Recovery component paraxylene and related chemical compounds from waste plastics

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a plant for the direct or indirect production of recovered organic chemical compounds from waste plastics. Described herein are processing schemes for converting waste plastic (or hydrocarbons with recovered components derived from waste plastic) into useful intermediate chemicals and end products. In some aspects, the recovery component aromatic hydrocarbon (r-aromatic hydrocarbon) may be processed to provide the recovery component paraxylene (r-paraxylene), which may then be used to provide the recovery component terephthalic acid (r-TPA) and / or the recovery component polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET). In some aspects, the r-PET may include one or more comonomers to form the r-co-PET, which may be used in a variety of end-use applications.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Aromatic compounds such as benzene, toluene and xylene are important industrial chemicals used in a variety of applications. Para-xylene is used to form dicarboxylic acids and esters, which are key chemical raw materials for the production of polyesters and aromatic-based plasticizers. Most conventional production routes for these materials utilize fossil fuel-derived feedstocks. Therefore, it is desirable to find additional synthetic routes for para-xylene and other aromatics that are sustainable while also providing a high-purity final product. Advantageously, the manufacture of such components can be carried out with existing equipment and facilities. Summary of the invention

[0002] In one aspect, the present technology relates to a method for producing a recycled component organic chemical compound (r-organic chemical compound), the method comprising: (a) oxidizing a recycled component paraxylene (r-paraxylene) stream in an oxidation zone of a terephthalic acid (TPA) production facility to provide a recycled component crude terephthalic acid (r-CTA) slurry, wherein the r-paraxylene stream comprises recycled components derived from waste plastics; (b) treating at least a portion of the r-CTA slurry to provide a treated r-CTA slurry; and (c) crystallizing at least a portion of the treated r-CTA slurry to provide a recycled component purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA).

[0003] In one aspect, the present technology relates to a method for producing recycled organic chemical compounds (r-organic chemical compounds), the method comprising: (a) converting waste plastics in at least one conversion facility to form a recycled aromatics (r-aromatics) stream including recycled para-xylene (r-pX); (b) separating at least a portion of the r-aromatics stream in an aromatics complex to provide a recycled para-xylene (r-pX) stream; (c) oxidizing at least a portion of the r-pX stream in an oxidation zone of a terephthalic acid production facility to provide a recycled crude terephthalic acid (r-CTA) slurry; and (d) processing at least a portion of the r-CTA slurry to provide a recycled purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA) stream.

[0004] In one aspect, the present technology relates to a method for producing a recycled content organic chemical compound (r-organic chemical compound), the method comprising: (a) forming recycled content purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA) from a recycled content paraxylene (r-paraxylene) stream in a terephthalic acid (TPA) production facility, wherein the r-paraxylene stream comprises recycled content derived from waste plastics; and (b) reacting at least a portion of the r-PTA with ethylene glycol (EG) to form recycled content polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET).

[0005] In one aspect, the present technology relates to a method for producing a recycled content organic chemical compound (r-organic chemical compound), the method comprising: reacting a stream comprising recycled content purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA) with ethylene glycol (EG) to form recycled content polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET), wherein the r-PTA comprises recycled content from mixed waste plastics. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1a is a block flow diagram illustrating the major steps of a process for producing recovered component aromatics (r-aromatics) and recovered component para-xylene (r-para-xylene), and optionally recovered component organic chemical compounds, from r-para-xylene, wherein the r-aromatics (and r-para-xylene and r-organic chemical compounds) have a physical composition derived from one or more source materials;

[0007] Figure 1b is a block flow diagram illustrating the major steps of a process for producing recovered component aromatics (r-aromatics) and recovered component para-xylene (r-para-xylene), and optionally recovered component organic chemical compounds, from r-para-xylene, wherein the r-aromatics (and r-para-xylene and r-organic chemical compounds) have a credit-based recovered component from one or more source materials;

[0008] Figure 2 is a schematic block flow diagram illustrating the major processes / facilities in a system for providing recycled component organic chemical compounds including para-xylene, r-terephthalic acid, and r-polyethylene terephthalate, according to various embodiments of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 3a is a schematic block flow diagram showing Figure 2 The main methods / facilities in the system shown and particularly illustrate additional processing schemes for producing the recovered component products;

[0010] Figure 3b yes Figure 2 a schematic block flow diagram of the facility shown, particularly illustrating additional processing steps for producing a recycled content intermediate used in forming a recycled content product; and

[0011] Figure 4 is a schematic block flow diagram illustrating a method for Figure 2 The main steps / areas of a TPA production facility and a PET production facility in the system illustrated in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] We have discovered new methods and systems for producing para-xylene and organic chemical compounds formed by direct processing of para-xylene or its derivatives (including, for example, organic chemical compounds such as terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate). More specifically, we have discovered methods and systems for producing para-xylene in which recycled content from waste materials such as waste plastics is applied to para-xylene (or its derivatives) in a manner that promotes recycling of the waste plastics and provides para-xylene (or other organic chemical compounds) having a high amount of recycled content.

[0013] Initial reference Figure 1a and Figure 1b , p-xylene is formed by processing a stream based on aromatics in an aromatics complex to provide a stream comprising at least 85 wt %, at least 90 wt %, at least 92 wt %, at least 95 wt %, at least 97 wt % or at least 99 wt % p-xylene. The p-xylene stream can undergo one or more additional processing steps to provide at least one organic chemical compound derived from p-xylene. Examples of such organic chemical compounds include, but are not limited to, terephthalic acid, polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate, and other related organic chemical compounds.

