Systems and methods for producing hydrocarbon products

Abstract

Systems and methods for producing petroleum products from crude oil are disclosed. The system may include a crude oil processing unit, a steam cracking unit, and a gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit connected to the crude oil processing unit and the steam cracking unit. Naphtha and / or light hydrocarbons may be separated in a gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit and further processed or stored in a steam cracking unit for future processing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] none. Background of the Invention A. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention generally relates to the production of hydrocarbon products from hydrocarbon feedstocks. The system may include a crude oil processing unit, a gaseous hydrocarbon unit and a steam cracking unit. The gaseous hydrocarbon unit may process hydrocarbons with a boiling point below 200° C. received from the crude oil processing unit and produce naphtha, C4 hydrocarbons and C2-C3 hydrocarbon streams. The C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream may be cracked in the steam cracking unit to produce ethylene and propylene. The C4 hydrocarbons and naphtha may be stored for further use or sold. B. Background Technology

[0003] Olefins, such as ethylene, are building blocks for a wide variety of commercially valuable polymers. Since naturally occurring sources of olefins are not available in commercial quantities, polymer producers rely on processes that convert more abundant lower carbon alkanes into olefins. The preferred method for today's commercial-scale producers is steam cracking, a highly endothermic process in which steam-diluted alkanes are briefly subjected to temperatures of at least 800°C. The fuel requirements to generate the required temperatures and the need for equipment that can withstand them add significantly to the overall cost. In addition, high temperatures promote the formation of coke and its accumulation within the system, resulting in the need for expensive periodic reactor shutdowns for maintenance and decoking.

[0004] Methods and systems for producing olefins from crude oil have been described. For example, International Patent Application No. WO2017 / 133975 by Ward et al. describes an integrated process for converting crude oil into petrochemical products, which includes crude oil distillation, hydrocracking, and steam cracking to produce petroleum products. Some processes use a mixed feed cracker (MFC). MFCs can process light hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane, and butane, to naphtha, to heavy liquid feedstocks such as diesel and hydrocracking residues to produce gasoline and most petrochemical industrial products. The MFC process can be operated based on an optimized downstream value chain between the supply of oil or natural gas as a feedstock and the market price of high value-added hydrocarbon products. However, a disadvantage of mixed feed steam crackers is that they cannot convert all feedstocks into olefins. The performance of the cracker can be achieved optimally when a compatible feed is supplied. In most steam crackers, dedicated furnaces are usually required to process light hydrocarbons. This leads to differences in the type and size of furnaces.

[0005] Additionally, steam cracking causes coke, a type of carbon, to slowly deposit on the walls of the reactor. Decoking requires isolating the furnace from the process and then passing a stream of steam or a steam / air mixture through the furnace coils. This converts the hard, solid carbon layer into carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Once this reaction is complete, the furnace is returned to service. Because hydrocarbons produce a lot of coke when they are cracked in an MRC, an MRC typically requires at least two compatible furnaces to crack a specific hydrocarbon, which can affect the size of the furnace in the MRC and make the process less efficient and more expensive.

[0006] Systems and methods for producing hydrocarbon products have been described. For example, U.S. Patent No. 11,180,706 to Al-Sayed et al. describes an olefin production configuration. The process progressively separates crude oil into light and heavy fractions, which can then be upgraded using a fixed bed hydroconverter, a fluidized catalytic converter, or a residue hydrocracking unit. The upgraded stream can be fed to a steam cracker to produce olefins. The performance of this process is poor, which increases the capital cost of the overall process and reduces profitability.

[0007] In general, while the technologies to produce olefins (i.e. ethylene) exist, they are energy inefficient and costly. Summary of the invention

[0008] A discovery can provide a solution to at least one problem associated with the production of hydrocarbon products. In one aspect, the discovery can include a system comprising a hydrocarbon processing unit capable of receiving a crude oil feed, a gas separation unit, and a steam cracking unit. The hydrocarbon processing unit can include a crude distillation unit and / or a vacuum distillation unit. This configuration has the following advantages: 1) a lower cracking temperature in the steam cracking unit; 2) a higher ethylene selectivity. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that limiting the amount of naphtha and C4 hydrocarbons in the steam cracking unit will reduce the vapor pressure in the unit, thereby allowing C4+ hydrocarbons to be converted to ethylene with higher conversion efficiency and selectivity.

