PETROCHEMICALS

ParamaX®
Processes Towards Aromatics
Powering Integrated Solutions
Axens Group provides a complete range of solutions for the conversion of oil and biomass to
cleaner fuels, the production and purification of major petrochemical intermediates as well as
treatment and conversion options for natural gas. The integrated offer includes technologies,
equipment, furnaces, modular units, catalysts, adsorbents and related services.

From feasibility studies to unit start-up and follow-up throughout the entire unit cycle life,
Axens Group is ideally positioned to cover the entire value chain while ensuring the highest
level of performance with reduced environmental footprint.

Over Over

3,000
industrial units
70,000
tons of catalysts and adsorbents
under license each year coupled with
catalysts services

Over Over Offices in

500
modular units
2,000
furnaces references
15
countries
references

› Axens › Head Office:

S.A. Share Capital 156,285,689.85 € 89, boulevard Franklin Roosevelt
R.C. Nanterre B 599 815 073 92500 Rueil Malmaison
France
THE ALLIANCE
OF MARKET-LEADING
TECHNOLOGIES

Paraxylene is an essential chemical building block in ParamaX® alliance brings together a number of players in
the production of a diverse range of polyethylene aromatics: Axens, ThyssenKrupp Uhde and ExxonMobil;
terephthalate (PET) and fiber consumer products. In itself a recognized operator.
recent years, annual growth in consumption has
With the support of this alliance, the licensee benefits
increased to 5% per year; well above GDP.
from a vast portfolio of commercially proven, pack-leading
ParamaX® technology suite is a combination of top-of- technologies that meet the most stringent of market
the-line processes designed for the production of requirements, available only through Axens licensing.
high-purity paraxylene, but also other aromatic
Axens coordinates technologies from various actors,
molecules such as metaxylene, orthoxylene, benzene 3
optimizing materials and energy between all units to offer
and toluene.
unique synergies and optimal economic performance for
the operator.

COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE
Although the alliance is a recent market entrant, the relevance and
competitiveness of ParamaX® has remarkably earned immediate acceptance in
the industry. ParamaX® captured almost half of the awarded capacity since
alliance’s initial successes in the early 2000’s.

As of today, Axens has licensed more than 30 ParamaX® aromatics complexes

and more than 400 process units for the production and transformation of
aromatics.

This industry recognition highlights ParamaX® technology suite’s unrivalled

features, including:
• Industrially proven technologies delivering lowest investment and refined
aromatics production costs.
• Second generation Energy Efficient engineering solution for overall thermal
integration of the complex.
• Unmatched capabilities to develop high capacity designs.
• Unique reliability and availability of process units.
• Premium tailor-made services and support from basic design to operation and
follow-up.
 THE ARCHITECTURE
Aromatics complexes generally consist of four core blocks that all play a major
role in producing petrochemical grade aromatics, providing the foundations for
success in the end-user’s project.

Morpholine
O

N
H₂
O

Aromatics production Aromatics extraction

Ò ParamaX® block functions

AROMATICS PRODUCTION AROMATICS EXTRACTION

Aromatics are commonly produced by the naphtha Light naphtha cuts are the most difficult to reform.
reforming route which allows selective production of The benzene-toluene cut of the reformate contains a
a wide range of valuable aromatics within the significant amount of unconverted non-aromatics
aromatics complex. The reforming unit can be that need to be separated to produce on-specification
diversely fed with naphtha from topping or any benzene to the market and toluene to the
conversion process after the necessary pretreatment. rearrangement block.
Light aromatic-type pyrolysis gasoline from Steam
Non-aromatics such as benzene and toluene co-
Cracking are sometimes used together with reformate.
boilers are removed as part of the extraction process.
Extractive distillation is typically considered, while
liquid-liquid extraction is an alternative technology.
 Non-Aromatics

Benzene

Paraxylene

Aromatics rearrangement Pure xylene isomers production

AROMATICS PURE XYLENE ISOMERS

REARRANGEMENT PRODUCTION
In order to direct and increase production of the C 8 aromatic cut s produced within aromatic s
desired aromatics, an aromatics rearrangement block production and aromatics rearrangement blocks are
can be considered to convert toluene and C 9 + processed in the so - called xylenes loop where
aromatics cuts. paraxylene is purified and other xylenes converted to
paraxylene.
Several technologies are available and offer significant
impacts on paraxylene and benzene production in Different routes for ethylbenzene valorization can be
particular. envisaged if conversion to xylenes or to benzene is
preferred.
Paraxylene selective technologies enable major
reductions in overall paraxylene production costs, as From the xylenes loop, high purity metaxylene or
well as cost-effective xylenes loop debottlenecking orthoxylene can be produced as an option.
capabilities.
 PARAMAX COMPLEX ®

