Systems and processes for upgrading and converting crude oil to petrochemicals through steam cracking

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12060533-B2
Application number	US-202217824404-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 25, 2022
Priority date	Dec 19, 2019
Publication date	Aug 13, 2024
Grant date	Aug 13, 2024

Abstract

A process for upgrading a hydrocarbon feed, such as crude oil or other heavy oils, may include hydrotreating a hydrocarbon feed in a hydrotreating unit to produce a hydrotreated effluent that includes asphaltenes, coke precursors, or both. The process further includes hydrocracking the hydrotreated effluent in a hydrocracking unit to produce a hydrocracked effluent, adsorbing at least a portion of the asphaltenes, coke precursors, or both, from the hydrotreated effluent, the hydrocracked effluent, or both, separating the hydrocracked effluent into at least an upgraded lesser-boiling effluent and a greater-boiling effluent in a hydrocracked effluent separation system, and steam cracking the upgraded lesser-boiling effluent to produce olefins, aromatic compounds, or combinations of these. The process may further include recycling the greater boiling effluent back to the hydrotreating unit and hydrocracking a middle distillate effluent from the hydrocracked effluent separation system. Systems for conducting the processes are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for processing crude oil, the system comprising:
a hydrotreating unit comprising at least one hydrotreating catalyst, the hydrotreating unit operable to contact the crude oil with hydrogen in the presence of at least one hydrotreating catalyst, where contact with the hydrogen in the presence of the hydrotreating catalyst upgrades the crude oil to a hydrotreated effluent having a reduced concentration of at least one of nitrogen, sulfur, metals, aromatic compounds, or combinations of these;
a hydrocracking unit disposed downstream of the hydrotreating unit and comprising a hydrocracking catalyst, the hydrocracking unit operable to contact at least a portion of the hydrotreated effluent with hydrogen in the presence of the hydrocracking catalyst at conditions sufficient to convert at least a portion of the hydrotreated effluent to produce a hydrocracked effluent;
an adsorption unit downstream of the hydrotreating unit or downstream of the hydrocracking unit, where the adsorption unit comprises an adsorbent and is operable to contact the hydrotreated effluent or the hydrocracked effluent with the adsorbent capable of adsorbing asphaltenes, coke precursors, or both from the hydrotreated effluent or the hydrocracked effluent;
a hydrocracked effluent separation system downstream of the hydrocracking unit, the hydrocracked effluent separation system operable to separate at least a portion of the hydrocracked effluent into at least an upgraded lesser-boiling effluent and a greater-boiling effluent;
a steam cracking system downstream of the hydrocracked effluent separation system, where the steam cracking system is operable to contact the upgraded lesser-boiling effluent with steam at a temperature sufficient to cause hydrocarbons in the upgraded lesser-boiling effluent to react to produce olefins, aromatic compounds, or both; and
a pyrolysis oil recycle fluidly coupled to the steam cracking system and the hydrocracked effluent separation system, the pyrolysis oil recycle operable to transfer a pyrolysis oil effluent from the steam cracking system back to the hydrocracked effluent separation system.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a greater-boiling effluent recycle fluidly coupled to the hydrocracked effluent separation system and to the hydrotreating unit, the greater-boiling effluent recycle operable to transfer the greater-boiling effluent from the hydrocracked effluent separation system back to the hydrotreating unit.

3. The system of claim 1 , where the hydrocracked effluent separation system is operable to separate the hydrocracked effluent into at least the upgraded lesser-boiling effluent, the greater-boiling effluent, and a middle distillate effluent, and the system further comprises a secondary hydrocracking unit fluidly coupled to the hydrocracked effluent separation system to receive the middle distillate effluent from the hydrocracked effluent separation system.

4. The system of claim 3 , where the secondary hydrocracking unit comprises a secondary hydrocracking catalyst and is operable to contact the middle distillate effluent with the secondary hydrocracking catalyst to produce a secondary hydrocracked effluent.

5. The system of claim 1 , where the adsorption unit is disposed between the hydrotreating unit and the hydrocracking unit.

6. The system of claim 1 , where the hydrotreating catalyst comprises at least one of a desulfurization catalyst, a transition catalyst, a denitrogenation catalyst, a demetalization catalyst, a de-aromatization catalyst, or combinations of these.

7. The system of claim 1 , where the hydrotreating unit comprises:
a desulfurization reaction zone comprising a desulfurization catalyst;
a transition reaction zone comprising a transition catalyst; and
a demetalization reaction zone comprising at demetalization catalyst.

8. The system of claim 1 , where the adsorption unit is disposed downstream of the hydrocracking unit.

9. The system of claim 8 , where an inlet of the adsorption unit is fluidly coupled to an outlet of the hydrocracking unit.

10. The system of claim 8 , where the hydrocracked effluent separation system comprises a high pressure separator and a fractionator downstream of the high pressure separator.

11. The system of claim 10 , where the adsorption unit is disposed between the high pressure separator and the fractionator and an inlet of the adsorption unit is in fluid communication with an outlet of the high pressure separator.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the adsorbent comprises spherical alumina, clay, metal nanoparticles, or combinations thereof.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hydrocracking catalyst comprises a zeolite catalyst.

14. A system for processing crude oil, the system comprising:
a hydrotreating unit comprising at least one hydrotreating catalyst;
a hydrocracking unit disposed downstream of the hydrotreating unit and comprising a hydrocracking catalyst;
an adsorption unit downstream of the hydrotreating unit or downstream of the hydrocracking unit, where the adsorption unit comprises an adsorbent;
a hydrocracked effluent separation system downstream of the hydrocracking unit;
a steam cracking system downstream of the hydrocracked effluent separation system and in fluid communication with the hydrocracked effluent separation system; and
a pyrolysis oil recycle fluidly coupled to the steam cracking system and the hydrocracked effluent separation system.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the adsorption unit is disposed between the hydrocracking unit and the hydrocracked effluent separation system and is fluidly coupled to the hydrocracking unit and the hydrocracked effluent separation system.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hydrocracking unit comprises a supplemental hydrotreating zone upstream of the hydrocracking zone, wherein the hydrotreating zone comprises a hydrotreating catalyst.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein an inlet of the adsorption unit is fluidly coupled to an outlet of the hydrotreating unit and an outlet of the adsorption unit is fluidly coupled to an inlet of the hydrocracking unit.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hydrocracked effluent separation system comprises a high pressure separator and a fractionator, where the adsorption unit is disposed between the high pressure separator and the fractionator.

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Ding Lianhui
• Ballesteros Alberto Lozano
• Al-Nutaifi Ibrahim
• Bourane Abdennour

Classifications

• C10G2400/30

  Aromatics · CPC title

• C10G2400/22

  Higher olefins · CPC title

• C10G2400/20

  C2-C4 olefins · CPC title

• C10G2300/308

  Gravity, density, e.g. API · CPC title

• C10G2300/208

  Sediments, e.g. bottom sediment and water or BSW · CPC title