[0009] In one aspect of the invention, a system and method for producing hydrocarbon products are described. A system may include a crude oil processing unit, a gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit, a steam cracking unit, and at least one storage unit. The crude oil processing unit is capable of producing a gaseous hydrocarbon stream comprising hydrocarbons having a boiling point below 200°C, preferably below 180°C, a gas oil stream, and a heavy hydrocarbon stream. The crude oil processing unit may include at least one crude distillation unit (CDU) and / or at least one vacuum distillation unit (VDU). The gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit is capable of receiving a gaseous hydrocarbon stream comprising hydrocarbons having a boiling point below 200°C produced by the crude oil processing unit, and is capable of producing a naphtha stream, a gaseous stream that may contain C4 hydrocarbons, and a C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream. The steam cracking unit is capable of receiving a C2-C3 hydrocarbon unit and cracking a C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream to produce ethylene and propylene. In one aspect, a butane storage unit may be provided to store C4 hydrocarbons produced from the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit and / or a naphtha storage unit may be provided to store naphtha produced from the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit. The system may also include a butene hydrogenation unit that is located downstream of the steam cracking unit and is indirectly coupled to the steam cracking unit. The butene hydrogenation unit can produce butanes from butenes. In some aspects, the system may include a residual oil hydrocracking unit that can receive a heavy stream and is configured to produce naphtha from a heavy hydrocarbon stream. The produced naphtha can be provided to the steam cracking unit. The steam cracking unit can crack naphtha at a temperature different from the cracking temperature of C2-C3 hydrocarbons. In some aspects, the system includes a hydrocracking unit that can receive gas oil and is configured to produce naphtha and unconverted oil (UCO) from gas oil. UCO is different from the hydrocracking feedstock because it has been converted by hydrotreating and contains saturated hydrocarbons. The produced naphtha can be provided to the steam cracking unit through a second naphtha pipeline.

[0010] The present invention also describes a method for producing hydrocarbon products using the system of the present invention. In one aspect, the method for producing hydrocarbons may include: (a) subjecting a crude hydrocarbon feed to conditions sufficient to produce a gaseous hydrocarbon stream, which may include hydrocarbons with a boiling point below 200°C, preferably 180°C, a gas oil stream, and a heavy hydrocarbon stream. The conditions in step (a) may include a temperature of 50°C to 700°C. In step (b), the gaseous hydrocarbon stream may be separated into a C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream, a C4 hydrocarbon stream, and a naphtha stream in a gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit. The sulfur content of the gaseous hydrocarbon stream is less than 500ppm, preferably less than 300ppm. The C4 hydrocarbons may be stored in a storage device. Naphtha may also be stored in a storage device. In step (c), the C2-C3 hydrocarbons may be subjected to steam cracking conditions sufficient to produce an ethylene product stream and a propylene product stream. On the one hand, the method may include subjecting the gas oil to conditions sufficient to produce a second naphtha composition and UCO. The second naphtha composition, UCO or its mixture can be provided to the steam cracking unit of step (c) to continue the method. In some aspects, the heavy hydrocarbons in step (a) can be subjected to conditions sufficient to produce the third naphtha composition and asphalt. The third naphtha composition can be provided to the steam cracking unit of step (c) to further carry out the method for producing hydrocarbon products. In the steam cracking unit, the second and third naphtha compositions, UCO or their mixtures can be subjected to conditions sufficient to produce the second C4 hydrocarbon composition, ethylene and propylene or a combination thereof. These conditions can be the same or different from the cracking conditions of C2-C3 hydrocarbons. The second C4 hydrocarbon composition can be processed to produce MTBE. The method can also include providing one or more C4 hydrocarbon compositions produced by the butene hydrogenation unit to the steam cracking unit of step (c). The second and third naphtha compositions, UCO or their combinations can be subjected to conditions sufficient to produce the second C4 hydrocarbon composition, ethylene and propylene or a combination thereof in the steam cracking unit.

