New Gasoline Absorption–Stabilization Process for Separation Intensification and Flowsheet Simplification in Refineries

A new gasoline absorption–stabilization process (GASP) is presented to intensify the separation process and significantly simplify the conventional GASP flowsheet. The conventional GASP includes four columns and recycling streams between refinery units, which makes the process very complex. In this study, the solubility and volatility of the C₅–C₁₁ hydrocarbons are discussed and a new indicator is presented to represent the performance of supplementary absorbent streams. The best suitable components are then found. A new flash tank is introduced into the GASP to obtain the suitable absorbent components to intensify the absorption process. As a result, the original secondary absorption column and the large recycling streams between the units are canceled. The conventional and new GASPs are simulated and optimized, respectively. Heat exchanger networks are designed for the two processes. The new process can significantly reduce the total annual cost by 11.24% as opposed to the conventional process.