Patent ID: RE41120

Claim:
A process for the treatment of a heavy boiling range naphtha containing sulfides and other organic sulfur compounds comprising the steps of: (a) feeding hydrogen and the heavy boiling range naphtha to a dual reaction zone comprising a fixed bed of hydrodesulfurization catalyst in an upper reaction zone thereof and a hydrodesulfurization catalytic distillation structure in a lower reaction zone thereof and a non reaction zone between said upper reaction zone and said lower reaction zone: (i) feeding said heavy boiling range naphtha and a portion of said hydrogen downflow over said fixed bed of hydrodesulfurization catalyst in said upper reaction zone at a first LHSV to react a portion of the sulfides and other organic sulfur compounds with hydrogen to form hydrogen sulfide; (ii) allowing liquid heavy boiling range naphtha from the bottom of said upper reaction zone and hydrogen sulfide to flow downward into a non reaction zone and said liquid heavy boiling range naphtha to flow downward from said non reaction zone into said lower reaction zone containing said hydrodesulfurization catalytic distillation structure at a second LHSV which is lower than said first LHSV; (iii) Feeding hydrogen below said hydrodesulfurization catalytic distillation structure; (iv) concurrently in said lower zone; (A) reacting sulfides and other organic sulfur compounds with hydrogen to form hydrogen sulfide and (B) fractionating said heavy boiling range naphtha to remove hydrogen sulfide into said non reaction zone; (b) withdrawing vapor from said non reaction zone, said vapor containing the hydrogen sulfide produced in both said reaction zones; and (c) withdrawing heavy naphtha product below said lower reaction zone as bottoms wherein the condensable material contained within said vapor is condensed and returned to said dual reactor.