[0011] Other embodiments of the present invention are discussed in this application. Any embodiment discussed for one aspect of the present invention is also applicable to other aspects of the present invention, and vice versa. Each embodiment described herein should be understood as an embodiment applicable to other aspects of the present invention. It is contemplated that any embodiment or aspect discussed herein can be combined with other embodiments or aspects discussed herein and / or implemented for any method or composition of the present invention, and vice versa. In addition, the composition of the present invention can be used to implement the method of the present invention.

[0012] The following includes definitions of various terms and phrases used in this specification.

[0013] The term "C# hydrocarbons", where "#" is a positive integer, is intended to describe all hydrocarbons having # carbon atoms. Furthermore, the term "C#+ hydrocarbons" is intended to describe all hydrocarbon molecules having # or more carbon atoms. Thus, the term "C2+ hydrocarbons" is intended to describe a mixture of hydrocarbons having 2 or more carbon atoms. Thus, the term "C2+ alkanes" refers to alkanes having 2 or more carbon atoms.

[0014] The term "about" or "approximately" is defined as close to, as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In a non-limiting embodiment, the term is defined as within 10%, preferably within 5%, more preferably within 1%, and most preferably within 0.5%.

[0015] The terms "wt. %, "vol. %" or "mol. %" refer to the weight percent of a component, the volume percent of a component or the mole percent of a component, respectively, based on the total weight, the total volume or the total number of moles of the material including the component. In a non-limiting example, 10 grams of a component in 100 grams of a material is 10 wt. % of the component.

[0016] The term "substantially" and variations thereof are defined to include ranges within 10%, within 5%, within 1%, or within 0.5%.

[0017] The terms "inhibit" or "reduce" or "prevent" or "avoid" or any variation of these terms when used in the claims and / or specification include any measurable reduction or complete inhibition to achieve a desired result.

[0018] The term "effective" as used in this specification and / or claims means sufficient to achieve a desired, intended, or expected result.

[0019] In the claims or description, when "a" or "an" is used in conjunction with the terms "includes," "comprising," "containing," or "having," it may mean "one," but is also consistent with the meaning of "one or more," "at least one," and "one or more."

[0020] The words "comprise" (and any form of including, such as "comprises" and "comprises"), "have" (and any form of having, such as "have" and "has"), "include" (and any form of including, such as "includes" and "include"), or "contain" (and any form of containing, such as "contains" and "contain") are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[0021] The systems and methods of the present invention may "comprise," "consist essentially of," or "consist of" particular ingredients, components, compositions, etc. disclosed throughout the specification. With respect to the transitional phrase "consist essentially of," in one non-limiting aspect, a fundamental and novel feature of the systems and methods of the present invention is that they are capable of producing a variety of petrochemical products.

[0022] Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following drawings, detailed descriptions and examples. However, it should be understood that although the drawings, detailed descriptions and examples show specific embodiments of the present invention, they are given by way of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, it is contemplated that from this detailed description, those skilled in the art will clearly understand the changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention. In further embodiments, the features of a particular embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments. For example, the features of one embodiment may be combined with any one of the features in another embodiment. In further embodiments, additional features may be added to the particular embodiments described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system for producing hydrocarbon products from a crude oil feedstock, the system comprising a crude oil processing unit connected to a gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit, and a steam cracking unit connected to the crude oil processing unit and the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the system of FIG. 1 showing additional processing devices.

