Hydrocarbon processing apparatuses and methods of refining hydrocarbons with absorptive recovery of c3+ hydrocarbons

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016130512-A1
Application number	US-201414538584-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 11, 2014
Priority date	Nov 11, 2014
Publication date	May 12, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Hydrocarbon processing apparatuses and methods of refining hydrocarbons are provided herein. In an embodiment, a method of refining hydrocarbons includes providing a cracked stream that includes a sulfur-containing component and cracked hydrocarbons. The cracked stream is compressed to produce a pressurized cracked stream. The pressurized cracked stream is separated to produce a pressurized vapor stream and a liquid hydrocarbon stream. The pressurized vapor stream includes C4− hydrocarbons and the liquid hydrocarbon stream includes C3+ hydrocarbons. The liquid hydrocarbon stream is separated to produce a first liquid absorption stream that includes C5+ hydrocarbons and a C4− hydrocarbon stream. C3+ hydrocarbons are absorbed from the pressurized vapor stream through liquid-vapor phase absorption using the first liquid absorption stream. The sulfur-containing component is removed prior to absorbing C3+ hydrocarbons from the pressurized vapor stream.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of refining hydrocarbons, wherein the method comprises:
providing a cracked stream comprising a sulfur-containing component and cracked hydrocarbons; compressing the cracked stream to produce a pressurized cracked stream; separating the pressurized cracked stream to produce a pressurized vapor stream comprising C4− hydrocarbons and a liquid hydrocarbon stream comprising C3+ hydrocarbons; separating the liquid hydrocarbon stream to produce a first liquid absorption stream comprising C5+ hydrocarbons and a C4− hydrocarbon stream; absorbing C3+ hydrocarbons from the pressurized vapor stream through liquid-vapor phase absorption using the first liquid absorption stream; and removing the sulfur-containing component prior to absorbing C3+ hydrocarbons from the pressurized vapor stream.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein separating the liquid hydrocarbon stream comprises separating the liquid hydrocarbon stream to produce the first liquid absorption stream substantially free of hydrocarbons having fewer than 5 carbon atoms.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the sulfur-containing component comprises separating the sulfur-containing component with the liquid hydrocarbon stream during separation of the pressurized cracked stream into the pressurized vapor stream and the liquid hydrocarbon stream.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein separating the liquid hydrocarbon stream comprises fractionating C3− hydrocarbons and the sulfur-containing component from the liquid hydrocarbon stream to produce a recovered C3− vapor stream comprising the sulfur-containing component and an intermediate C3+ stream.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein removing the sulfur-containing component further comprises separating the sulfur-containing component from the recovered C3− vapor stream to produce a sulfur-containing waste stream and a purified C3− vapor stream.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising combining the purified C3− vapor stream with the cracked stream.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the sulfur-containing component comprises separating the sulfur-containing component with the pressurized vapor stream during separation of the pressurized cracked stream into the pressurized vapor stream and the liquid hydrocarbon stream.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein removing the sulfur-containing component further comprises separating the sulfur-containing component from the pressurized vapor stream to produce a sulfur-containing waste stream and a purified pressurized vapor stream.

9 . The method of claim 1 , and wherein separating the liquid hydrocarbon stream comprises fractionating C3− hydrocarbons from the liquid hydrocarbon stream to produce a recovered C3− vapor stream and an intermediate C3+ stream.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein separating the liquid hydrocarbon stream further comprises fractionating the intermediate C3+ stream to produce the first liquid absorption stream and the C4− hydrocarbon stream.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein absorbing the C3+ hydrocarbons further comprises absorbing the C3+ hydrocarbons using a second liquid absorption stream comprising unstabilized gasoline.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the cracked stream comprises providing an overhead vapor stream from a main column vapor receiver.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein absorbing the C3+ hydrocarbons from the pressurized vapor stream produces a residual vapor stream comprising residual C3− hydrocarbons.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising absorbing the residual C3− hydrocarbons from the residual vapor stream using a third liquid absorption stream different from the first liquid absorption stream.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the sulfur-containing component comprises removing the sulfur-containing component through one or more of an amine absorption technique or a membrane separation technique.

16 . A method of refining hydrocarbons, wherein the method comprises:
cracking a hydrocarbon stream comprising a sulfur-containing component in a fluid catalytic cracking stage to produce a cracked stream comprising the sulfur-containing component and cracked hydrocarbons; compressing the cracked stream to produce a pressurized cracked stream; separating the pressurized cracked stream in a pressurized separation stage to produce a pressurized vapor stream comprising C4− hydrocarbons and a liquid hydrocarbon stream comprising C3+ hydrocarbons and the sulfur-containing component; fractionating the liquid hydrocarbon stream to produce an intermediate C3+ stream comprising C3+ hydrocarbons and a recovered C3− vapor stream comprising C3− hydrocarbons and the sulfur-containing component; removing the sulfur-containing component from the recovered C3− vapor stream to produce a purified C3− vapor stream; recycling the purified C3− vapor stream to the pressurized separation stage; and absorbing C3+ hydrocarbons from the pressurized vapor stream through liquid-vapor phase absorption using a liquid absorption stream.

17 . A hydrocarbon processing apparatus comprising:
a fluid catalytic cracking unit having the capacity to catalytically crack a hydrocarbon stream comprising a sulfur-containing component and to produce an offgas stream comprising the sulfur-containing component and cracked hydrocarbons; a compressor in fluid communication with the fluid catalytic cracking unit and having the capacity to produce a pressurized cracked stream; a high pressure receiver in fluid communication with the compressor and having the capacity to separate the pressurized cracked stream into a pressurized vapor stream and a liquid hydrocarbon stream; a debutanizer column in fluid communication with the high pressure receiver and having the capacity to produce a first liquid absorption stream; a liquid-vapor phase separator in fluid communication with the debutanizer column, wherein the liquid-vapor phase separator is configured to contact the pressurized vapor stream and the first liquid absorption stream therein; and a contaminant removal unit disposed upstream of the liquid-vapor phase separator and downstream of the fluid catalytic cracking unit, wherein the contaminant removal unit is configured to remove the sulfur-containing component.

18 . The hydrocarbon processing apparatus of claim 17 , further comprising a stripper in fluid communication with the high pressure receiver and having the capacity to separate the liquid hydrocarbon stream into a recovered C3− vapor stream and an intermediate C3+ stream, wherein the stripper is further in fluid communication with the debutanizer column and upstream thereof.

19 . The hydrocarbon processing apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the contaminant removal unit is in fluid communication with the stripper for receiving the recovered C3− vapor stream and removing the sulfur-containing component therefrom.

20 . The hydrocarbon processing apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the contaminant removal unit is in fluid communication with the high pressure receiver for receiving the pressurized vapor stream and removing the sulfur-containing component therefrom.

Assignees

• Uop Llc

Inventors

• Hoehn Richard
• Vargas Juan Carlos
• Panchal Dharmesh Chunilal

Classifications

• C10G53/08 Primary

  including at least one sorption step · CPC title

• C10G70/06

  by gas-liquid contact · CPC title

• C10G2300/202

  Heteroatoms content, i.e. S, N, O, P · CPC title

• C10G55/06

  including at least one catalytic cracking step · CPC title