The invention concerns a method for converting heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks of which at least 50% by weight boils at a temperature of at least 300° C., and in particular vacuum residues. The feedstocks are subjected to a first step a) of deep hydroconversion, optionally followed by a step b) of separating a light fraction, and a heavy residual fraction is obtained from step b) of which at least 80% by weight has a boiling temperature of at least 250° C. Said fraction from step b) or the effluent from step a) is then subjected to a second step c) of deep hydroconversion. The overall hourly space velocity for steps a) to c) is less than 0.1 h.sup.−1. The effluent from step c) is fractionated to separate a light fraction. The heavy fraction obtained, of which 80% by weight boils at a temperature of at least 300° C., is sent to a deasphalting step e). The deasphalted fraction DAO is then preferably converted in a step f) chosen from ebullated bed hydroconversion, fluidised bed catalytic cracking and fixed bed hydrocracking.

Systems and integrated methods are disclosed for processing aromatic complex bottoms into high value products. The system includes an adsorption column, the adsorption column in fluid communication with an aromatics complex and operable to receive and remove polyaromatics from an aromatic bottoms stream. The adsorption column producing a cleaned aromatic bottoms stream with reduced polyaromatic content and a reject stream including the removed polyaromatics. In some embodiments, the reject stream is recycled for further processing, passed to a coke production unit to produce high quality coke, or both.

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 light and heavy fractions utilizing convection heat from heaters used in steam cracking. 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 either an ebullated bed reactor with extrudate catalysts or a slurry hydrocracking reactor using a homogeneous catalyst system, such as a molybdenum based catalysts which may optionally be promoted with nickel. Products from the upgrading operations can be finished olefins and/or aromatics, or, for heavier products from the upgrading operations, may be used as feed to the steam cracker.

Processes for producing olefins include passing a hydrocarbon feed to a hydrocarbon cracking unit that cracks the hydrocarbon feed to produce a cracker effluent, passing the cracker effluent to a cracker effluent separation system that separates the cracker effluent to produce at least a cracking C4 effluent including 1-butene, 1,3-butadiene, and isobutene, passing the cracking C4 effluent to an SHIU that contacts the cracking C4 effluent with hydrogen in the presence of a selective hydrogenation catalyst to produce a hydrogenation effluent having a 2-butenes concentration greater than or equal to the sum of the concentrations of 1-butene and isobutene. The processes include passing the hydrogenation effluent to a metathesis unit that contacts the hydrogenation effluent with a metathesis catalyst and a cracking catalyst downstream of the metathesis catalyst to produce a metathesis reaction effluent comprising at least propene.

Processes for using pyrolysis gas as a feedstock or a co-feedstock for making a variety of chemicals, for example, circular ethylene, circular ethylene polymers and copolymers, and other circular products. In these processes, pyrolysis reactor conditions can be selected to increase or optimized the production of pyrolysis gas over pyrolysis oil, and the pyrolysis gas which is usually used as fuel or flared can be fed downstream of the steam cracker furnace for economic use to form circular chemicals. Operating parameters of the pyrolysis unit may be adjusted to increase or decrease the proportion of pyrolysis gas relative to pyrolysis liquid as a function of their relative economic values.

Processes for using pyrolysis gas as a feedstock or a co-feedstock for making a variety of chemicals, for example, circular ethylene, circular ethylene polymers and copolymers, and other circular products. In these processes, pyrolysis reactor conditions can be selected to increase or optimized the production of pyrolysis gas over pyrolysis oil, and the pyrolysis gas which is usually used as fuel or flared can be fed downstream of the steam cracker furnace for economic use to form circular chemicals. Operating parameters of the pyrolysis unit may be adjusted to increase or decrease the proportion of pyrolysis gas relative to pyrolysis liquid as a function of their relative economic values.

A method for processing a chemical stream includes contacting a feed stream with a catalyst in an upstream reactor section of a reactor having the upstream reactor section and a downstream reactor section, passing an intermediate product stream to the downstream reactor section, and introducing a riser quench fluid into the downstream reactor section, upstream reactor section, or transition section and into contact with the intermediate product stream and the catalyst to slow or stop the reaction. The method includes separating at least a portion of the catalyst from the product stream, passing the product stream to a product processing section, cooling the product stream, and separating a portion of the riser quench fluid from the product stream. The riser quench fluid separated from the product stream may be recycled back to the downstream reactor section, upstream reactor section, or transition section as the riser quench fluid.

A method for processing a chemical stream includes contacting a feed stream with a catalyst in an upstream reactor section of a reactor having the upstream reactor section and a downstream reactor section, passing an intermediate product stream to the downstream reactor section, and introducing a riser quench fluid into the downstream reactor section, upstream reactor section, or transition section and into contact with the intermediate product stream and the catalyst to slow or stop the reaction. The method includes separating at least a portion of the catalyst from the product stream, passing the product stream to a product processing section, cooling the product stream, and separating a portion of the riser quench fluid from the product stream. The riser quench fluid separated from the product stream may be recycled back to the downstream reactor section, upstream reactor section, or transition section as the riser quench fluid.

Provided in one embodiment is a continuous process for converting waste plastic into recycle for polyethylene polymerization. The process comprises selecting waste plastics containing polyethylene and/or polypropylene, and passing the waste plastics through a pyrolysis reactor to thermally crack at least a portion of the polyolefin waste and produce a pyrolyzed effluent. The pyrolyzed effluent is separated into offgas, a pyrolysis oil and optionally wax comprising a naphtha/diesel and heavy fraction, and char. The pyrolysis oil and wax is passed to a refinery FCC unit from which a liquid petroleum gas C.sub.3-C.sub.5 olefin/paraffin mixture fraction is recovered. The liquid petroleum gas C.sub.3-C.sub.5 olefin/paraffin mixture fraction is passed to a refinery alkylation unit, with a propane and butane fraction recovered from the alkylation unit. The propane and butane fraction is then passed to a steam cracker for ethylene production. In another embodiment, a naphtha fraction (C.sub.5-C.sub.8) is recovered from the alkylation unit and passed to the steam cracker. In another embodiment, a propane/propylene fraction (C.sub.3-C.sub.3) is recovered from the FCC and passed to the steam cracker.

Provided in one embodiment is a continuous process for converting waste plastic into recycle for polyethylene polymerization. The process comprises selecting waste plastics containing polyethylene and/or polypropylene, and passing the waste plastics through a pyrolysis reactor to thermally crack at least a portion of the polyolefin waste and produce a pyrolyzed effluent. The pyrolyzed effluent is separated into offgas, a pyrolysis oil and optionally wax comprising a naphtha/diesel and heavy fraction, and char. The pyrolysis oil and wax is passed to a refinery FCC unit from which a liquid petroleum gas C.sub.3-C.sub.5 olefin/paraffin mixture fraction is recovered. The liquid petroleum gas C.sub.3-C.sub.5 olefin/paraffin mixture fraction is passed to a refinery alkylation unit, with a propane and butane fraction recovered from the alkylation unit. The propane and butane fraction is then passed to a steam cracker for ethylene production. In another embodiment, a naphtha fraction (C.sub.5-C.sub.8) is recovered from the alkylation unit and passed to the steam cracker. In another embodiment, a propane/propylene fraction (C.sub.3-C.sub.3) is recovered from the FCC and passed to the steam cracker.