Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

1992,31, 1731-1738 1731

Study of Solvent and Catalytic Lube Oil Dewaxing by Analysis of

Feedstocks and Products
Robert J. Taylor*
Texaco Research and Development Department, P.O. Box 1608, Port Arthur, Texas 77641
Arthur J. McCormack
Texaco Research and Development Department, P.O. Box 509, Beacon, New York 12508

A comparison of solvent and catalytic lube oil dewaxing is made by analyzing the feedstocks and
products from both processes. Three waxes were obtained from refined wax distillate feedstocks
of different viscosity ranges and analyzed. These results indicate that as the feedstock gets lighter
and richer in normal paraffins, the yield for catalytic dewaxing decreases in direct proportion to
the increase in the normal paraffin concentration. Further study indicates that the differences
between solvent and catalytic dewaxing of lighter feedstocks result from the differences in the
selectivity of the two processes for wax removal. Solvent dewaxing is more selective for removing
both the heavier normal and non-normal hydrocarbons. Catalytic dewaxing removes the normal
paraffins more evenly over the boiling range while the light non-normal hydrocarbons are more
selectively removed. These differences stem from the fundamentally different mechanisms for wax
removal between the two processes.

Introduction experience with similar catalytic dewaxing processes (Za-

A major function of many petroleum refineries is the
production of lube oil base stocks. The manufacturing
scheme for these lube oils has undergone many changes
since ita introduction in the U.S.in 1870. As performance
requirements for lubricants have increased, so have the
sophistication and complexity of lube oil refineries.
Manufacturing of lube oils has progressed from a simple
atmospheric or vacuum distillation process to a process
which includes such steps as deasphalting, solvent or hy-
drogen refining, dewaxing, and hydrofinishing. These
added steps are required to produce lube oil base stocks
with properties that meet key product specifications, such
as viscosity, viscosity index, pour point, and thermal and
oxidative stability. In a conventional lube oil refinery,
these lube properties are achieved through a series of
processes that remove or convert undesirable chemical
components which have poor lube characteristics. The
product from this series of proceases is a lube oil base stock
which can be blended with additives and other base stocks
of different viscosities to produce a finished lubricating
oil.
All lube manufacturing processes start with separation
of the crude oil into viscosity ranges by distillation. Pa-
raffin distillates leaving the crude stills contain wax and
are normally solids at ambient temperatures. The deas-
phalting and refining processes increase the wax content
of these distillates. In order to manufacture lubricating
oils with the desired low-temperature properties, it is
necessary to remove the wax from these fractions. In the
petroleum industry today, catalytic and solvent dewaxing
are the major processes used for removing this wax.
Catalytic dewaxing is preferred over solvent dewaxing from
the standpoint of operating costa and environmental con-
cerns but, in some cases,gives produds in lower yields and
with less favorable lube characteristics (Hargrove et al.,
1979;Hargrove, 1983;Sequeira, 1988,1989). One of the
main goals of this paper is to compare solvent and catalytic
dewaxing by analyzing the feedstocks and products from
both processes in order to determine the reasons for the
differences in lube characteristics and yield.
Commercial catalytic dewaxing processes are now of-
fered for license by Mobil and UOP (Hargrove et al., 1979;
Graven and Green, 1980). Other companies, such as
Chevron, Shell, and Unocal, have patents and commercial
0888-588519212631-1731$03.00/0 0 1992 American Chemical Society
karian and Farrell, 1986; Winquiest, 1982;Abdo et al.,
1989). The conventional catalytic dewaxing process works
by selectively cracking the waxy molecules over a zeolite
catalyst. The zeolite contained in this catalyst has a pore
opening which admits the straight-chain, waxy normal
paraffins or normal-paraffin-like side chains either alone
or with slightly branched paraffins and naphthenes. This
differs from solvent dewaxing, where the wax is removed
from the oil based on its solubility when dissolved in a
suitable solvent. These different mechanisms for wax
removal give the dewaxed oil product from the two pro-
cesses different chemical compositions and physical
properties. Heavier feeds, such as heavy neutral oils and
deasphalted bottom resids, have essentially no normal
paraffins and give dewaxed oils from both processes with
similar yields and properties. The differences between
solvent and catalytic dewaxing are greatest when dewaxing
light paraffinic feedstocks which have a relatively high
paraffin content. The lube yield for catalytic dewaxing
decreases as the stock viscosity decreases (Ramage et al.,
1986;Smith et al., 1980; Smith, 1990). Generally, the
dewaxed oil from solvent dewaxing these light feeds is
obtained in a higher yield and has a higher viscosity index
(VI) than that obtained from catalytic dewaxing. The loes
or gain in yield and VI observed for catalytic dewaxing
compared with solvent dewaxing the same feedstock is
called the yield and VI penalty or advantage, respectively.
It is desirable to produce dewaxed oil from catalytic de-
waxing without any yield or VI penalty.
Experimental Section
Normal-ParaffinAnalysis. The carbon number dis-
tribution of the whole wax was first determined with a
Carlo-Erba high-temperature gas chromatography (GC)
method. The sample was then stripped of normal paraffii
by refluxing with 5A molecular sieves in toluene. The
resulting normal-paraffin-strippedsample was again ana-
lyzed by high-temperature GC, and the normal-paraffin
content was determined by difference. Errors due to
volatility losses were corrected for by referencing to an
internal standard. Results are reported on a weight per-
cent basis. The carbon number distributions were de-
termined by individually integrating each peak. The
carbon number assigned to each normal-paraffin peak
1732 Ind. Eng. Chem. Rea., Vol. 31, No. 7,1992