The aromatics complex is tailored to the end-user’s production objectives. The wide range of
technologies available in the ParamaX® Suite allows unique optimization capabilities to precisely fit a
requested product slate for downstream needs or optimal economic performance.
Performance optimization is further enhanced by the strong synergies between technologies, allowing
for single-source licensing of the full complex.

Aromizing™ - Continuous Catalyst

Regeneration Naphtha
Reformer
Aromizing™ is the core of aromatic rings
production. The technology drives performance,
offering economic gains and operability, while the
catalyst drives greater yields.

BENEFITS
• Cost-effective side-by-side design

N S
• Best-in-class regeneration design H₂ BT. AE
• Access to the award-winning Symphony™ Naphtha
NHT Morphylane
catalyst portfolio
Aromatics

R S
• Environmentally friendly Extraction
CCR. Ref
6 Aromizing™ A

Aromatics Production
C₃ cut
Arofining® - Selective Olefins
Removal C₄ cut
Arofining™ technology is an aromatics
purification process for the selective

XC
hydrogenation of olefins, diolefins and styrenics
while preserving highly valuable aromatics.

BENEFITS
• Avoids logistics issues associated with clay
treaters
• Cost-effective hydrogenation process
Pure
• Improves end-user revenue NS Naphtha Splitter XC Xylene Pre-Run Column

RS Reformate Splitter HA Heavy Aromatics

Eluxyl® - PX Purification XyMaxSM - EB Dealkylating Xylenes Isomerization

Eluxyl® technology employs a state of-the-art, simulated XyMaxSM efficiently converts ethylbenzene (EB) to valuable
counter-current adsorption concept for paraxylene purification benzene while restoring xylenes to an equilibrium mixture in
and production from a C8 aromatics stream. Eluxyl® is an paraxylene-depleted raffinate streams.
innovative technology enabling the end user to capitalize on
future molecular sieve improvements.
BENEFITS
BENEFITS • Benchmark catalyst for EB dealkylation isomerization
• Benchmark technology for paraxylene purification
• Highest EB conversion rate
• Proven lowest CAPEX & OPEX technology
• Highest activity
• Unmatched SCS (Sequential Control System) reliability and
• Drastic reduction of paraxylene production costs
tuning capabilities
 Morphylane - BT. Aromatics Extraction EMTAMSM - Toluene Alkylation with
Cost-effective extractive distillation technology. Thanks to the Methanol
recognized superior characteristics of its patented solvent Paraxylene yield can be increased thanks to the low
(N-Formylmorpholine), Morphylane has achieved a major cost utilization of methanol in toluene in the
breakthrough in aromatics extraction technology. EMTAMSM process. EMTAMSM enables unique
product slate flexibility from zero to conventional
BENEFITS benzene co-production for greatest resilience to
• Achieves 99.95%+ benzene purity changing market conditions.
• No solvent decomposition, corrosion or toxicity issues
• Lowest solvent consumption BENEFIT
BENEFITS
• Lowest CAPEX • ParamaX® scheme with the highest
paraxylene selectivity
• Selective paraxylene process
• Enables massive reduction of paraxylene cost of
production
• Advantage of strong product slate flexibility

Light Naphtha
& Raffinate
BENZENE
PxMaxSM - Toluene Selective
Disproportionation
PxMax SM
process is the industry benchmark
Tol. Alkyl. selective toluene disproportionation (STDP)
process. The STDP enables rearrangement of
EMTAMSM aromatics to boost the production of benzene &
xylenes from toluene.
BT. Frac. Tol. Disprop.
BENEFITS
BENEFIT
DWC/Conv. PxMaxSM • Benchmark catalyst for toluene
disproportionation
Transalkyl. • Selective paraxylene process
• Enables tremendous paraxylene cost of
TransPlusSM production reduction 7
Aromatics Rearrangement
• Ultra high IRR solution

PX Purif.
PARAXYLENE
Eluxyl®
TransPlusSM - Heavy Aromatics
Transalkylation
The TransPlusSM process is the low-cost,
EB Dealk EB Ref Xyl. Isom. high-conversion solution to effectively upgrade
LPI C9+ heavy aromatics and toluene/benzene to
XyMax SM
Oparis ®
HA

higher-value products (mixed xylenes and

high-purity benzene).

