking, reduced light-ends make, reduced maintenance, and increased catalyst life.

By removing the need for hydrogen dissolution in the reactor, IsoTherming® hydroprocessing also removes any mass transfer limitation from the overall reactions, kinetically limiting the reaction rate for faster processing.  As a result, the reactor can now be sized for the hydroprocessing reactions themselves, rather than for dissolving of hydrogen in the reaction mixture. 

The IsoTherming® approach has attractive benefits to a refiner, including lower total investment, reduced equipment delivery times, and configuration flexibility.