The invention relates to hydrocarbon conversion processes, e.g., to processes for producing acetylene from hydrocarbon and then hydrogenating at least a portion of the acetylene. The invention also relates to polymerizing one or more products derived from the acetylene saturation, and to equipment useful for these processes.

A method for operating an acetylene hydrogenation unit in an integrated steam cracking-fluidized catalytic dehydrogenation (FCDh) system may include separating a cracked gas from a steam cracking system and an FCDh effluent from an FCDh system into a hydrogenation feed and an acetylene-depleted stream, the hydrogenation feed comprising at least hydrogen, CO, and acetylene. During normal operating conditions, at least 20% of the CO in the hydrogenation feed is from the cracked gas. The method may include contacting the hydrogenation feed with an acetylene hydrogenation catalyst to hydrogenate at least a portion of the acetylene in the hydrogenation feed to produce a hydrogenated effluent. The steam cracking is operated under conditions that increase CO production such that a concentration of CO in the cracked gas is great enough that when a flowrate of the FCDh effluent is zero, a CO concentration in the hydrogenation feed is at least 100 ppmv.

Producing C5 olefins from steam cracker C5 feeds may include reacting a mixed hydrocarbon stream comprising cyclopentadiene, C5 olefins, and C6+ hydrocarbons in a dimerization reactor where cyclopentadiene is dimerized to dicyclopentadiene. The dimerization reactor effluent may be separated into a fraction comprising the C6+ hydrocarbons and dicyclopentadiene and a second fraction comprising C5 olefins and C5 dienes. The second fraction, a saturated hydrocarbon diluent stream, and hydrogen may be fed to a catalytic distillation reactor system for concurrently separating linear C5 olefins from saturated hydrocarbon diluent, cyclic C5 olefins, and C5 dienes contained in the second fraction and selectively hydrogenating C5 dienes. An overhead distillate including the linear C5 olefins and a bottoms product including cyclic C5 olefins are recovered from the catalytic distillation reactor system. Other aspects of the C5 olefin systems and processes, including catalyst configurations and control schemes, are also described.

Producing C5 olefins from steam cracker C5 feeds may include reacting a mixed hydrocarbon stream comprising cyclopentadiene, C5 olefins, and C6+ hydrocarbons in a dimerization reactor where cyclopentadiene is dimerized to dicyclopentadiene. The dimerization reactor effluent may be separated into a fraction comprising the C6+ hydrocarbons and dicyclopentadiene and a second fraction comprising C5 olefins and C5 dienes. The second fraction, a saturated hydrocarbon diluent stream, and hydrogen may be fed to a catalytic distillation reactor system for concurrently separating linear C5 olefins from saturated hydrocarbon diluent, cyclic C5 olefins, and C5 dienes contained in the second fraction and selectively hydrogenating C5 dienes. An overhead distillate including the linear C5 olefins and a bottoms product including cyclic C5 olefins are recovered from the catalytic distillation reactor system. Other aspects of the C5 olefin systems and processes, including catalyst configurations and control schemes, are also described.

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.

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.

A method of producing a fuel additive includes passing a feed stream comprising C.sub.4 hydrocarbons through a first hydrogenation unit producing a first process stream; passing the first process stream through a distillation unit; withdrawing a 2-butene stream from the distillation unit: passing the 2-butene stream through a second hydrogenation unit producing a 1-butene stream; passing at least a portion of the 1-butene stream through a separation unit; and passing the 1-butene stream through a hydration unit producing the fuel additive.

The invention relates to a process configuration for production of light olefins and aromatics from residual hydrocarbon streams. In this configuration a high severity catalytic cracking process is employed for producing higher yields of lighter olefins and various boiling fractions. C4 stream separated from gaseous product is subjected to metathesis and aromatized to form mono aromatics.

The present invention discloses an integrated process scheme for producing (i) high-octane gasoline blending stream (ii) high aromatic heavy naphtha stream which is a suitable feedstock for benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) production and (iii) high cetane ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) stream suitable for blending in refinery diesel pool.

Processes for treating highly viscous hydrocarbons, such as bitumen from oil sands or petroleum residues, with hydrogen-donor solvents are described. The hydrogen-donor solvent is prepared. A mixture of the hydrocarbon and the hydrogen-donor solvent is heated, and the product is cooled to produce a low viscosity and mildly upgraded hydrocarbon. The hydrogen-donor solvent can be modified to improve its solvent usefulness.