An integrated upgrading process for upgrading a heavy oil, the process comprising the steps of introducing a heavy oil to a visbreaker unit; processing the heavy oil in the visbreaker unit to produce a visbreaker product stream; feeding the visbreaker product stream to a fractionator; separating the visbreaker product stream in the fractionator to produce a bottoms stream, a gas oil stream, a naphtha stream, and a gas product stream; feeding the bottoms stream to a supercritical water unit; and processing the bottoms stream in the supercritical water unit to produce an upgraded bottoms stream.

An apparatus and method are provided for processing hydrocarbon feeds. The method may pass a pyrolysis feed to a thermal pyrolysis reactor and expose at least a portion of the pyrolysis feed to high-severity operating conditions in a thermal pyrolysis reactor, wherein the thermal pyrolysis reactor is operated at operating conditions that include pressure ≧36 psig and provide a reactor product that has a C.sub.3+ to C.sub.2 unsaturate weight ratio ≦0.5.

An apparatus and method are provided for processing hydrocarbon feeds. The method may pass a pyrolysis feed to a thermal pyrolysis reactor and expose at least a portion of the pyrolysis feed to high-severity operating conditions in a thermal pyrolysis reactor, wherein the thermal pyrolysis reactor is operated at operating conditions that include pressure ≧36 psig and provide a reactor product that has a C.sub.3+ to C.sub.2 unsaturate weight ratio ≦0.5.

Processes for quenching coke in a coke drum of a delayed coker unit that more thoroughly cool the coke, eliminate hot spots in the coke bed, and remove residual hydrocarbons from the coke prior to venting the coke drum may comprise a ramp quench phase and a pressure quench phase after the ramp quench phase. During the ramp quench phase, the coke drum internal pressure may rise to a maximum pressure level and then fall to a transitional pressure level. At least one control valve may be actuated at the transitional pressure level to increase the coke drum internal pressure from the transitional pressure level to a pulsed pressure level of the pressure quench phase.

A method for making hydrogenated cyclooctatetraene dimers including cyclo-dimerizing butadiene to form 1,5-cyclooctadiene in the presence of at least one first catalyst, dehydrogenating 1,5-cyclooctadiene to 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene, dimerizing 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene to a C.sub.16 multicyclic hydrocarbon cyclooctatetraene dimer, and hydrogenating multicyclic hydrocarbon cyclooctatetraene dimer to form hydrogenated cyclooctatetraene dimers.

The invention relates to a method for determining a parameter representative of the stability of an asphaltene-containing petroleum product, said petroleum product being an effluent derived from a hydrocarbon feedstock conversion process or being a mixture of hydrocarbons, using proton NMR to determine a threshold value of said parameter representative of the stability, this threshold value constituting a boundary between a stability domain and an instability domain of a petroleum product. According to the invention, the parameter representative of the stability is a T.sub.2mean/T.sub.1mean or T.sub.1mean/T.sub.2mean ratio. The invention also relates to a method for monitoring a conversion process, in particular a deep conversion process, or a mixture of hydrocarbons, using this method of determination.

Integrated systems are provided for the production of higher hydrocarbon compositions, for example liquid hydrocarbon compositions, from methane using an oxidative coupling of methane system to convert methane to ethylene, followed by conversion of ethylene to selectable higher hydrocarbon products. Integrated systems and processes are provided that process methane through to these higher hydrocarbon products.

The invention relates to a process for producing alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons comprising the steps of: (a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon feedstream comprising benzene to a separation to provide a C6 cut comprising benzene, wherein the C6 cut comprises at least 60 wt-% of C6 hydrocarbons; (b) subjecting the C6 cut to catalytic cracking or thermal cracking to provide a cracking product stream comprising benzene and C2-C4 alkenes and (c) after step (b), without pre-separation of the cracking product stream, subjecting the cracking product stream to conditions suitable for alkylation to provide an alkylation product stream rich in alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons, wherein the process further comprises the steps of separating benzene and benzene coboilers from the alkylation product stream to obtain a stream of benzene and benzene coboilers and wherein the stream of benzene and benzene coboilers is separated into a benzene-rich stream comprising a higher proportion of benzene than the stream of benzene and benzene coboilers and a benzene-lean stream comprising a lower proportion of benzene than the stream of benzene and benzene coboilers and wherein the benzene-lean stream is recycled back to the catalytic cracking or thermal cracking in step (b).

The invention relates to a process for producing alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons comprising the steps of: (a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon feedstream comprising benzene to a separation to provide a C6 cut comprising benzene, wherein the C6 cut comprises at least 60 wt-% of C6 hydrocarbons; (b) subjecting the C6 cut to catalytic cracking or thermal cracking to provide a cracking product stream comprising benzene and C2-C4 alkenes and (c) after step (b), without pre-separation of the cracking product stream, subjecting the cracking product stream to conditions suitable for alkylation to provide an alkylation product stream rich in alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons, wherein the process further comprises the steps of separating benzene and benzene coboilers from the alkylation product stream to obtain a stream of benzene and benzene coboilers and wherein the stream of benzene and benzene coboilers is separated into a benzene-rich stream comprising a higher proportion of benzene than the stream of benzene and benzene coboilers and a benzene-lean stream comprising a lower proportion of benzene than the stream of benzene and benzene coboilers and wherein the benzene-lean stream is recycled back to the catalytic cracking or thermal cracking in step (b).

A method for producing hydrocarbons is proposed wherein a catalysis product stream (b) rich in n-butane, isobutane, 1-butene, 2-butene, isobutene and hydrocarbons with more than four and/or less than four carbon atoms is produced in a catalysis unit (1), using one or more catalyst feed streams containing oxygenates and/or olefins (a) and wherein additionally a steam cracking product stream (h) is produced in a steam cracking unit (2) using one or more steam cracking feed streams (g, r, s). It is provided that using the catalysis product stream (b) a skeletal isomerisation feed stream (f, q) poor in 1-butene, 2-butene and isobutene and containing at least isobutane is produced, in which the isobutane is at least predominantly reacted by skeletal isomerisation to form n-butane, and which is subsequently used at least partly as the, or one of the, steam cracking feed streams (g, r). The invention also relates to an apparatus (100, 200).