could be easily aaaigned, a93 the baais of comparison with I I

normal-paraffinstan- The carbon number assigned

21
to each n o n - n o d peak was made on the basis of the
nearest normal paraffin peak.
Dewaxing Procesres. Both the solvent and catalytic
dewaxing proceduree were carried out on pilot d e units
that imitate as closely as pimsible the presently used
commercial procesees. The pmeaeing conditions were all
within n o d operation conditions for these processes.
Catalytic dewaxing was carried out in a pilot scale fix-
ed-bed reactor in downflow confiiation at commercial
temperatures, preeeures, and hydrogen circulation rates. o m a a s s m a u u m m
The feed was passed over a commercial ZSM-b-baeed CARBON NUMBER
catalyst at 1 linear hourly space velocity, and the dewaxed 7-
oil was immediately stabilized under commercial condi-
tions using a Ni/W hydrotreating catalyst. 8 -

i:g: :
Solvent dewaxing was carried out in a pilot d e , batch
dewaxing unit. T h e feedstock was diluted 61 in a 50.50
MEK/toluene solvent and heated to its complete misci-
bility point It waa then d e d at 5 OF/& to 15 OF below
the desired dewaxed oil pour point The wax was then
separated by filtration, and the wax cake was washed with -
solvent at the filtration temperature in a 5:l ratio of solvent
to feedstock. The solvent was then stripped out of the 1 -

dewaxed oil in a batch still. 0 -

Complete recovery of the wax and dewaxed oil was 10 m H I) ss 88 Q 44 49 m 00
difficult using this batch dewaxing procedure, especially CARBON NUMBER
10
at low wax yields, and the yield calculations based on I /

product recovery have a high degree of uncertainty. For

this reason, wax contents were calculated using a differ-
ential scanning calorimetry method described eleewhere
(Skarlos, 1990). This method determines the dry wax
content at any specific pour point and has been shown to
be as precise and accurate as any existing method, in-
cluding physical separation methods.

