Steam cracking process
A steam cracking process is disclosed. The process comprises contacting a liquid hydrocarbon feed with a solid adsorbent to produce a treated feed and cracking the treated feed in a steam cracker to produce olefins and other hydrocarbon products. The process reduces coking in the convection tubes and extends the run length of the cracker.
1 . A process, comprising: (a) contacting a liquid hydrocarbon feed with a solid adsorbent to produce a treated feed; and (b) cracking the treated feed to produce a reaction mixture in a steam cracker.
2 . The process of claim 1 wherein the treated feed has reduced heavy components compared to the hydrocarbon feed.
3 . The process of claim 1 wherein the treated feed has reduced color compared to the hydrocarbon feed, as measured by ASTM D1500.
4 . The process of claim 1 wherein the treated feed has reduced carbon residue value as compared to the hydrocarbon feed, as measured by ASTM D4530-07.
5 . The process of claim 1 wherein the feed comprises crude oil.
6 . The process of claim 1 wherein the feed comprises natural gas condensate.
7 . The process of claim 1 wherein the adsorbent is selected from the group consisting of carbon, silica, alumina, zeolites, clay, polymeric resin, and mixtures thereof.
8 . The process of claim 1 wherein the adsorbent is selected from the group consisting of carbon, clay, polymeric resin, and mixtures thereof.
9 . The process of claim 1 wherein the adsorbent is a carbon.
10 . The process of claim 1 wherein the adsorbent is an activated carbon.
11 . The process of claim 9 wherein the activated carbon has a surface area of at least 100 m 2 /g.
12 . The process of claim 1 wherein the adsorbent is a polymeric resin.
13 . The process of claim 1 wherein step (a) is conducted in a batch mode.
14 . The process of claim 1 wherein step (a) is conducted in a fixed-bed mode.