BENEFITS
Xylene Isomer Production • High conversion per pass
Heavies • Very low aromatic ring loss
Orthoxylene • Highest tolerance to heavy aromatics
• Low OPEX

Oparis® - EB Reforming Xylenes Isomerization LPISM - Liquid Phase Xylenes Isomerization

Oparis® harnesses chemistry to maximize paraxylene Liquid phase isomerization offers unique market performances,
selectivity thanks to ethylbenzene (EB) to xylene isomerization mitigating the drawbacks of vapor-phase xylene isomerization
while restoring the xylene equilibrium of paraxylene-depleted with excellent savings in CAPEX & OPEX. It is also the
raffinate streams. technology of choice for isomerization of
ethylbenzene-depleted C8 aromatics streams.
BENEFITS
• Benchmark catalyst for EB reforming isomerization BENEFITS
• High selectivity in isomerization to paraxylene • Costless Isomerization technology
• Highest paraxylene production rate • Equilibrium xylenes production
• Highest EB conversion rate • Strong synergies for reduced paraxylene cost of production
 DEVELOPING SYNERGIES
OUTSIDE THE BATTERY
LIMITS
A rocky outlook for motor gasoline fuels and paraxylene growth is spurring
investors and operators to develop resilient Crude-to-Chemicals or Gasoline
and Chemicals integrated Complexes.

CRUDE-TO-PARAXYLENE EXPERIENCE
Building on Axens’ comprehensive portfolio and expertise in Crude-to-Paraxylene, the company has successfully
delivered the complete design of the first-of-its-kind complex to the industry.
AGO
Full conversion Diesel HyK™ LN Isomerization
ADU

SR VGO HyK™ HN Aromatics Complex ParamaX®

H-Oil® GO
VDU

Kero China Spec Kero Pool

Resid HCK H-Oil®
H-Oil® VGO Diesel China V Spec Diesel Pool
8 VR UCO Full conversion HyK™
UCO Group III Lube Complex
SDA Solvahl™ DAO
Pitch Gasification
Pitch

1
/ Atmospheric Distillation Unit
2
/ Vacuum Distillation Unit
Key features of this scheme are:
• Maximum liquid yield with highest heavy naphtha selectivity
• Maximum paraxylene selectivity with Oparis® EthylBenzene Reforming Isomerization technology
• Cost-effective configuration with only proven technologies
• Highest plant availability and reliability

This achievement demonstrates the extensive expertise and engineering capabilities of Axens in successfully
developing world-scale, complete refineries and petrochemical complexes.

INTEGRATED PARAMAX® & GASOLINE POOL EXPERIENCE

Optimizing a complex that meets both gasoline & Alliance’s unique portfolio of aromatics rearrangement
aromatics objectives is no small task, as aromatics and xylenes Isomerization technologies allows a degree
production places significant stress on gasoline pool of freedom to thoroughly achieve operators’ objectives
specifications. with optimal economic performance.

The availability of a complete portfolio of clean fuels Experience, competitiveness and the robustness of
technologies from a single technology provider proposed optimizations have won Axens a number of
contributes to project profitability, thanks to seamless major awards all over the world and a market leading
and efficient overall optimization. position.
 { CASE STUDY }
Net feed costs represent about 85% of a state-of-the- The positive impact on material balance is presented
art naphtha to PX complex operating costs. below, based on the same naphtha feed rate to the
ParamaX® Complex.
Traditional
Aromatics Complex EMTAM ParamaX®

Maintenance <1%

 Net feed  Utilities  Catalysts

& chemicals
EMTAM ParamaX®
Significant savings can therefore be achieved thanks to:  Paraxylene  Benzene  Heavies
 Raffinate  Light Ends
• incorporation of alternative cost-advantaged feed,
• increase of aromatics to paraxylene ring usage.
Already commercially available, EMTAM ParamaX®
EMTAM, PX-selective toluene alkylation with methanol
enables major savings compared to traditional
technology meets these two objectives, thanks to the
aromatics complexes, thanks to drastically reduced
co-feeding of low cost methanol and non-production of
paraxylene production costs, as illustrated by the
benzene and gas from toluene.
figures above:
• 20% CAPEX reduction,
MeOH
• Up to 35% naphtha feed reduction,
• More than 30% utility savings.