Results and Discuseion

Compcuiron of Feedstockr. Figure 1 shorn the nor-
mal- and non-normal-hydrocarbon distributions in the
waxa removed from light, medium, and heavy refinedwax
distillates. T h e waxes were obtained from commercial
solvent dewaxing operations with nominal 20% wax re-
covery and 104'7% oil in the wax. Duringthe dewaxing
process, it is this material which must be removed or
converted to nonwaxy components in order to obtain a
product with the desired pour point. Since wax is the
major reactaut in the feed during catalytic dewaxing, it is
instructive to look at the composition of these m e a when
trying to understand the differences in process perform-
ance for the corresponding distillate feedstocks. Since
performanca comparisons for these distillatea also include
the effect of their differences in viscosity, it is the yield
and viecosity index (VI) penalties which are compared.
Yield and VI penaltiea are determined by comparing the
solvent and catalytically dewaxed oils from the same
feedstock.
The catalytic dewaxing procesa works best for heavier
feedstocks, showing no yield or VI penalty relative to
d v e a t dewaxing. This l m been attributed to the low
paraffin content in theee heavier feeds. Much of the wax
present in the heavier feeds coneista of alkyl cyclic com-
ponents. "hdm,cracking of the long alkyl side chains
isallthatisrequiredtodewaxtheeefeeds (Fbmgeet aL,
1986). In m e cases,a yield advan- is even seen when
proceaeing heavier feeds. Both dewaxed oil yield and VI
pedtiea increww aa the feedstock gets lighter and richer
in paraffii, particularly normal paraffii. T h e lose in
dewaxed oil yield for light feedstixks may, therefore, be
CARBON NUMBER
Fioun, 1. Normal-and non-nonunl-hydroarbon diatributiona for
the wax removed by solvent dewaxing light (top), medium (middle),
and henvy (bottom)refined wax distibte. The normal-paraffb
contents are 59,31,and 20%, respectively. The percent oil in each
wax is 17,11,and 13%, respectively.
not only due to nonselective cracking of the oil molecules
but ale0 due to the near complete removal of the normal
paraffine,whichmakeupalargerpercentage of thelighter
feed. While it has been shown that the normal paraffii
do not control the kinetics of the catalytic dewaxing re-
action,due to their extreme reactivity and near complete
removal, they are important in determining the yield of
dewaxed product ( O hand Lok, 1991). Table I illus-
trates this point, where it is shown that the incream in
normal-pamffin content is directly related to the obeerved
dmaxed oil yield penalty. Typically, no dewaxed oil yield
penalty is seen for catalytic versus solvent dewcuing of
heavy feedstoch but a 6-8 yield penalty is obtained for
lighter feedstocks. Thia i n d yield loss wg@a that
catalytic dewaxing a light feed requiree a higher severity
relative to solvent dewaxing the same feed to the same
pour point. This increased severity results in a lower
selectivity and yield. Also seen in Table I is thnt the
difference in the dewaxed oil yield penalty between the
heavier and lighter feeds corresponds directly to their
difference in normal-paraffii content.
 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 31, No. 7,1992 1733

Table I. Cempdmon of N o d - P u d f i n Content#with Dewaxed On YkiW and Vtraority Index

yield penal@ yield pedw VI Pnaltyd
n-paraffiia Idto860 re1 to solvent re1 to solvent
reftinab content,wt % neutral, wt % dewaxing, wt % dewaxing, wt %
100 neutral 12 8 6-8 10-13
320 neutral 6 2 2-3 6-7
860 neutral 4 0 0 4-6
aobtrined from no- analysis of the wax^ and Buumption of nominal 20 wt % slack wax yield during solvent dew-.
bYield for catalytic& dawer&g the feedstocl: minm the yield for catalytic dewaxing the heavy feedstock. 'Y'dd for catalytic dewaxing
minw the vkld for &at dewaxina the same f d t o c k . d V i t y index for catalytic dewaxing minus the d
for solvent dewaxing the

Table 11. Phyaid Properties of oh.19dia.d Wax Dirtillate

Feed and the hd Oil Sam&
vh-itr,
-mur mint.
_ OP . SUS. 100 O F VI
CD OIL SD OIL R W +80 93 110
SD OIL 0 i06 100
jrd%
SD CD WAX
, O q

