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.

Provided are a full conversion process and a device thereof for producing light aromatic hydrocarbon from LCO. The process includes the steps of: subjecting LCO stream to hydrofining and impurity separation, then performing selective conversion reaction, and separating the mixed aromatic hydrocarbons generated to sequentially separate out light aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene-toluene and xylene, C.sub.9A aromatic hydrocarbons, C.sub.10A aromatic hydrocarbons and a bottom heavy tail oil; feeding the bottom heavy tail oil into a post-saturation selective reactor, subjecting to high-selectivity hydrogenation saturation under the conditions of low temperature and low pressure to provide a product having one benzene ring, and then returning the product back to the selective conversion reactor. The full-cut conversion of producing light aromatic hydrocarbon from LCO is achieved, resulting in the technical effects of high yields of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene-toluene, xylene, C.sub.9A aromatic hydrocarbons, C.sub.10A aromatic hydrocarbons and the like.

A method of generating a hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuel from a feedstock via a centrifuge reactor that includes introducing a flow of feedstock to a centrifuge reactor with a centrifuge assembly having a reaction chamber and configured to rotate about a central rotational axis X, rotating the centrifuge assembly about the central rotational axis X at a tip speed of 100 m/s to 1000 m/s to generate an acceleration gradient from the central rotational axis X and from the first reaction chamber end to the second reaction chamber end; and generating reaction conditions in the reaction chamber, including pressure of 5 MPa to 500 MPa and temperature within a range of 200° C. to 1000° C., the reaction conditions and acceleration gradient causing a separation of products from a reaction of the feedstock within the reaction chamber.

A method of generating a hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuel from a feedstock via a centrifuge reactor that includes introducing a flow of feedstock to a centrifuge reactor with a centrifuge assembly having a reaction chamber and configured to rotate about a central rotational axis X, rotating the centrifuge assembly about the central rotational axis X at a tip speed of 100 m/s to 1000 m/s to generate an acceleration gradient from the central rotational axis X and from the first reaction chamber end to the second reaction chamber end; and generating reaction conditions in the reaction chamber, including pressure of 5 MPa to 500 MPa and temperature within a range of 200° C. to 1000° C., the reaction conditions and acceleration gradient causing a separation of products from a reaction of the feedstock within the reaction chamber.

Systems and methods include an aromatics complex (ARC), the ARC in fluid communication with a naphtha reforming unit (NREF) and operable to receive a reformate stream produced by the NREF, and the ARC further operable to separate the reformate stream into a gasoline pool stream, an aromatics stream, and an aromatic bottoms stream; and a hydrodearylation unit operable to receive heavy, non-condensed, alkyl-bridged, multi-aromatic compounds from the aromatic bottoms stream, the hydrodearylation unit further operable to hydrogenate and hydrocrack the heavy, non-condensed, alkyl-bridged, multi-aromatic compounds to produce a stream suitable for recycle to the NREF or the reformate stream, where the hydrodearylation unit is further operable to receive hydrogen produced in the NREF.

Distillate boiling range and/or diesel boiling range compositions are provided that are formed from crude oils with unexpected combinations of high naphthenes to aromatics weight and/or volume ratio and a low sulfur content. This unexpected combination of properties is characteristic of crude oils that can be fractionated to form distillate/diesel boiling range compositions that can be used as fuels/fuel blending products with reduced or minimized processing. The resulting distillate boiling range fractions and/or diesel boiling range fractions can have an unexpected combination of a high naphthenes to aromatics weight and/or volume ratio, a low but substantial aromatics content, and a low sulfur content. By reducing, minimizing, or avoiding the amount of hydroprocessing needed to meet fuel and/or fuel blending product specifications, the fractions derived from the high naphthenes to aromatics ratio and low sulfur crudes can provide fuels and/or fuel blending products having a reduced or minimized carbon intensity.

Distillate boiling range and/or diesel boiling range compositions are provided that are formed from crude oils with unexpected combinations of high naphthenes to aromatics weight and/or volume ratio and a low sulfur content. This unexpected combination of properties is characteristic of crude oils that can be fractionated to form distillate/diesel boiling range compositions that can be used as fuels/fuel blending products with reduced or minimized processing. The resulting distillate boiling range fractions and/or diesel boiling range fractions can have an unexpected combination of a high naphthenes to aromatics weight and/or volume ratio, a low but substantial aromatics content, and a low sulfur content. By reducing, minimizing, or avoiding the amount of hydroprocessing needed to meet fuel and/or fuel blending product specifications, the fractions derived from the high naphthenes to aromatics ratio and low sulfur crudes can provide fuels and/or fuel blending products having a reduced or minimized carbon intensity.

A process for steam cracking a whole crude including a volatilization step performed to maintain a relatively large hydrocarbon droplet size. The process may include contacting a whole crude with steam to volatilize a portion of the hydrocarbons, wherein the contacting of the hydrocarbon feedstock and steam is conducted at an initial relative velocity of less than 30 m/s, for example. The resulting vapor phase, including volatilized hydrocarbons and steam may then be separated from a liquid phase comprising unvaporized hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons in the vapor phase may then be forwarded to a steam pyrolysis reactor for steam cracking of the hydrocarbons in the vapor phase.

A process for steam cracking a whole crude including a volatilization step performed to maintain a relatively large hydrocarbon droplet size. The process may include contacting a whole crude with steam to volatilize a portion of the hydrocarbons, wherein the contacting of the hydrocarbon feedstock and steam is conducted at an initial relative velocity of less than 30 m/s, for example. The resulting vapor phase, including volatilized hydrocarbons and steam may then be separated from a liquid phase comprising unvaporized hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons in the vapor phase may then be forwarded to a steam pyrolysis reactor for steam cracking of the hydrocarbons in the vapor phase.