9
ParamaX®, a world of services
Axens role in the success of end-user’s projects does not end at the acceptance of the unit
performances. Axens guides and supports its licenses’ day to day operations and profits through a
full suite of services, including:

Start-Up Operation

LP Model Operating Training Simulators (OTS) Advanced Process Control (APC)

Planning & Scheduling
Training Services Monitor unit performance
Connect’In™
& detect abnormal deviations
Connected to your
Static Process Simulators (webPOS™) Provide pro active advises
trusted advisor
for sustainable performance

• Operator training simulators (OTS) powered with licensor high fidelity models, commissioning and operation
experience are the best training tools available.
• Axens ParamaX® complex webPOS™ boost an engineer’s effectiveness up to the next level and is for instance run by
licensee to optimize naphtha feed sourcing and production planning .
• Advanced Process Control (APC) uses a model-based predictive control technology that drives the process towards the
desired targets through the manipulation of several variables simultaneously while observing all process constraints. APC
strategy for ParamaX® is focused on unit stabilization, PX production maximization and energy savings.
• Connect’In™ solution is the combination of high fidelity reaction models, live analysis of Axens experts and unequal
access to expertise coming from technical assistance on a large install based of process units across the globe. Thanks
to automatic data collection, analysis and prediction, Connect’In™ will enable users to monitor their ParamaX® complex
performances making easier the decision process using what-if tools comparing the current performances with
expected ones while changing operating conditions.
 COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION
Alliance continuously invests in R&D in order to offer its licensees the highest project
profitability.
Supported by extensive industrial feedback, these efforts keep proposed catalysts/
sieve products and technologies at the cutting edge of technology.

SPX3003 SPX5003 EMTAMSM LPI

High capacity Highest mass 30% lower feed Cost effective
& mass transfer transfer demand & selective xylenes
& lowest D/F Isomerization

ParamaX® XyMax2SM TransPlusNGSM Eluxyl 1.15 TransPlus5SM

EM-4600 EM-1100 EM-1200
Market entry Smooth
High selectivity Heavy feeds & cost effective High selectivity
& activity efficiency operations & activity

2005

Aromatics production ParamaX® ParamaX®

10 Aromatics extraction
1st G Energy 2nd G Energy
Pure xylene isomers production
Aromatics rearrangement
Efficiency Efficiency

Thanks to continuous efforts in R&D, the ParamaX® Suite offers the most competitive and advanced complexes, with
reductions in investment, feedstock and energy consumption.

PARAMAX® ENERGY EFFICIENCY DESIGN

Powering an aromatics complex accounts for around 10 In addition to systematic screening methodology, Axens
to 15% of operational costs. It offers significant potential is continuously implementing innovative and patented
for improvement of end-user profitability. engineering solutions to improve overall performance.
The recently marketed second generation Energy
Harnessing a decade of development and experience,
Efficient design has already won multiple awards.
Axens employs a thermal integration scheme evaluation
tool to propose tailor-made designs to operators that
guarantee the best energy consumption performance in $
terms of cost control, operational flexibility and safety. Energy lost at
50% Energy
85°C
OPEX >130°C in average
savings is recovered

CAPEX increased by Energy losses

This approach is integrated in the CEED™ or “Custom
0% through air
coolers divided by
and Efficient Early Design” that Axens offers each of its
licensees. 2
 OIL REFINING

PETROCHEMICALS

GASES

ALTERNATIVES
& RENEWABLES

WATER

Axens is a Group providing

a complete range of solutions
for the conversion of oil and
biomass to cleaner fuels, the
production and purification of
major petrochemical intermediates
as well as all of natural gas
treatment and conversion
options. The integrated offer
includes technologies, equipment,
furnaces, modular units, catalysts,
adsorbents and related services,
commercialized under “Axens
Solutions”, “Heurtey Petrochem
Solutions” and “Axens Horizon”
brands.

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