US 11,959,031 B2
Conversion of whole crude to value added petrochemicals in an integrated reactor process
Aaron Chi Akah, Dhahran (SA); Essa Alnaimi, Dhahran (SA); Qi Xu, Dhahran (SA); and Musaed Salem Al-Ghrami, Dammam (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Sep. 19, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/947,744.
Prior Publication US 2024/0093103 A1, Mar. 21, 2024
Int. Cl. C10G 67/04 (2006.01); C07C 2/76 (2006.01); C07C 4/04 (2006.01); C07C 5/32 (2006.01); C10G 9/00 (2006.01)
CPC C10G 67/049 (2013.01) [C07C 2/76 (2013.01); C07C 4/04 (2013.01); C07C 5/321 (2013.01); C10G 9/005 (2013.01); C10G 2300/1033 (2013.01); C10G 2300/206 (2013.01); C10G 2300/4006 (2013.01); C10G 2300/4012 (2013.01); C10G 2400/20 (2013.01); C10G 2400/30 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An integrated process for conversion of crude oil to value added petrochemicals, the process comprising:
(i) providing a hydrocarbon stream comprising the crude oil to a feed separator to separate the hydrocarbon stream into a light crude fraction boiling at a first temperature and a heavy crude fraction boiling at greater than the first temperature, wherein the first temperature is between 190 and 210° C.;
(ii) providing the heavy crude fraction to a solvent deasphalting unit to generate a pitch product comprising asphaltenes and residue heavy components having boiling points above 300° C. and a deasphalted oil product;
(iii) providing the pitch product to a delayed coker unit, wherein the pitch product undergoes a thermal cracking reaction to obtain a solid petroleum coke stream and a delayed coker product stream comprising C1-C4 light gases, coker naphtha, and coker gas oil;
(iv) providing the light crude fraction, the deasphalted oil product, and the delayed coker product stream to a hydrotreater to remove heteroatoms and saturate carbon-carbon bonds to generate a hydrotreater product stream;
(v) providing the hydrotreater product stream to a first separator, wherein the hydrotreater product stream is separated into a C1 fraction, a C2 fraction, a C3-C4 fraction, a hydrotreated light fraction comprising C5 hydrocarbons to hydrocarbons boiling at a second temperature, and a hydrotreated heavy fraction comprising hydrocarbons boiling at or greater than the second temperature, wherein the second temperature is between 200 and 215° C.;
(vi) providing the C1 fraction to a methane cracker, wherein the C1 fraction is converted to a hydrogen stream and a fixed carbon stream;
(vii) providing the C2 fraction to an ethane steam cracker, wherein the C2 fraction is cracked to generate an ethane steam cracker product stream comprising light olefins and aromatics;
(viii) providing the C3-C4 fraction to a dehydrogenation reactor, wherein the C3-C4 fraction is dehydrogenated to generate a dehydrogenated product stream comprising propylene and butenes generated from propane and butanes in the C3-C4 fraction;
(ix) providing the hydrotreated light fraction to an aromatization unit, wherein the aromatization unit converts aliphatic hydrocarbons in the hydrotreated light fraction to aromatics to generate an aromatization product stream;
(x) providing the hydrotreated heavy fraction to a steam enhanced catalytic cracking unit (SECC), wherein the hydrotreated heavy fraction is cracked to generate a SECC product stream comprising light olefins; and
(xi) providing the ethane steam cracker product stream, the dehydrogenated product stream, the aromatization product stream, and the SECC product stream to a second separator to obtain a hydrogen fraction, a C1 stream, a C2 stream, a C3-C4 alkane stream, a light olefin stream, a BTX stream comprising benzene, toluene, and xylene, and a residual stream comprising cracked naphtha, light cycle oil and heavy cycle oil.