Embodiments for an integrated hydrotreating and steam pyrolysis process for the processing of crude oil comprising recycling the higher boiling point fraction of the upgraded crude oil to increase the yield of petrochemicals such as olefins and aromatics.

A system includes a hydroprocessing zone configured to remove impurities from crude oil; a first separation unit configured to separate a liquid output from the hydroprocessing zone into a light fraction and a light fraction; an aromatic extraction subsystem configured to extract aromatic petrochemicals from the light fraction; and a fluid catalytic cracking unit configured to crack the heavy fraction into multiple products.

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 reactor for hydrocarbon production that separates wax reaction products from lightweight gaseous reaction products. The reactor has a housing, a catalyst bed, a product recovery zone, and a stripping zone. The catalyst bed can be provided in multi-tubular and other fixed bed configurations. The stripping zone receives light-weight gas reaction products from the product recovery zone, while a gas outlet of the housing receives non-lightweight gaseous hydrocarbon reaction products from the product recovery zone. A wax outlet of the housing receives wax products from the product recovery zone.

A highly efficient method for the conversion of a natural product into the high density fuel RJ-4 with concomitant evolution of isobutylene for conversion to fuels and polymers, more specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to efficient methods for the conversion of the renewable, linear terpene alcohol, linalool into a drop-in, high density fuel suitable for ramjet or missile propulsion.

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.

Treatment of hydrocarbon streams, and in one non-limiting embodiment refinery distillates, with high pH aqueous reducing agents, such as borohydride, results in reduction of the sulfur compounds such as disulfides, mercaptans and thioethers that are present to give easily removed sulfides. The treatment converts the original sulfur compounds into hydrogen sulfide or low molecular weight mercaptans that can be extracted from the distillate with caustic solutions, hydrogen sulfide or mercaptan scavengers, solid absorbents such as clay or activated carbon or liquid absorbents such as amine-aldehyde condensates and/or aqueous aldehydes.

Methods for making alpha olefin oligomers and polyalphaolefins include a step of contacting a C.sub.4 to C.sub.20 alpha olefin monomer and a catalyst system containing a metallocene, a first activator comprising a solid oxide chemically-treated with an electron withdrawing anion, and a second activator comprising an organoaluminum compound. The alpha olefin oligomers and polyalphaolefins prepared with these catalyst systems can have a high viscosity index combined with a low pour point, making them particularly useful in lubricant compositions and as viscosity modifiers.

Processes and apparatuses for the production of olefins are provided. In an embodiment, a process for production of a process is provided for increasing light olefin yield comprising passing a hydrocarbon feedstream comprising paraffins, naphthenes and aromatic hydrocarbons to a catalytic reforming unit. The hydrocarbon feedstream is contacted with a reforming catalyst under mild reforming conditions suitable for converting naphthenes into aromatics while minimizing conversion of the paraffins, to provide a reforming effluent stream. The reforming effluent stream is passed to a solvent extraction unit to provide an overhead stream comprising predominantly paraffins and a bottoms stream comprising predominantly aromatics. Finally, the overhead stream is passed to a cracking unit to provide a product stream comprising the light olefins.

The present invention provides an integrated process for the preparation of olefins, which process comprises the steps of: (a) reacting an oxygenate and/or olefinic feed in a reactor to form an effluent which comprises olefins; (b) fractionating at least part of the effluent into two olefinic product fractions; (c) subjecting a hydrocarbon feedstock in a reactor to a steam cracking process to form an effluent which comprises olefins including butadiene; (d) combining at least part of the first olefinic product fraction as obtained in step (b) and at least part of the second effluent which comprises olefins as obtained in step (c) to form a combined olefinic product stream comprising at least ethylene, propylene and butadiene; and (e) separating at least part of the combined olefinic product stream as obtained in step (d) to form a fraction comprising ethylene and/or propylene and a fraction that comprises butadiene.