SD SD WAX
CD OIL
SD SD OIL
+I
-20
117
114
89
90
SD CD OIL -26 119 83
SD OIL 60 +60 106 106
SD OIL 40 +40 106 106
SD OIL 20 +!a 101 102
SD OIL -6 3 107 101
SD SD OIL 60 -6 108 100
SD 51)OIL (0 -20 109 98
SD SD OIL 28 -16 111 97
SD SD OIL -6 -16 111 96
EChemicalpmpertiea: sulfur < 0.6 wt %; nitrogen < M) ppm;
21% aromatiQ brwd on A Sm D3239. Crude BOUTCB: 78% Ara-
bian -122% Arabian Medium.

1 6 2 0 2 4 2 8 S 2 3 6 4 0
CARBON W C S E R

Figure 3. Normal-and non-nod-hydrocarbon dbtributionn for

the light wax d i d l a t e feedstock. The nod-peraffii content ia
13%.

WAX and SD OIL from the catalytically dewaxed oil (SD

CD WAX and SD CD OF).
Figurea 3,4,6, and 6 rbow the n o d - and non-nor-
mal-hydmcarbon distributiom for the feedetoclt, SD WAX,
1734 Ind. Eng. Chem. h.Vol.
, 31,No. 7,1992
10

c
$ 6
0
5L
4a 4
a

J
16 20 24 28
CARBON NUMBER
32 36 40
2

0
16
d
20 24 26
CARBON NUMBER
32 36 40

Figure 4. Normal- and non-normal-hydrocarbondistributions for Figure 6. Normal- and non-normal-hydrocarbondistributiw for
the WB.removed by solvent dewaxing the light wax feedstock (SD the wax removed by solvent dewaxing the dewaxed oil collectad from
WAX).The normal-paraffincontent is 77%. Corrections are made cstalytically dewax@ the light wax feedstock (SD CD WAX). The
for 7.9 s 46 oil in &e wax. normal-paraffincontent is 17%. No correction was made for the
percent oil in the wax.
12
SD SD WAX,and SD CD WAX,reapectively. The w ~ f e %
as collected, contain some portion of oil. The normal-
paraffin content neede to be cometad for thia oil content
and the normal-paraffin contents reported in the figuree
10 I
are corrected, d m s otherwise indicated. In some cases,
enough wax could not be collected to determine the oil
amtent In thew caaea,the normal-paraffii content cannd
be correotsd and the reported values are possibly lower
8 than the actual value. The oil preaent in the wax may ale0
5W affect the appearance of the non-normal portion of the
graphs, since the oil is composed of non-normal hydro-
8w 6
carbons. Since the exact amount and distribution of this
n extra oil cannot be determined, the non-normal portion
of these graphs should be viewed with this limitation in
4 mind.
3 4
Figure 7 compares the carbon number distributions of
the normal paraffins removed from a solvent dewaxed and
a catalytidy dewaxing oil. The yield of SD SD WAX waa
6% and that of the SD CD WAX was 3%. Figure 7 shows
that after a correction for these yield differences, the
2 concentrationof normal paraffins is higher in the solvent
dewaxed oil than in the catalytically dewaxed oil. It can
ale0 be aeen from this comparison that the two dewaxing
have different selectivities for removing normal
0 paraffine. Solvent dewaxing appears to be very selective
16 20 24 26 32 36 40 for removing the heavy normal paraffins, with a higher
CARBON NUMBER concentration of lighter normal paraffii remaining in the
dewaxed oil. Catalytic dewaxing, on tha other hand, seems
to remove the normal paraffins more evenly across the
carbon number range, leaving a fairly even distribution of
Figure 1. Normal- and non-normal-hydrocarbondistributions for normal paraffinsremaining in the dewaxed oil and a larger
the wax removed by solvent dewaxhg the dewaxed oil collected from
wlvent dew- the light wax feedstock (SD SD WAX).T h e nor- concentration of C24+ n o d a l paraffins than in solvent
mal-paraffjm content L 14%. No correction was made for the per- dewaxing. Figure 8 compares the carbon number dmtri-
cent oil in the wax. butions of the nan-normal hydrocarbons removed from the
 Ind. Eng.Chem. Res., Vol. 31,No. 7,1992 1738
7 ,

