Patent ID: 7179434

Claim:
An integrated apparatus for producing xylene isomers from a catalytic reformate stream comprising: (a) a fractionation zone comprising a debutanizer column wherein the reformate stream is split into a light stream comprising butanes and lighter components and a debutanized reformate stream; (b) a second fractionation zone comprising a toluene column, wherein the debutanized reformate stream and at least a portion of a transalkylation product stream are separated to produce a toluene-enriched stream, and a xylene-plus-enriched stream; (c) a transalkylation zone comprising a reactor wherein the toluene-enriched stream and a xylene-column stream rich in C 9 and C 10 alkylaromatics are contacted with a metal-stabilized transalkylation catalyst under transalkylation conditions to produce the transalkylation product stream of step (b); and (d) a xylene recovery section comprising a xylene fractionation column and a xylene-isomer separation zone, wherein the xylene fractionation column separates the xylene-plus-enriched stream of step (b) to provide the xylene-column stream rich in C 9 and C 10 alkylaromatics of step (c) and an overhead xylene stream, and wherein the xylene-isomer separation zone concentrates the overhead xylene stream into a xylene isomer enriched product stream which is recovered as a product stream of said apparatus.