[0026] Although the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings. The drawings may not be drawn to scale. In addition, the schematic diagrams shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be combined with each other, for example, to create a more robust method for producing various petrochemical products from crude oil. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] A discovery can provide a solution to at least one problem involved in producing hydrocarbon products from crude oil. In one aspect, crude oil can be processed in a crude oil processing unit to produce hydrocarbon streams, gas oils, and heavy hydrocarbons having a boiling temperature below 200° C., preferably below 180° C. The gas oil can be provided to a steam cracking unit for further processing. By limiting the amount of naphtha and C4 hydrocarbons fed to the steam cracking unit, the steam pressure control in the steam cracking unit can be controlled, and a higher selectivity for ethylene over heavier streams (e.g., gas oils) can be achieved. Therefore, a more cost-effective and / or energy-efficient system is provided. These and other non-limiting aspects of the present invention will be discussed in further detail in the following sections with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show the system of producing petroleum products from crude oil. With reference to Fig. 1, a system 100 for producing petroleum products is described. Fig. 2 shows the system 100 and the processing of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) stream and other streams produced by a steam cracking unit. System 100 may include a crude oil processing unit 102, a gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit 104 and a steam cracking unit 106. Crude oil 108 enters feed separation 102. Crude oil is unrefined petroleum extracted from geological formations. The term crude oil may also include oil that has been subjected to water-oil separation and / or gas-oil separation and / or desalting and / or stabilization treatment. Non-limiting examples of crude oil include Arab heavy crude oil, Arab light crude oil, other Gulf crude oils, Brent crude oil, North Sea crude oil, North African and West African crude oils, Indonesian crude oil, Chinese crude oil, West Texas crude oil and mixtures thereof, and also include shale oil, oil sands, condensate and bio-based oils. The crude oil used as feed for the method of the present invention is preferably conventional petroleum, and its API gravity is greater than 20 ° API (measured according to ASTM D287 standard). On the one hand, the crude oil used in the method of the present invention is a light crude oil with an API gravity greater than 30°API; on the other hand, the crude oil used in the method of the present invention may include Arabian light crude oil. The API gravity of Arabian light crude oil is generally between 32-36°API and the sulfur content is between 1.5-4.5wt.%.

[0029] In the crude oil processing unit 102, the crude oil 108 is processed into a light hydrocarbon stream 110, a gas oil hydrocarbon stream 112, and a vacuum residue (heavy hydrocarbon) stream 114. The boiling temperature of the light hydrocarbon stream may be less than 200°C, preferably less than 180°C (e.g., 200°C, 195°C, 190°C, 180°C, 175°C or lower, or any range or value therebetween). The boiling point range of the gas oil may be about 340-560°C, more preferably about 350-550°C, more preferably 250-360°C, and most preferably about 260-350°C. The boiling point of the vacuum residue (heavy hydrocarbon) may be greater than about 340°C, more preferably greater than about 350°C. The crude oil processing unit 102 may include a flash tank, one or more fractionation towers, and the fractionation towers are capable of processing the crude oil 108 into one or more fractions according to the boiling point range. In some embodiments, the crude oil processing unit 102 may include a vacuum distillation unit to further separate the residual oil into a vacuum gas oil fraction and a vacuum residue fraction. If vacuum distillation is used, the vacuum gas oil fraction and the vacuum residue (heavy hydrocarbon) fraction can be further processed in the crude oil processing unit 102. For example, the vacuum residue fraction can be specifically subjected to solvent deasphalting before further processing. In other embodiments, slurry residue hydrocracking can be used to process the crude oil 108 into fractions.

[0030] The light hydrocarbon stream 110 may leave the crude oil processing unit 102 and enter the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit 104. In the gaseous hydrocarbon unit 104, the light hydrocarbon stream 110 may be separated into naphtha, C4 hydrocarbons and C2-C3 hydrocarbons. The gaseous hydrocarbon unit 104 may include one or more distillation units known in the art, capable of separating hydrocarbons with a boiling point below 200°C. For example, a naphtha stream with a boiling point range of 20°C to 190°C, a C4 hydrocarbon stream with a boiling point range of -10°C to 0°C (preferably -5°C), and a C2 / C3 hydrocarbon stream with a boiling point range of -90 to -40°C. In some embodiments, the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit may include one or more devices capable of removing sulfur-containing compounds from the light hydrocarbon stream 110. Any conventional method suitable for gas separation may be used in the context of the present invention. Therefore, the gas may pass through multiple compression stages, wherein acid gases such as CO2 and H2S may be removed between compression stages. The sulfur content can be reduced to less than 500 ppm, preferably less than 300 ppm (e.g., 500, 450, 425, 400, 375, 350, 325, 300, 275, 250, 225, 200, 175, 150, 125, 100 ppm or less, or any range or value therebetween) using conventional methods. The light hydrocarbons can be processed (e.g., multiple distillations) to remove hydrogen and / or other impurities (e.g., CO2 / H2S) and separated into naphtha, C4 hydrocarbons, and C2-C3 gases. The naphtha stream 116 can leave the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit 104 and enter the storage unit 118. The C4 hydrocarbon stream 120 can leave the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit 104 and enter the storage unit 122.