6 -

5 -

5 I f 1 I
i 4 - 20 4 m m 100
PERCENTVOIATIUZED (WW)
i4! pzmq
4 3 -
2
2 -

1 -

0
16 20 24 28 32 36 40
CARBON NUMBER

Fjgura 7. k p e t i s o n of the carbon number distdbutiona for the Figum 9. Simulated dhtilletion curveafor the SD OIL and CD OL
d~~dfmnadventandcat&tidlydawaxed (top) and the SD SD WAX and SD CD WAX (bottom).
oiL No d o n s are made for the percent oil in the wax.
251 I
normal waxy hydrocarbons remaining in the catalytically
dewaxed oil. It can also be seen that even though the
non-normalhydrocarbons in the SD CD WAX are mostly
C24+, the concentration of C24+ non-normal hydro-
carbons in the SD SD WAX is still greater when adjusted
for yield differences. Assuming it is a combination of the
normal and non-normalwnxy hjrdrocarbons in the dewaxed
oils that control the pour point, it would appear from
Figure 7 that it is the large mcenkation of C24+ normal
paraffins which have the moet influence in the catalytically
dewaxed oil. As seen in Figure 8, it is a combination of
the high concentration of bgth the C24- normal parafina
and the C24+ non-normalhydrocarbons which are most
influential in the solvent dewaxed oil.
Figure 9 shows a comparieon of the simulated dietillation
m e a for the solvent dewaxed and catalytically dewaxed
oils (SD OIL and CD OIL). Except for the small amount
(<2%) of light ends remaining in the catalytically dewaxed
oil due to incomplete etripping, both have very similar
boiling ranges. Figure 9 also shows a comparieon of the
waxy materials remahhg in the SD and CD OILS (SD SD
WAX and SD CD WAX).It can be seen from this com-
parison that the waxy material remaining after catalytic
dewaxing is header and higher b o i i than that remaining
after solvsnt dew-. Figurea 7-9 all that solvent
dewaxing hee a bigher selectivitythan catalytic dewaxing
16 20 24 20 32 36 40 for removing the hemy wax.
CARBON NUMBER In order to further study the selectivity of solvent de-
waxing for wax removal, the same light feedstock wae
solvent dewaxed to four different pour pointa. As shown
in Figure 2, fm wax= and four dewaxed oils were col-
Figure 8. Comparison of the carbon number distributions for the lected from thie procedure. The reaulting dewaxed oils
non-normalhydrocarbone removed from a solvent and catalytically
dewaxed oil. No corrections an, made for the percent oil in the wax. were then solvent dewaxed a second time to the aame
target pour point, yielding four more wases and four
solvent dewaxed and catalytically dewaxing oils. This doubeedmmuedo&~ TnbleIIgiveathephy&alpropertiee
figure shows that there is a lower concentration of non- of the dewaxed oils. Figure 10 shows the yield curve for
1786 Ind. Eng.Chem. Res., Vol. 31,No.7,1992

98 1

Q4
0.8

92 \'!

E-
0.6

8 \

?@ 4!
3a 0.4
0
8@
0.2
84

82
0
16 20 24 28 32 36 40
CARBON NUMBER
--(eo) I

(40)
I
(20) 0
I I
20
I
40
1
eo 80
POUR POINT, F
Figure 10. Theoretical yield curve for solvent dewaxing the light Figure 12. Compubon of the dhtribution of wn-normal hydro-
wax feedatocL to a specific pour point. carboar removed by rolvent deanxing the light wax fedat& a0
differeat pour pointa. Corrections made for yield difkmncen. (See
Figun, 2.)

