Processes herein may be used to thermally crack various hydrocarbon feeds, and may eliminate the refinery altogether while making the crude to chemicals process very flexible in terms of crude. In embodiments herein, crude is progressively separated into at least light and heavy fractions. Depending on the quality of the light and heavy fractions, these are routed to one of three upgrading operations, including a fixed bed hydroconversion unit, a fluidized catalytic conversion unit, or a residue hydrocracking unit that may utilize an ebullated bed reactor. Products from the upgrading operations may be used as feed to a steam cracker.

The present invention relates to a process for removing sulfur (S)-containing compounds in crude oil material. The process comprises causing the crude oil material to react with a removing agent, which comprises a phosphoric acid ester, and an aqueous phase in the presence of microwaves. The process of the invention is applied at ambient pressure and relatively low temperature compared to the conventional desulfurization processes. The process of the invention can be readily scaled up and integrated into an industrial facility

Disclosed herein is a fluid flow improver comprising a branched dendritic core comprising a first quaternary carbon center bonded to four second carbon atoms, wherein at least three of the four second carbon atoms are individually bonded to one or more chain extender ligands to produce the branched dendritic core, wherein the branched dendritic core has greater than or equal to about 16 terminal hydroxyl groups, and wherein at least one of the terminal hydroxyl groups is esterified with at least one carboxylic acid moiety comprising from 6 to 30 carbon atoms. Methods of inhibiting deposition of paraffin and reducing pour point temperature of a hydrocarbon fluid are also disclosed.

A method and system for reducing viscosity in the crude oil and the empowerment of its dehydration process pass crude oil over a core that ionizes-polarizes the crude oil with an electrostatic charge. The metal bar core made of an alloy which includes, a weight of, 40-70% copper, 10-32% nickel, 15-40% zinc, 2-20% tin, and 0.05-10% silver. The metal bar core comprises a plurality of grooves, which allows crude oil to be agitated as it comes in contact with the core, activating an electrostatic charge. The electrostatic charge of the core creates a magnetic catalytic reaction that causes: (1) a molecular separation in the molecular chains within crude oil thereby lowering the viscosity and (2) stretches and twists caused by the molecular ionization-polarization of crude oil, causes that this release accordingly congenital or added water that is trapped in it, resulting in a potentiation of the dehydration of crude oil.

Fuel oil compositions, and methods for blending such fuel oil compositions, to enhance initial compatibility and longer term stability when such fuel oil compositions are blended to meet IMO 2020 low sulfur fuel oil requirements (ISO 8217). In one or more embodiments, asphaltenic resid base stocks are blended with high aromatic slurry oil to facilitate initial compatibility such that low sulfur cutter stocks, e.g., vacuum gas oil and/or cycle oil, may be further blended therein to cut sulfur content while maintaining longer term stability. These fuel oil compositions are economically advantageous when used as marine low sulfur fuel oils because greater concentrations of high viscosity resids are present in the final blend.

A non-petroleum or renewable feedstock containing oxygen and contaminants of metals, gums, and resins is treated by introducing the feedstock into a reactor at a flow velocity of from 20 ft/sec to 100 ft/sec. The feedstock is heated within the reactor to a temperature of from 700° F. to 1100° F. to remove and/or reduce the content of the contaminants to form a reactor product. The reactor product is cooled to form a cooled reactor product. Non-condensable gases, metals and water are separated and removed from the cooled reactor product to form a final product. The final product has an oxygen content that is 60% or less of that of the feedstock, and wherein the final product comprises 25 wt % or less any triglycerides, monoglycerides, diglycerides, free fatty acids, phosphatides, sterols, tocopherols, tocotrienols, or fatty alcohols, from 5 wt % to 30 wt % naphtha, and 50 wt % or more diesel.

A process for producing naphthenic base oils from low quality naphthenic crude feedstocks. The naphthenic base oils produced by the process have improved low temperature properties at high yields based on feedstock.

A process for producing naphthenic bright stocks from low quality naphthenic crude feedstocks. The naphthenic bright stocks produced by the process have improved low temperature properties at high yields based on feedstock.

Systems and methods are provided for catalytic hydroprocessing to form lubricant base oils. The methods can include performing high pressure hydrofinishing after fractionating the hydrotreated and/or hydrocracked and/or dewaxed effluent. Performing hydrofinishing after fractionation can allow the high hydrogen pressure for hydrofinishing to be used on one or more lubricant base oil fractions that are desirable for high pressure hydrofinishing. This can allow for improved aromatic saturation of a lubricant base oil product while reducing or minimizing the hydrogen consumption. The high pressure hydrofinishing can be performed at a hydrogen partial pressure of at least about 2500 psig (˜17.2 Mpa), or at least about 2600 psig (˜18.0 Mpa), or at least about 3000 psig (˜20.6 MPa). The high pressure hydrofinishing can allow for formation of a lubricant base oil product with a reduced or minimized aromatics content, a reduced or minimized 3-ring aromatics content, or a combination thereof.

Systems and methods are provided for the fractionation of lubricant feeds. A lubricant feed can be introduced into a vacuum distillation tower having a reduced pressure and a reduced or minimized water vapor partial pressure. The lubricant feed can be separated into a plurality of lubricant boiling range products. The can allow an overlap in boiling ranges of one or more products separated from the lubricant feed to be reduced or minimized.