Catalytic reforming of petroleum hydrocarbons

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR INCREASING THE VOLATILITY OF PLATINUM REFORMATES PRODUCED FROM NAPHTHA FEEDSTOCKS HAVING AN ASTM INITIAL BOILING POINT WITHIN THE RANGE 70*C. TO 100*C., AND HAVING AN ASTM FINAL BOILING POINT BETWEEN 150*C. AND 200*C. BY A PLATINUM REFORMING PROCESS OPERATING UNDER NON-REGENERATIVE CONDITIONS SUCH THAT A CATALYST LIFE OF AT LEAST 40 BARRELS OF FEEDSTOCK PROCESSED PER LB. OF CATALYST IS OBTAINED AND REGENERATION OF THE CATALYST IN SITU IS NOT REQUIRED, COMPRISING FRACTIONATING THE REFORMATE HAVING AN OCTANE NUMBER RESEARCH (CLEAR) OF FROM 920-100 INTO A HIGHER-BOILING FRACTION CONTAINING THE MAJORITY OF THE ALKYL BENZENES OF THE REFORMATE AND A LOWER-BOILING FRACTION, THE CUT-POINT BETWEEN THE HIGHER-BOILING AND LOWER-BOILING FRACTIONS BEING FROM 80* TO 130*C., CONTACTING THE HIGHER-BOILING FRACTION AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE OF FROM 250* TO 500* C., AT A PRESSURE OF FROM ATMOSPHERIC TO 200 LBS. P.S.I., AT A SPACE VELOCITY OF FROM 0.1 TO 10 V./V./HR., AND IN THE PRESENCE OF ADDED HYDROGEN WITH A MOLAR HYDROGEN-HYDROCARBON RATIO OF FROM 0.5:1 TO 2.5:1 WITH A CATALYST CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF NICKEL ON A NICKEL-ALUMINUM BASE, SAID CATALYST HAVING FROM 1 TO 50% WT. OF NICKEL IN THE CATALYST BASE AND FROM 1 TO 30% WT. OF NICKEL DEPOSITED ON THE BASE AND HAVING BEEN PREPARED BY IMPREGNATING ALUMINA WITH A SOLUTION OF A NICKEL COMPOUND DECOMPOSABLE UNDER HEAT TO NICKEL OXIDE, CALCINING THE IMPREGNATED ALUMINUM AT A TEMPERATURE ABOVE 650*C. BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF 1000*C., AND BY IMPREGNATING THE BASE SO FORMED WITH A FURTHER SOLUTION OF A NICKEL COMPOUND DECOMPOSABLE UNDER HEAT TO NICKEL OXIDE AND CALCINING AT A TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE 350* TO 650*C., AND RECOMBINING THE TREATED HIGHER-BOILING FRACTION WITH THE LOWER-BOILING FRACTION, SAID RECOMBINED PRODUCT HAVING A VOLATILITY OF AT LEAST 40% VOL. RECOVERD AT 100*C., AND AN OCTANE NUMBER RESEARCH (CLEAR) OF AT LEAST 90.