An improved contactor/separator process is presented where one or more stages of contact and separation is achieved by providing one or more shroud and disengagement device combinations within a vessel, where the disengagement device is connected to the top of the shroud that contains vertically hanging fibers. A liquid admixture of immiscible fluids is directed co-currently upward through the shroud at flooding velocity or greater, where all of the admixture exits the disengagement device through a coalescing material. Tray supports are used to stack additional shroud and disengagement combinations vertically within the vessel. Each tray allows less dense liquids exiting one disengagement device from a lower shroud and disengagement device combination to enter the bottom of a shroud of a shroud and disengagement device combination position vertically above the lower shroud and disengagement device combination.

An improved contactor/separator process is presented where one or more stages of contact and separation is achieved by providing one or more shroud and disengagement device combinations within a vessel, where the disengagement device is connected to the top of the shroud that contains vertically hanging fibers. A liquid admixture of immiscible fluids is directed co-currently upward through the shroud at flooding velocity or greater, where all of the admixture exits the disengagement device through a coalescing material. Tray supports are used to stack additional shroud and disengagement combinations vertically within the vessel. Each tray allows less dense liquids exiting one disengagement device from a lower shroud and disengagement device combination to enter the bottom of a shroud of a shroud and disengagement device combination position vertically above the lower shroud and disengagement device combination.

The present invention describes an extractive oxidation process for removing contaminants from hydrocarbon streams using an ionic liquid combined with an organometallic ionic complex of iron(II), which comprises a complex of iron(II) cation with an ionophilic binder, catalyst of iron(II) with ionophilic binder in its molecular structure, oxidation of which is performed with an oxidizing agent and is catalysed by the organometallic iron(II) complex present in the phase of the ionic liquid. Besides maintaining its characteristics of selective solvent of oxidizing compounds, the ionic liquid combined with the organometallic complex of iron(II) with catalytic ionophilic binder of the oxidizing agent, stimulating the reactive phenomenon taking place in the ionic liquid phase, with the effect that the iron remains stable in the ionic liquid phase, without being leached into the oily phase. This measure results in a considerable improvement in removal of the heteroatoms from the hydrocarbon medium.

Systems and methods for producing one or more olefins using waste plastics and used lubricating oil are disclosed. Mixed waste plastic is processed in a pyrolysis unit to produce plastic derived oil. The plastic derived oil is subsequently blended with used lubricating oil to form a mixture. The mixture is then separated into (1) a light-end stream comprising C1 to C8 hydrocarbons and (2) a heavy hydrocarbon feed stream. The heavy hydrocarbon feed stream is then processed to produce a steam cracking feedstock stream. The light end-stream and/or the steam cracking feedstock stream are then flowed into a cracking unit to produce one or more olefins.

Methods for separation of oxygenates or other chemical components from fuels using chemical processes and separations including, but not limited to, onboard applications in vehicles. These separations may take place using a variety of materials and substances whereby a target material of interest is captured, held, and then released at a desired location and under desired conditions. In one set of experiments we demonstrated an enhancement in the separation of diaromatics by >38 times over gasoline and aromatics by >3.5 times over gasoline. This would give an advantage to reducing cold-start emissions, or emissions during transient conditions, in either gasoline or diesel.

A method of removing a metal contaminant from a light hydrocarbon stream comprises introducing a light hydrocarbon stream into a reactor vessel, the reactor vessel containing an aqueous treatment composition which comprises a treatment agent comprising one or more of the following: an alkali metal salt of a thiocarbonate; an alkaline earth metal salt of a thiocarbonate; an alkali metal salt of a tetrathioperoxy carbonate; or an alkaline earth metal salt of a tetrathioperoxy carbonate, the light hydrocarbon stream having an API gravity of greater than 28 degree determined in accordance with ASTM D 287-12 and comprising a metal contaminant; contacting the light hydrocarbon stream with the aqueous treatment composition generating a treated light hydrocarbon stream with a reduced level of the metal contaminant; and removing the treated light hydrocarbon stream from the reactor vessel.

A method for treating an aromatic mineral oil or a mixture of aromatic mineral oil and naphthenic mineral oil, the oil or the mixture of oils being loaded with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the method including a—optional removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon s having a molecular weight greater than or equal to 200 from the aromatic mineral oil or the mixture of aromatic mineral oil and naphthenic mineral oil loaded with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; b—extraction, at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons having a molecular weight lower than 200 solubilised in the oil or the mixture of oils obtained in step (a); and c—recovery of the oil or the mixture of oils depleted in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The invention relates to a process for the recovery of aliphatic hydrocarbons from a liquid stream comprising aliphatic hydrocarbons, heteroatom containing organic compounds and optionally aromatic hydrocarbons, involving (i) contacting said liquid stream with a washing solvent thereby removing heteroatom containing organic compounds; a) liquid-liquid extraction of the washed stream with an extraction solvent; b) mixing the extract stream, comprising extraction solvent, heteroatom containing organic com-pounds and optionally aromatic hydrocarbons, with a demixing solvent to remove additional heteroatom containing organic compounds and optional aromatic hydrocarbons; and c) separation of the remaining stream into a demixing solvent stream and an extraction vent stream. Further, the invention relates to a process for the recovery of aliphatic hydrocarbons from plastics comprising the above-mentioned process; and to a process for steam cracking a hydrocarbon feed comprising aliphatic hydrocarbons as recovered in one of the above-mentioned processes.

A ionic liquid composition to remove sulfur from refined crude oil fraction, comprising or consisting of two or more compounds having: —an imidazolium cation substituted by one or more straight or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl group and —an anion selected from the group consisting of R.sub.5COO, CI., Br, [BF.sub.4], [PF.sub.6]—, [SbF.sub.6]—, [R.sub.6SO.sub.4], [OTs], [OMs], wherein R5 is C.sub.1-C.sub.8 alkyl, Cs—Cs cycloalkyl, benzyl, C.sub.2-C.sub.6 alkenyl, and R6 is C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl.

A method for preparing feed material for a catalytic depolymerisation process, the method comprising the steps of: separating feedstock into two or more feedstock streams based on one or more properties of the feedstock, introducing each of the two or more feedstock streams into one or more process vessels, processing the feedstock streams in the presence of a catalyst in the process vessels under conditions of elevated temperature in order to produce two or more intermediate feedstock streams, and blending the two or more intermediate feedstock streams to form the feed material.