In an apparatus for fluid catalytic cracking a riser having a top and a bottom for fluidizing and cracking a hydrocarbon feed stream by contact with catalyst exits an outlet at the top of the riser. A downer in communication with the outlet of the riser receives cracked hydrocarbon product and catalyst. A swirl duct in communication with the downer has a discharge opening below the outlet for discharging said cracked hydrocarbon product and catalyst. A stream of hydrocarbon feed and a catalyst is passed upwardly in a riser. A stream of gaseous hydrocarbon products and catalyst is directedly downwardly and then the stream of gaseous hydrocarbon products and catalyst are directed to flow in an angular direction to separate gaseous hydrocarbon products from the catalyst.

Processes for producing alcohols from biomass are provided. The processes utilize supercritical methanol to depolymerize biomass with subsequent conversion to a mixture of alcohols. In particular the disclosure relates to continuous processes which produce high yields of alcohols through recycling gases and further employ dual reactor configurations which improve overall alcohol yields. Processes for producing higher ethers and olefins from the so-formed alcohols, through alcohol coupling and subsequent dehydration are also provided. The resulting distillate range ethers and olefins are useful as components in liquid fuels, such as diesel and jet fuel.

The present invention describes the coprocessing of a lignocellulosic liquid stream and an intermediate fossil stream in the oil refining process comprising the steps of (a) contacting said intermediate fossil stream and said lignocellulosic liquid stream with a stream of solvent of C.sub.3-C.sub.10 hydrocarbons in an extraction section, obtaining a stream of extract with solvent and a stream of raffinate with solvent; and (b) sending said stream of extract with solvent to a separation section, obtaining a deasphalted oil stream comprising solvent-free carbon of renewable origin and a stream of recovered solvent. The present invention further relates to a process for producing fuels from the deasphalted oil stream comprising carbon of renewable origin, wherein the process comprises sending the deasphalted oil stream to a conversion section of an oil refinery. The conversion section is selected from catalytic hydrocracking unit, thermal cracking, fluidized-bed catalytic cracking, visbreaking, delayed coking and catalytic reforming.

An advanced regulatory controller for a converter of a catalytic olefins unit is disclosed. A Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) type converter (i.e., reactor-regenerator) is combined with an ethylene style cold-end for product recovery. The regulatory controller operates using an Advanced Regulatory Control (ARC) application using variables, such as a controlled variable, four disturbance variables, associated variable, and a manipulated variable. The ARC application manipulates fuel oil or tail gas flow to a regenerator in response to an expected future steady state value of a regenerator bed temperature resulting from changes in the values of a selected set of the variables.

A two-step process that includes a pyrolytic first step carried out in a mechanically or gravitationally impelled reactor and a catalytic fluid bed second step that upgrades the resulting vapor, for the conversion of waste plastics, polymers, and other waste materials to useful chemical and fuel products such as paraffins, olefins, and aromatics such as BTX is described.

Methods for catalytic cracking hydrocarbon mixture have been disclosed. A hydrocarbon mixture having an initial boiling temperature of 30° C. to 70° C. is catalytically cracked in the presence of a catalyst to produce one or more olefins and/or one or more aromatics. The catalytic cracking is conducted such that the amount of coke formed on the catalyst is at least 5 wt. % (based on total weight of spent catalyst). The catalyst from the catalytic cracking step is then regenerated to produce regenerated catalyst.

According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for processing a heavy oil includes introducing the heavy oil to a hydroprocessing unit, the hydroprocessing unit being operable to hydroprocess the heavy oil to form a hydroprocessed effluent by contacting the heavy oil feed with an HDM catalyst, an HDS catalyst, and an HDA catalyst. The hydroprocessed effluent is passed directly to a HS-FCC unit, the HS-FCC unit being operable to crack the hydroprocessed effluent to form a cracked effluent comprising at least one product. The cracked effluent is passed out of the HS-FCC unit. The heavy oil has an API gravity of from 25 degrees to 50 degrees and at least 20 wt. % of the hydroprocessed effluent passed to the HS-FCC unit has a boiling point less than 225 degrees ° C.

A method for processing a chemical stream includes contacting a feed stream with a catalyst in an upstream reactor section of a reactor having the upstream reactor section and a downstream reactor section, passing an intermediate product stream to the downstream reactor section, and introducing a riser quench fluid into the downstream reactor section, upstream reactor section, or transition section and into contact with the intermediate product stream and the catalyst to slow or stop the reaction. The method includes separating at least a portion of the catalyst from the product stream, passing the product stream to a product processing section, cooling the product stream, and separating a portion of the riser quench fluid from the product stream. The riser quench fluid separated from the product stream may be recycled back to the downstream reactor section, upstream reactor section, or transition section as the riser quench fluid.

A process for commencing a continuous reaction in a reactor system includes introducing a catalyst to a catalyst processing portion of the reactor system, the catalyst initially having a first temperature of 500 C or less, and contacting the catalyst at the first temperature with a commencement fuel gas stream, which includes at least 80 mol % commencement fuel gas, in the catalyst processing portion. Contacting of the catalyst with the commencement fuel gas stream causes combustion of the commencement fuel gas. The process includes maintaining the contacting of the catalyst with the commencement fuel gas stream until the temperature of the catalyst increases from the first temperature to a second temperature at which combustion of a regenerator fuel source maintains an operating temperature range in the catalyst processing portion.

A method for processing a hydrocarbon feed to produce olefins may comprise introducing the hydrocarbon feed to a first fluid catalytic cracking system, which may cause at least a portion of the hydrocarbon feed to undergo catalytic cracking and produce a spent first cracking catalyst and a first cracked effluent comprising one or more olefins. The method may further comprise passing the first cracked effluent to a separation system downstream of the first fluid catalytic cracking system, which may separate the first cracked effluent to produce at least a naphtha effluent comprising one or more olefins. Additionally, the method may comprise passing the naphtha effluent to a second fluid catalytic cracking system downstream of the separation system, which may cause at least a portion of the naphtha effluent to undergo catalytic cracking and produce a spent cracking catalyst mixture and a second cracked effluent comprising one or more olefins.