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.

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.

Heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks including crude oil are upgraded under relatively low pressure conditions in an ebullated-bed hydroprocessing zone to remove the heteroatom containing hydrocarbons. Catalyst particles are regenerated/rejuvenated and recycled back to the ebullated-bed hydroprocessing reaction zone. The regeneration/rejuvenation is effective to restore catalytic activity while minimizing leaching of the active components(s).

Methods are provided to prepare a low sulfur fuel from hydrocarbon sources, such as light tight oil and high sulfur fuel oil, often less desired by conventional refiners, who split crude into a wide range of differing products and may prefer presence of wide ranges (C3 or C5 to C20 or higher) of hydrocarbons. These fuels can be produced by separating feeds into untreated and treated streams, and then recombining them. Such fuels can also be formulated by combinations of light, middle and heavy range constituents in a selected manner as claimed. Not only low in sulfur, the fuels of this invention are also low in nitrogen and essentially metals free. Fuel use applications include on-board large marine transport vessels but also on-shore for large land based combustion gas turbines, boilers, fired heaters and transport vehicles and trains.

This invention relates to a catalyst system comprising (a) at least one layer of a first catalyst comprising a dehydrogenation active metal on a solid support; (b) at least one layer of a second catalyst comprising a metal oxide; and (c) at least one layer of a third catalyst comprising a transition metal on an inorganic support; wherein the at least one layer of a second catalyst is sandwiched between the at least one layer of a first catalyst and the at least one layer of a third catalyst; and a process comprising contacting a hydrocarbon feed with the catalyst system.

Methods are provided to prepare a low sulfur fuel from hydrocarbon sources, such as light tight oil and high sulfur fuel oil, often less desired by conventional refiners, who split crude into a wide range of differing products and may prefer presence of wide ranges (C3 or C5 to C20 or higher) of hydrocarbons. These fuels can be produced by separating feeds into untreated and treated streams, and then recombining them. Such fuels can also be formulated by combinations of light, middle and heavy range constituents in a selected manner as claimed. Not only low in sulfur, the fuels of this invention are also low in nitrogen and essentially metals free. Fuel use applications include on-board large marine transport vessels but also on-shore for large land based combustion gas turbines, boilers, fired heaters and transport vehicles and trains.

Methods are provided to prepare a low sulfur fuel from hydrocarbon sources, such as light tight oil and high sulfur fuel oil, often less desired by conventional refiners, who split crude into a wide range of differing products and may prefer presence of wide ranges (C3 or C5 to C20 or higher) of hydrocarbons. These fuels can be produced by separating feeds into untreated and treated streams, and then recombining them. Such fuels can also be formulated by combinations of light, middle and heavy range constituents in a selected manner as claimed. Not only low in sulfur, the fuels of this invention are also low in nitrogen and essentially metals free. Fuel use applications include on-board large marine transport vessels but also on-shore for large land based combustion gas turbines, boilers, fired heaters and transport vehicles and trains.

Heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks including crude oil are upgraded under relatively low pressure conditions in an ebullated-bed hydroprocessing zone to remove the heteroatom containing hydrocarbons. Catalyst particles are regenerated/rejuvenated and recycled back to the ebullated-bed hydroprocessing reaction zone. The regeneration/rejuvenation is effective to restore catalytic activity while minimizing leaching of the active components(s).

In some examples, a vapor phase product and a liquid phase product can be separated from a heated mixture that includes steam and a hydrocarbon. The vapor phase product can be steam cracked to produce a steam cracker effluent. The steam cracker effluent can be contacted with a quench fluid to produce a cooled steam cracker effluent. The steam cracker effluent can be at a temperature of >300° C. when initially contacted with the quench fluid. A tar product and a process gas that can include ethylene and propylene can be separated from the cooled steam cracker effluent. The tar product can be hydroprocessed to produce a first hydroprocessed product. A hydroprocessor heavy product and a utility fluid product can be separated from the first hydroprocessed product. The quench fluid can be or include at least a portion of the utility fluid product.

Methods for modifying a ZSM-5 zeolite by contacting the zeolite with an alkaline solution prior to combining with a binder material to produce a modified ZSM-5 catalyst extrudate that has substantially longer catalyst life, relative to an untreated ZSM-5 catalyst, for converting light olefins to products that may be used as a liquid transportation fuel blend stock. The alkaline solution is optionally sodium hydroxide. The binder is optionally alumina, bentonite or silica.