The Science: Why Techtiv™ Solvent Powers Superior Extraction

Introduction

At the heart of Sulzer’s GT-BTX™ technology is the proprietary Techtiv™ solvent a breakthrough innovation in extractive distillation for aromatics recovery. This article explains why Techtiv™ delivers superior separation, sustainability, and process reliability for benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) extraction.

What Makes Techtiv™ Unique?

• Highest Selectivity

  • Techtiv™ is a special blend of solvents, engineered and commercially-proven to outperform all single-component solvents such as sulfolane, NFM, NMP, and glycols. Its optimized selectivity & solvency ensures highly efficient recovery of BTX aromatics, even from wide-boiling, variable-content feeds like catalytic reformate, pyrolysis gasoline, and coke oven light oil.

  • The result is product purities of 99.9+ wt% and recovery rates above 99.9%, minimizing valuable aromatics loss.

    
    

• Nitrogen-Free and Catalyst Friendly

  • Unlike some competing solvents that contain nitrogen-based components (which can poison catalysts downstream), Techtiv™ is a non-nitrogen formulation. This enables the production of benzene free from basic nitrogen compounds, safeguarding process reliability and extending catalyst life.

    
    

• Environmental and Operational Benefits

  • Techtiv™ enables lower solvent inventory and circulation rates, reducing both capital investment and operating costs. Its high stability and low degradation rate minimize solvent makeup requirements and environmental footprint, contributing to more sustainable aromatics extraction with 20–30% less energy consumption than traditional systems.

    
    

Key Advantages at a Glance

Attribute	Techtiv™ Solvent Performance
Selectivity	Market-leading, maximizes BTX extraction from varied feedstocks
Stability	High thermal and chemical stability, extremely low degradation
Boiling Point Range	Suited for efficient distillation and easy solvent recovery
Nitrogen-Free	Protects downstream catalysts and simplifies product handling
Environmental Friendliness	Reduces solvent and energy needs, supporting sustainability goals

How the Techtiv™-Powered Process Works

• Aromatic-rich feed enters the Extractive Distillation Column.

• Techtiv™ solvent interacts with the stream, selectively alter the boiling points of the aromatics versus the non-aromatics in the Extractive Distillation Column.

• Non-aromatics become relatively lighter and exit as raffinate, while aromatics (BTX) become relatively heavier that moves to the Solvent Recovery Column where it is stripped off to be the pure extract product.

• Lean Techtiv™ is recycled, minimizing waste and cost; BTX is fractionated for petrochemical use.

  
  

Conclusion

By leveraging Techtiv™’s advanced properties, GT-BTX™ achieves higher recovery, higher product purities, greater sustainability, and lower costs than all other extraction technologies. Refineries and petrochemical plants benefit from robust, flexible, and environmentally responsible aromatics extraction, setting new industry standards for efficiency and product quality.

Ready to maximize aromatics recovery with GT-BTX™? Contact Sulzer today to learn how our Techtiv™ solvents and proven extraction technologies can boost efficiency, reduce costs, and improve sustainability in your refinery or petrochemical plant.