Taking into account the butadiene surpluses that arise in several countries, naphtha cracker operators must find new economical ways other than butadiene extraction to upgrade their C4 cuts.
The simplest potential solution to the problem of excess butadiene is to recrack the raw C4 cut. Total hydrogenation of the raw C4 cut generates a cut that contains generally more than 75% butane, an excellent steam cracker feed: its ethylene yield is higher than that of naphtha. It can also be used as LPG. When hydrogen availability is short, one can limit the hydrogenation to butenes which will produce more propylene than naphtha.
Since 1978, Axens has acquired an unrivaled experience in hydrogenation processes for steam cracker C4 streams, with more than forty references.
