Processes and systems for hydrocarbon pyrolysis. In some embodiments, a hydrocarbon can be heated within a convection section of a steam cracking furnace and combined with an aqueous fluid to produce a heated mixture. A heavy feed that includes a plastic material can be introduced into a vessel and a portion of the plastic material can be cracked therein. Liquid and vapor effluents exiting the vessel can be obtained. At least a portion of the liquid effluent can be heated to produce a heated fluid stream that can be recycled to the vessel. The vapor effluent can be combined with the heated mixture to produce a combined mixture that can be heated within the convection section to produce a heated combined mixture. At least a portion of the heated combined mixture can be cracked within a radiant section of the steam cracking furnace to produce a steam cracker effluent.

A system for hydrogenation C.sub.3 and C.sub.4 acetylenes contained within a hydrocarbon stream generated in a stream cracker unit where a debutanizer is placed upstream of a depropanizer for more economical processing of the hydrocarbon stream to produce lighter hydrocarbons, where the system requires only one stripper tower downstream of hydrogenation to remove residual hydrogen.

This invention relates to a process and an apparatus for producing a mixed feed stream for a steam reforming plant from a first feed stream containing methane and a second feed stream comprising higher hydrocarbons, olefins and diolefins. According to the invention, the required hydrogenation of the mono- and diolefins and the hydrodesulfurization of the organic sulfur compounds contained in the feed stream are carried out step by step under process conditions optimized in each case. Furthermore, the inlet temperature into the respective reaction zone is controlled such that overheating of the feedstocks is avoided, which otherwise leads to undesired coke deposits, cloggings and the accelerated deactivation of the catalysts used.

Systems and methods of optimizing enhanced oil recovery fluids in the form of a hydrocarbon foam, an emulsion based foam, an emulsion, and a gelled enhanced oil recovery fluid, each comprising Y-Grade NGL, which is an unfractionated hydrocarbon mixture that comprises ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, and pentane plus, wherein the unfractionated hydrocarbon mixture is a byproduct of a condensed and demethanized hydrocarbon stream.

A method for thermal processing and catalytic cracking of a biomass to effect distillate oil recovery can include, particle size reduction. slurrying the biomass with a carrier fluid to create a reaction mixture, slurrying a catalyst with a carrier fluid to create a catalyst slurry, heating the reaction mixture and/or the catalyst slurry, and depolymerizing the reaction mixture with the catalyst. The reaction mixture can undergo distillation and fractionation to produce distillate fractions that include naphtha, kerosene, and diesel. In some embodiments, thermal processing and catalytic cracking includes vaporization of the biomass followed by distillation and fractionation. In some embodiments, a resulting distillate can be used as a carrier fluid. In some embodiments, the method can include desulfurization, dehydration, and/or decontamination.

A transfer line between the outlet of a steam cracker and the inlet for the quench system has metallic or ceramic inserts having a pore size from about 0.001 to about 0.5 microns inside the line forming a gas tight barrier with the inner surface of the line and having a vent for the resulting gas tight pocket are used to separate H.sub.2, CH.sub.4, CO and CO.sub.2 from cracked gases reducing the load on the down-stream separation train of the steam cracker.

A system for refining crude oil to minimize emissions of toxic compounds in the atmosphere during refining. The crude oil is treated with viscosity-reductant additives, reducing viscosity by up to 50% and increasing API gravity by more than 2 points. The method of spray-cracking and vacuum-flashing of crude oil, the system separates light and heavy end chains within the reactor. The vapor is condensed into designer fuels using a multi-stage horizontal reverse condensate-condenser or closed-loop distillation tower. Process heater directs flue gases through high-salinity fluids, such as a brine-processing device to capture, sequester, or mineralize the CO2, CO, NOx, and other contaminants from the flue gases. This results in a significant reduction in emissions, a further reduction to near-zero emissions (>95-98%) is achieved by the combination of (1) the closed loop processes, tank blanketing and capturing, sequestering and mineralizing emitted flue gases from the heater combustion-exhaust.

A process for producing light olefins comprising thermal cracking. Hydrocracked streams are thermally cracked in a steam cracker to produce light olefins. A pyrolysis gas stream is separated into a light stream and a heavy stream. A light stream is separated into an aromatic naphtha stream and a non-aromatic naphtha stream. The aromatics can be saturated and thermally cracked. The integrated process may be employed to obtain olefin products of high value from a crude stream.

A process and system for recovering natural gas liquids (NGL) using a combination of J-T cooling and membrane separation. The process involves compressing, separating, and cooling a flare gas stream comprising at least methane and C.sub.3+ hydrocarbons prior to being introduced to a J-T valve. The cooled stream exiting the J-T valve is further separated, producing a NGL product stream and an uncondensed gas stream. The uncondensed gas stream is directed to a membrane separation step, which results in a C.sub.3+ hydrocarbon enriched stream and a C.sub.3+ hydrocarbon depleted stream. The C.sub.3+ hydrocarbon enriched stream may be recycled back to the process to recover more NGL.

A transfer line between the outlet of a steam cracker and the inlet for the quench system has metallic or ceramic inserts having a pore size from about 0.001 to about 0.5 microns inside the line forming a gas tight barrier with the inner surface of the line and having a vent for the resulting gas tight pocket are used to separate H.sub.2, CH.sub.4, CO and CO.sub.2 from cracked gases reducing the load on the down-stream separation train of the steam cracker.