A heavy petroleum oil feed is upgraded by having its amenability to cracking improved by subjecting the oil to selective partial oxidation with a catalytic oxidation system to partially oxidize aromatic ring systems in the heavy oil. The partially oxidized oil can then be cracked in the conventional manner but at lower severities to lower molecular weight cracking products. The cracking following the partial oxidation step may be thermal in nature as by thermal cracking, delayed, contact or fluid coking or fluid catalytic cracking or hydrogenative as in hydrocracking.

An integrated upgrading process for upgrading a heavy oil, the process comprising the steps of introducing a heavy oil to a visbreaker unit; processing the heavy oil in the visbreaker unit to produce a visbreaker product stream; feeding the visbreaker product stream to a fractionator; separating the visbreaker product stream in the fractionator to produce a bottoms stream, a gas oil stream, a naphtha stream, and a gas product stream; feeding the bottoms stream to a supercritical water unit; and processing the bottoms stream in the supercritical water unit to produce an upgraded bottoms stream.

An integrated upgrading process for upgrading a heavy oil, the process comprising the steps of introducing a heavy oil to a visbreaker unit; processing the heavy oil in the visbreaker unit to produce a visbreaker product stream; feeding the visbreaker product stream to a fractionator; separating the visbreaker product stream in the fractionator to produce a bottoms stream, a gas oil stream, a naphtha stream, and a gas product stream; feeding the bottoms stream to a supercritical water unit; and processing the bottoms stream in the supercritical water unit to produce an upgraded bottoms stream.

A process for facile separation of lighter hydrocarbon fractions from the heavier fractions of hydrocarbon oil feedstocks is disclosed, which utilizes novel sparging and reverse distillation techniques. The present invention can be utilized for the facile “topping” of crude oil extracted on-site. Moreover, while heavier hydrocarbon fractions may be shipped to refineries for further processing, this invention will also prove useful for quick separation of light fractions produced by cracking processes off-site.

A process for facile separation of lighter hydrocarbon fractions from the heavier fractions of hydrocarbon oil feedstocks is disclosed, which utilizes novel sparging and reverse distillation techniques. The present invention can be utilized for the facile “topping” of crude oil extracted on-site. Moreover, while heavier hydrocarbon fractions may be shipped to refineries for further processing, this invention will also prove useful for quick separation of light fractions produced by cracking processes off-site.

A method for preparing hydrocarbons is proposed, which comprises, in a catalysis unit (1) using one or more catalysis feed streams (a) containing oxygenates and/or olefins, producing a catalysis product stream (b) containing n-butane, isobutane, 1-butene, 2-butene, isobutene and hydrocarbons with more than four and/or less than four carbon atoms, and which further comprises producing a steam cracking product stream (s) in a steam cracking unit (2) using one or more steam cracking feed streams (g, n, l, r). It is provided that at least the great majority of the hydrocarbons with more than four and/or less than four carbon atoms and the isobutene is eliminated from the catalysis product stream (b) or a part thereof, whereby a stream (g, n) containing at least 5 percent by mole 1-butene and/or 2-butene is formed, and in that this stream (g, n) containing at least 5 percent by mole 1-butene and/or 2-butene or one or more streams (l, r) derived therefrom is or are used as the steam cracking feed stream or streams (g, n, l, r). The invention also relates to a corresponding apparatus (100, 200, 300).

A method for preparing needle coke for ultra-high power (UHP) electrodes from heavy oil is provided. In this method, heavy oil is used as a raw material. The size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is conducted with polystyrene (PS) as a packing material to separate out specific components with a relative molecular weight of 400 to 1,000. The ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) is conducted to remove acidic and alkaline components to obtain a neutral raw material. The neutral raw material is subjected to two-stage consecutive carbonization to obtain green coke, and the green coke is subjected to high-temperature calcination to obtain the needle coke for UHP electrodes. The needle coke has a true density of more than 2.13 g/cm.sup.3 and a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of ≤1.15×10.sup.−6/° C. at 25° C. to 600° C.

A method for preparing needle coke for ultra-high power (UHP) electrodes from heavy oil is provided. In this method, heavy oil is used as a raw material. The size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is conducted with polystyrene (PS) as a packing material to separate out specific components with a relative molecular weight of 400 to 1,000. The ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) is conducted to remove acidic and alkaline components to obtain a neutral raw material. The neutral raw material is subjected to two-stage consecutive carbonization to obtain green coke, and the green coke is subjected to high-temperature calcination to obtain the needle coke for UHP electrodes. The needle coke has a true density of more than 2.13 g/cm.sup.3 and a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of ≤1.15×10.sup.−6/° C. at 25° C. to 600° C.

The invention relates to a process (100) for deriving polymerizable aromatic compounds having nine carbon atoms (S) in which a component mixture (B) is formed at least partially by steam cracking, in which the component mixture (B) is subjected to a workup (2, 3, 4, 5) comprising a gasoline removal (5) and thereafter is a compression (8) and a fractionation (10), and wherein one or more pyrolysis gasoline fractions (H, L) is or are formed in the gasoline removal (5) and/or the compression (8). The invention provides that a separation feed is formed which comprises predominantly exclusively pyrolysis gasoline from the or at least one of the pyrolysis gasoline fractions (H, L) and that the separation feed is subjected to a separation (7), wherein in the separation (7) at least one fraction (P) enriched in aromatic compounds having nine carbon atoms compared to the separation feed is formed. A corresponding plant likewise forms part of the subject matter of the invention.

The invention relates to a process (100) for deriving polymerizable aromatic compounds having nine carbon atoms (S) in which a component mixture (B) is formed at least partially by steam cracking, in which the component mixture (B) is subjected to a workup (2, 3, 4, 5) comprising a gasoline removal (5) and thereafter is a compression (8) and a fractionation (10), and wherein one or more pyrolysis gasoline fractions (H, L) is or are formed in the gasoline removal (5) and/or the compression (8). The invention provides that a separation feed is formed which comprises predominantly exclusively pyrolysis gasoline from the or at least one of the pyrolysis gasoline fractions (H, L) and that the separation feed is subjected to a separation (7), wherein in the separation (7) at least one fraction (P) enriched in aromatic compounds having nine carbon atoms compared to the separation feed is formed. A corresponding plant likewise forms part of the subject matter of the invention.