1.6 Figures 11and 12 show the normal-and non-normal-

hydrcarbon distributions for the waxes obtained from
dewaxing the feedstock to different pour pointa. It can
be eeenfrom Figure 11that as the extent of dewaxingpea
down (Le., pour point goes up), the average carbon number
of the normal paraffins present in the wax increases. A
similar shift in the average carbon number for the non-
ff normal hydrocarbons canalsobe seen in Figure 12 Figure
1' 13 shows a comparison of the simulated didlation curvea
for the dewaxed oils and waxes. This figure shows that
E all of the dewaxed oils have nearly the same b o i i range
but the waxes get heavier as the extent of dewaxing de-
4 creases. Again, these figurm show the high selectivity of
2 solvent dewaxing for removing the heavier wax material.
Figures 14 and 15 ahom the normal-and non-normal-
0.5 hydrocarbon distributions for the waxes obtained from
further dewaxing the p r e v i d y dewsxed oils to the same
pour point These mshowthat,efter demaxing to +a
OF pour point, very few C!U+ normal paraffins re~mainin
the dewaxed oil but a significant amount of C24+ non-
normal hydrocarbone remain. The curves are incomplete
in Figure 13 due to the inability to assign the carbon
0 number of the nomnormal hydrocarbons in the absence
16 20 24 28 32 36 40 of the normal paraffinsfor reference. Figure 16 shows the
CARBON NUMBER sum of the normal paraffine removed from both dewaxine&
+w t40 t20 -6
These curves are all very similar,as they should be if the
final double dewaxed oils have the same pour point. The
slightly lower curve for the +60 OF eample is due to the
Figure 11. Compuison of the dintribution of normal paraffii re- higher pour point of the final oil (-5 OF) compared with
dby rohrent demxing the light wax feedatock to diffmnt pour the other samples (-15 to -20 OF).
points. C o r r e c t i ~ ~ made for yield differencee.. (See Figure 2.)
are
FigUte 17 shows the relationship of the normal paraffin
solvent dewaxing the feedstock, as determined by mea% content remaining in the oil after dewaxing to the pour
*the- ' wax content at different pour pofnts point of the dewaxed oil. Thie indicates that there ie a
wing differential scanning calorimetry (Slrarlosl, 1990). direct relationahip between the nodparaffin content
 Ind. Eng. Chem. Ree., Vol. 31, No. 7,1992 1737
1

'7 A
0.8

0.4

100 c I
0.2

0
16 20 24 28 32 38 40
CARBON NUMBER
-.......
+a +40 +Po 4
0 0 .

Rgmmlk C o m p u i r o n o f t h e d i & h t k & o f m - m o n d ~

c n r b m m o d by mlvent d e w d w thoweviowly dewrsud dL
to the anme pour point. C O ~ O areM made for yield differmom.
(sea Figure 2.)

1.5

0
1 6 2 0 2 4 2 8 3 2 3 8 4 0
CARBON NUlldBER
-..............
+a +40 +Po d
0 0 .
CARBON NUMBER
F6gareIr. ~ O f t h e d t M b u t i o n d M w m r 3 ~ r e -
moved bydmntdewaxhgtbspmvioudytbwueddlrtotbr u m e
-............... -.
+a +40 +Po 4