[0031] The C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream 124 may leave the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit 104 and enter the steam cracking unit 106. In the steam cracking unit 106, the C2-C3 feed may be steam cracked at a temperature of 600° C. to 900° C. (e.g., 600° C., 625° C., 650° C., 675° C., 700° C., 725° C., 750° C., 775° C., 850° C., 875° C., 900° C., or any value or range therebetween) and / or a pressure of 0.2 MPa to 0.3 MPa (e.g., 0.2 MPa, 0.21 MPa, 0.22 MPa, 0.23 MPa, 0.24 MPa, 0.25 MPa, 0.26 MPa, 0.27 MPa, 0.28 MPa, 0.30 MPa, or any value or range therebetween). At such temperature and pressure, ethane C2-C3 hydrocarbons are cracked to produce ethylene and propylene. In the steam cracking process, by diluting the mixed hydrocarbon, saturated hydrocarbons are decomposed into smaller, normally unsaturated hydrocarbons, such as ethylene and propylene, in the absence of oxygen, with steam supply and heating mixture in a furnace. The residence time of the steam cracking reaction can reach 50 to 1000 milliseconds. The steam cracking unit can have a fractionation unit (not shown) or a gas fractionation unit (not shown), which can separate ethane and / or propane from the olefin product stream. Such fractionation units are well known in the art. Ethylene stream 126 can leave steam cracking unit 106, and be stored, sold or used for other processing units. Propylene stream 128 can leave steam cracking unit 106, and be stored, sold or used for other processing units.

[0032] The gas oil stream 112 may exit the crude oil processing unit 102 and enter the gas oil processing unit 130. In the gas oil processing unit 130, the gas oil stream 112 may be subjected to various distillation processes, hydrocracking processes, or a combination thereof to produce additional naphtha and UCO.

[0033] Gas oil processing may include one or more fixed bed catalytic reactors with one or more fractionation units for separating the desired product from the unconverted material and may also incorporate the ability to recycle the unconverted material to one or both reactors. The gas oil processing reactors may be operated at a temperature of 200-600° C., preferably 300-400° C., a pressure of 3-35 MPa, preferably 5-20 MPa, and 5-20 wt.% of hydrogen (relative to the hydrocarbon feedstock). The catalyst used in such a process comprises one or more elements selected from palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, osmium, copper, cobalt, nickel, platinum, iron, zinc, gallium, indium, molybdenum, tungsten and vanadium, supported on an acidic solid such as alumina, silica, alumina-silica and zeolite in the form of a metal or metal sulfide. Naphtha stream 132 (second naphtha stream) and UCO stream 134 (UCO stream in FIG. 2) may each exit gas oil processing (DHC in FIG. 2) unit 130 and enter steam cracking unit 106 to continue the process to produce petroleum products (eg, ethylene, propylene, and butane).

[0034] In the steam cracking unit 106, the naphtha stream 132 and the UCO (UCO in FIG. 2) stream 134 are subjected to the aforementioned steam cracking conditions to generate ethylene, propylene, C4 hydrocarbons, pyrolysis gasoline and C7 / 8 hydrocarbons. The steam cracking unit may include one or more furnaces so that the naphtha and UCO can be cracked at a temperature different from that of the C2-C3 hydrocarbons. In some embodiments, the same furnace may be used. Pyrolysis gasoline may include aromatics, olefins and alkanes from C5 to C12. The C4 hydrocarbons may be a mixture of butadiene, butane and butene (e.g., ethyl acetylene, vinyl acetylene, 1,3-butadiene, 1,2-butadiene, isobutylene, cis-2-butene, trans-2-butene, 1-butene, isobutane and normal butane). The C4 hydrocarbon stream 136 may leave the steam cracking unit 106 and enter the MTBE processing system 138. In the MTBE processing system, in addition to producing MTBE effluent, MTBE is also produced. The MTBE processing system may include a butadiene (BD) separation unit, an MTBE synthesis unit, and a selective hydrogenation unit (SHU in Figure 2) that is capable of hydrogenating a portion of the effluent from the MTBE process to produce 1-butene. The MTBE effluent 140 may be further processed by a C4 hydrogenation unit 142 to generate C4 alkanes (a second C4 hydrocarbon stream). The C4 hydrogenation unit may be any C4 hydrogenation unit known in the art. A portion or all of the C4 alkane stream 144 may leave the C4 hydrogenation unit and enter the steam cracking unit 106 to further produce ethylene and / or propylene. In some embodiments, a portion or all of the C4 hydrocarbon stream 144 is provided to a C4 hydrocarbon storage unit 118.

