Disclosed herein are methods for reducing fouling caused by process water present within a water recycling loop of a pyrolysis plant. Fouling is caused by phase separation and accumulation of materials from the process water on equipment surfaces. The method includes applying a total of about 5 ppm to 500 ppm total of a first polymerization inhibitor and second polymerization inhibitor to the process water to form a treated process water, wherein the first polymerization inhibitor has a pygas-water partition coefficient of about 0.0001 to 9 and the second polymerization inhibitor has a pygas-water partition coefficient of about 1000 to 50,000.

This invention relates to a process for determining the suitability of pyrolysis tar, such as steam cracker tar, for upgrading using hydroprocessing without excessive fouling of the hydroprocessing reactor. A pyrolysis tar is sampled, the sample is analyzed to determine one or more characteristics of the tar related to tar reactivity, and the analysis is used to determine conditions under which the tar can be blended, pre-treated, and/or hydroprocessed.

Compositions and methods for restoring catalytic activity by dissolving soft coke with a solvent, one method including detecting soft coke deposition on a catalyst composition; preparing an aromatic bottoms composition with a Hildebrand solubility parameter of at least about 20 SI to remove the soft coke from the catalyst composition; and washing the catalyst composition with the aromatic bottoms composition until at least a portion of the soft coke deposition is removed.

A method of mitigating fouling in a delayed coking unit heater may include forming a plastic mixture including a plastic material and a carrier. The plastic mixture may be combined with a coker feedstock upstream of a coke drum.

Technologies for reducing the viscosity of heavy crude oil are disclosed. In embodiments the technologies utilize a combination of a processing additive composition (PAC) and hydrodynamic cavitation to produce an oil composition having a viscosity V2, wherein V2 is at least 40% less than a viscosity VI of untreated heavy crude oil. PACs, systems for reducing the viscosity of heavy crude oil using a combination of a PAC and hydrodynamic cavitation, and methods for reducing the viscosity of heavy crude oil with a combination of a PAC and hydrodynamic cavitation are also disclosed.

Methods for preventing elemental sulfur deposition from a hydrocarbon fluid is disclosed. A mercaptan is added to a hydrocarbon fluid that has elemental sulfur and reacted with the elemental sulfur to produce a disulfide and hydrogen sulfide. Amines and/or surfactants can assist with the process. Secondary reactions between the disulfide and the elemental sulfur result in a polysulfide and a solvated sulfur-disulfide complex. The disulfide, hydrogen sulfide, polysulfide and solvated sulfur-disulfide complex do not deposit, and can optionally be removed.

Compounds for inhibiting corrosion are provided that include a pyridinium substituent and a hydroxy substituent. Also provided are methods of making the compounds. Also provided are corrosion inhibitor formulations including the compounds. Also provided are processes for inhibiting corrosion of a metallic surface using the corrosion inhibitor formulations.

Provided are extraction methods and systems to remove contaminants in a subterranean formation. The method of contaminant removal comprises introducing one or more organic acids and one or more organic acid surfactant boosters into a hydrocarbon-containing stream, recovering the hydrocarbon-containing stream from a subterranean formation, and separating at least a portion of the contaminants from the hydrocarbon-containing stream. The organic acids and the organic acid surfactant boosters have a synergistic effect that improves the contaminant removal efficacy of the organic acid.

Disclosed herein are methods of preparing bitumen for transport, apparatus for preparing bitumen for transport, methods of transporting bitumen, and transportation-ready forms of bitumen. Instead of relying on exogenous components to induce bitumen solidification, the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure reorganize bituminous materials derived from the same origin into core-shell bitumen microcapsules, such that relatively low solubility components (e.g. asphaltenes) encapsulate relatively high solubility components (e.g. maltenes). Importantly, the bitumen microcapsules of the present disclosure are sufficiently mechanically resilient to meet one or more thresholds for midstream transportation, and they are readily fluidized for downstream processing with conventional technologies. Taken together, these aspects may ameliorate one or more challenges in achieving commercially viable bitumen solidification technologies.

A method is provided for reducing foaming within a coke drum of a delayed coking unit. The method may include forming a plastic mixture including a plastic material and a carrier. The method may also include injecting the plastic mixture into the coke drum during operation of the coke drum.