pour point ~rrectionaare made for yield difPerencee. (See pigun, Figure 16. Cornpariron of the summation of the normal paraffine
2.) removed during both dew-.
of the dewaxed oil and ita pour point. It can ale0 be men creme m d p a t a t h content remh in incream
that, at low normal-paraffinconcentrations, a small in- in pour point. Thh is in agreement with previoua work
1738 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 31, No. 7,1992
I I I I I Dugnan, T. F.;Morrison,R.A; Valymik, E. W. US 4,889,808,1989.
(20) 0 20 40 80 80 100
POUR POINT, F
Figure 17. Relatiomhip between the pour point of a solvent de-
waxed oil and the normal-pardfii content remainfng in tbe oil.
which showed a sharp increase in the pour point of an oil
with the initial increase in normal-paraffii concentration
and a decrease in the rate of pour point increase as the
normal-paraffii concentration increased (Krishna et al.,
1989). It should also be pointed out that there is a cor-
responding increase in non-normal hydrocarbons over the
same range shown in Figure 15 and the rehtive effect of
normal versus non-normal hydrocarbons on pour point is
camplex. Therefore, the influence of these non-normal
components should not be overlooked.
Conclusion
Clearly shown in this study is that the different mech-
anisms for wax removal in solvent and catalytic dewezing
result in dewaxed oils with different molecular Camposi-
tions. The distribution of normal and non-normal hy-
drocarbons remaining in the oils after dewaxing is clearly
different and that the two procemea have different
selectivities for wax removal. In catalytic dewaxing, nor-
mal-paraffinremoval occurs evenly over the boiling range
while in solvent dewaxing the heavier n o d paraffins are
selectively removed. The lighter non-nonnal hydmcarbons
are removed more selectively in catalytic dewaxing while
solvent dewaxing is again more selective for the heavier
components. Since only a small concentration of heavy
hydrocarbons, tw@ecidy normal parains,can have a large
effect on pour point, catalytic dewaxing must be operated
at higher severity than solvent dewaxing in order to obtain
low enough concentrationsof heavy hydrocarbons (both
normal and non-normal)to give an acceptable pour point.
This higher severity is moBt likely m p o d b l e for the lower
yield and VI seen when catalytically dewaxing high pa-
raffin content feedstocks.
This study suggests that an improved process for de-
waxing light feedstoolus, i.e., one which showa an improved
dewaxed oil yield and product VI, should isomeriee the
normal paraffii to isopardfins instead of crack them to
lighter fractions. This would increase the amount of feed
remaining in the oil fraction and possibly produce a
product with an i n d VI. similar procwa have h
patented IMiller, 1987; Chen et al., 1990;Garwood et d.,
1987; LaPierre et al., 1983). Such a process may be ob-
tained by first hydroisomerking the lubricant base stock
prior to the selective dewaxing step. The objective of the
isomerization step is only to isomerize the waxy compo-
nents of the feed to less waxy branched isoparaffii
without producing producta outaide the lube oil raqp. Tlae
severity of this step is controIled to effect only a partial
removal of the waxy components. Final dewaxing to the
desired pour point is carried out during the eelective de-
waxing step, where the remaining waxy paraffii compo-
nenta ere removed leaving the braached hpa&hs, which
contribute to high VI, in the product. The combination
of these two steps will not only increaee the dewaxed oil
yield a c r m the process but also produce a product with
a higher VI.
Literature Cited
Abdo, 5. F.; Moorhead, E. L.; Ward, J. W.US 4,867,861,1989.
Chen, N. Y.; Garwood, W. E.; Huang, T. J.; Le, Q. N.;Wow, S. 8.
US 4,919,788,1990.
Cheater, A. W.;Garwood, W. E. US 4,414,097,1983.
Cheater, A. W.; Garwood, W. E.; Vartuli, J. C. US 4,810,367,1989.
Garwood, W. E.; Le, Q.N.; Weng, S.S.EP 226,OS3,1987.
Garwood, W. E.;Wenker, J. L.; Vartuli, J. C. US 4,773,987,1988.
Graven, R G.; Gresn, J. R. Pmsented at the Congrw of the Aus-
tdialnrtitutb ofPt3lzokw*,- septdmr 1m.
Hargrove, J. D.Dewaiing, Catalytic. Encyclopsdia of Chemical
Processing and Design; McKetta, J. J., Ed.; Dekker: New York,
1983;Vol. 16,pp 346-362.
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Received for reuiew November 6, 1991
Revised manuscript received Mareh 10,1992
Accepted April 6,1992