[0035] The vacuum residue stream 114 can leave the crude oil processing unit 102 and enter the residue hydrocracking unit 144. The residue hydrocracking unit 144 is capable of converting the residue into naphtha and gas oil. The naphtha stream 146 (the third naphtha stream) can leave the residue hydrocracking unit 144 and be combined with the naphtha stream 132 (the second naphtha stream) or enter a steam cracking unit 106 (not shown). The gas oil stream 148 can leave the residue hydrocracking unit 144 and be combined with the gas oil stream 112, or enter a gas oil processing unit 130 for further processing into hydrocarbon products (e.g., ethylene, propylene, C4 hydrocarbons, or a combination thereof). In the gas oil processing unit 130, the gas oil from the residue hydrocracking unit 144 and some lighter components (components from C2 to long-chain alkanes up to C24) can be fed into a fixed-bed hydrocracking unit to be converted into a substance suitable for feeding into the steam cracking unit. The components prepared in the fixed-bed hydrocracker can be separated in the hydrocracking unit or provided to a gas separation unit 104 (not shown), where they can be combined with the light steam from the crude oil separation to separate hydrocarbons with fewer than 4 carbon atoms (<C4), C4 hydrocarbons, and hydrocarbons heavier than C4 (>C4 hydrocarbons) from the mixture. If the <C4 hydrocarbons are cracked at a different temperature from the >C4 hydrocarbons, better steam cracker performance can be observed. The purified gas from the hydrocracking unit can be transported to the steam cracking unit to recover useful components. The residue hydrocracking process is well established. For example, in industrial hydrocracking, three basic reactor types can be employed, namely the fixed-bed (trickle-bed) reactor type, the ebullated-bed reactor type, and the slurry (entrained-bed) reactor type. The fixed-bed residue hydrocracking process is mature and capable of treating contaminated material streams such as atmospheric residue and vacuum residue to produce diesel and naphtha. The catalysts used in the fixed-bed residue hydrocracking process include cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), or a combination thereof on a refractory support (usually alumina). For feeds with a higher degree of contamination, the catalysts in the fixed-bed residue hydrocracking process can also be supplemented to a certain extent (moving bed). The process conditions include a temperature of 350°C to 450°C and a pressure of 2 to 20 MPa. The ebullated-bed residue hydrocracking process is also mature, characterized by continuous catalyst replacement and capable of treating highly contaminated feeds. The catalysts used in the ebullated-bed residue hydrocracking process include cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, or a combination thereof on a refractory support (usually alumina). The process conditions include a temperature of 350°C to 450°C and a pressure of 5 MPa to 25 MPa. The residue slurry hydrocracking process is a combination of thermal cracking and catalytic hydrogenation and can obtain a high yield of distillable products from heavy residue feeds that are usually highly contaminated. Such slurry residue hydrocracking processes are known (e.g., US5,932,090, US2012 / 0234726Al, and WO2014142874Al).In the first liquid phase stage, thermal cracking and hydrocracking reactions can occur simultaneously in the bubble slurry phase, and the process conditions include a temperature of 400-500°C and a pressure of 15-25 MPa gauge pressure. Residue, hydrogen and catalyst are introduced at the bottom of the reactor to form a bubble slurry phase; its height depends on the flow rate and the required conversion rate. In these processes, the catalyst can be continuously replaced to achieve a consistent conversion level throughout the operating cycle. The catalyst can be an unsupported metal sulfide generated in situ in the reactor. The heavy fraction produced by the residue reforming can be recycled to the residue hydrocracking unit 144 until it is used up. In addition, a higher boiling point hydrocarbon (heavy pyrolysis oil (HPO) in Figure 2) stream 150 can leave the gas oil processing unit 130 and enter the residue hydrocracking unit 144 for further processing. The residue hydrocracking unit 144 can also produce an asphalt stream 152.

[0036] Although the embodiments of the present application and their advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments defined by the present invention. Appended claims. In addition, the scope of the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments of the methods, machines, manufactures, material compositions, devices, methods and steps described in the specification. It can be easily understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art from the above disclosure that existing or later developed methods, machines, manufactures, material compositions, devices, methods or steps that perform substantially the same functions as the corresponding embodiments described herein or achieve substantially the same results can be utilized. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to include these processes, machines, manufactures, material compositions, devices, methods or steps within their scope.

Claims

1. A system for producing hydrocarbon products, characterized in that: The system includes: a crude oil processing unit, which is capable of producing a gaseous hydrocarbon stream, the gaseous hydrocarbon stream containing hydrocarbons with a boiling point below 200°C, preferably below 180°C, a gas oil stream and a heavy hydrocarbon stream; a gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit, the gaseous hydrocarbon stream contains hydrocarbons with a boiling point below 200°C produced by the crude oil processing unit and is capable of producing a naphtha stream, a gaseous stream containing C4 hydrocarbons and a C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream; a steam cracking unit, which is capable of receiving a C2-C3 hydrocarbon unit and cracking the C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream to produce ethylene and propylene; a storage device, which is connected to the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit and is capable of receiving a gaseous stream containing C4 hydrocarbons; and a storage device, which is connected to the gaseous hydrocarbon separation unit and is capable of receiving naphtha.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The crude oil processing unit includes a crude oil distillation unit and a vacuum distillation unit.

3. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that Further including: Butene hydrogenation unit; and a C4 pipeline connected to the steam cracking unit and the butane hydrogenation unit, wherein the C4 pipeline is capable of supplying C4 hydrocarbons from the butene hydrogenation unit to the steam cracking unit.

4. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Further including: a residue hydrocracking unit capable of receiving a heavy hydrocarbon stream and configured to produce naphtha from the heavy hydrocarbon stream; and a naphtha pipeline connected to the residue hydrocracking unit and the steam cracking unit, the naphtha pipeline being capable of supplying naphtha from the residue hydrocracking unit to the steam cracking unit.

5. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that Further including: a hydrocracking unit capable of receiving the gas oil and configured to produce naphtha and unconverted oil (UCO) from the gas oil; and a second naphtha pipeline connected to the hydrocracking unit and the steam cracking unit, the naphtha pipeline being capable of supplying naphtha from the hydrocracking unit to the steam cracking unit.

6. A method for producing hydrocarbons, characterized in that: The method includes: (a) subjecting a crude hydrocarbon feed to conditions sufficient to produce a gaseous hydrocarbon stream comprising hydrocarbons having a boiling point below 200°C, preferably 180°C, a gas oil stream and a heavy hydrocarbon stream; (b) in a gaseous hydrocarbon unit, separating a gaseous hydrocarbon stream comprising hydrocarbons having a boiling point below 200° C. into a C2-C3 hydrocarbon stream, a C4 hydrocarbon stream and a naphtha stream; (c) subjecting the C2-C3 hydrocarbons to conditions sufficient to produce an ethylene product stream and a propylene product stream in a steam cracking unit; and (d) Storage of C4 hydrocarbon streams and naphtha streams.

7. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The conditions in step (a) include a temperature of 50°C to 700°C.

8. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 7, characterized in that Also included is subjecting the gas oil to conditions sufficient to produce a second naphtha stream and an unconverted oil (UCO) stream.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that Also included is providing the second naphtha stream to the steam cracking unit of step (c).

10. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that Also included is providing the UCO stream to a steam cracking unit in step (c).

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that Also included is subjecting the heavy hydrocarbons to conditions sufficient to produce a third naphtha stream and asphalt.

12. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 11, characterized in that Also included is subjecting the second and third naphtha streams, the UCO stream, or a combination thereof, to conditions sufficient to produce a second C4 hydrocarbon stream in the steam cracking unit of step (c).

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The cracking conditions are different from those of C2-C3 hydrocarbons.

14. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 13, characterized in that The second C4 hydrocarbon stream is further processed to produce methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE).

15. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 14, characterized in that The method further comprises providing one or more C4 hydrocarbon streams produced by the butene hydrogenation unit to the steam cracking unit of step (c).

16. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 15, characterized in that Also included is subjecting the gaseous hydrocarbon stream of step (a) to conditions sufficient to reduce the sulfur content of the gaseous hydrocarbon stream to less than 500 ppm, preferably less than 300 ppm.

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