[0014] like Figure 1a and Figure 1b As shown, a waste plastic stream processed in one or more conversion facilities can provide an aromatic hydrocarbon stream that can be processed to form a para-xylene stream. The recovered components in the para-xylene stream can be physical and can be directly derived from the waste plastic or from an intermediate hydrocarbon stream formed by processing the waste plastic (Figure 1 or Figure 2 ), and / or the recovered components may be credit-based and may be applied to target streams in an aromatics complex and / or a chemical processing facility.

[0015] The aromatic hydrocarbon (or paraxylene or organic chemical compound) stream may have a total recovery content of at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 15%, at least 20%, at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 35%, at least 40%, at least 45%, at least 50%, at least 55% or at least 65% and / or 100%, or less than 99%, less than 95%, less than 90%, less than 85%, less than 80%, less than 75% or less than 70%. Similarly, the r-TPA and / or r-PET or even r-aromatic streams may have at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 15%, at least 20%, at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 35%, at least 40%, at least 45%, at least 50%, at least 55%, or at least 65%, and / or 100%, or less than 99%, less than 95%, less than 90%, less than 85%, less than 80%, less than 75%, or less than 70% recycled content. The recycled content in one or more of these streams may be physical recycled content, credit-based recycled content, or a combination of physical recycled content and credit-based recycled content.

[0016] Initially go to Figure 1a In one embodiment or in combination with one or more embodiments mentioned herein, at least a portion of the recovered components in the aromatics and / or p-xylene stream (or in the organic chemical compound product stream) can be physical (direct) recovered components. This recovered component may be derived from a waste plastic stream. The waste plastic stream is ultimately converted in one or more conversion facilities (e.g., pyrolysis facilities, refineries, steam cracking facilities and / or molecular reforming facilities and methanol to aromatics facilities), and the waste plastic stream is processed as described herein (alone or with a non-recovered component aromatic stream) to provide an r-p-xylene stream. The r-p-xylene stream can then be further processed (alone or in combination with a non-recovered component p-xylene stream) to provide a recovered component organic chemical compound, including but not limited to recovered component terephthalic acid (r-TPA), recovered component polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) and one or more additional recovered component organic chemical compounds (r-organic chemical compounds).

[0017] The amount of physically recovered components in the target product (e.g., composition, r-aromatics or r-paraxylene or r-organic chemical compound) can be determined by tracking the amount of waste plastic materials processed along a series of chemical pathways and ending with a portion or portion of the target product that is attributable to the chemical pathway of waste plastics. As used herein, a portion can be a portion of an atom of the target product and its structure and can also include the entire chemical structure of the target product, and does not necessarily need to include functional groups. For example, a portion of paraxylene can include an aromatic ring, a portion of an aromatic ring, a methyl group, or an entire paraxylene molecule. The chemical pathway includes all chemical reactions and other processing steps (e.g., separation) between the starting material (e.g., waste plastics) and the portion of the chemical pathway that is attributable to the target product originating from the waste plastics. For example, the chemical pathway of r-aromatics can include pyrolysis, optionally refining and / or stream cracking and / or molecular reforming and methanol synthesis and conversion. The chemical pathway of r-paraxylene can also include processing in an aromatics complex, and depending on the specific r-organic chemical compound, the chemical pathway of the r-organic chemical compound can include a variety of additional steps, such as oxidation, polymerization, etc. Conversion factors may be associated with each step along the chemical pathway. The conversion factor explains the amount of a recovered component that is transferred or lost at each step along a chemical pathway. For example, the conversion factor can explain the conversion rate, yield, and / or selectivity of a chemical reaction along a chemical pathway.

[0018] The recycled content based on credit in a target product (e.g., a composition, r-aromatics or r-paraxylene or r-organic chemical compound) can be determined by calculating the mass weight % of the target portion in the target product and allocating the recycled content credit to the target product in any amount, the maximum value of which does not exceed the mass weight % of the target portion in the target product. The recycled content based on credit eligible for application to the target product is determined by tracing waste plastic materials that follow a series of chemical pathways and end up with the same portion as the target portion in the target product. Thus, the recycled content based on credit can be applied to multiple different target products having the same portion, even if these products are made by completely different chemical pathways, provided that the credit applied is obtained from waste plastics and the waste plastics ultimately undergo at least one chemical pathway that originates from the waste plastics and ends up in the target portion. For example, if a recycled content credit is obtained from waste plastic and is credited to recycled content inventory, and there is a chemical pathway at the facility that is capable of processing the waste plastic into a target fraction such as para-xylene (e.g., from pyrolysis reactor effluent to a crude distillation column to a hydrotreater to a reformer to an aromatics complex to separate para-xylene), then the recycled content credit is a type that is eligible to be applied to any para-xylene molecule made by any chemical pathway (including para-xylene molecules present at the facility) and / or the para-xylene portion of the pyrolysis gasoline stream composition obtained from a steam cracker and a gasoline fractionator. As with physical recycled content, conversion factors may or may not be associated with each step along the chemical pathway. Additional details regarding credit-based recycled content are provided below.

[0019] The amount of the recovery component applied to r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compound) can be determined using one of the multiple methods for the recovery component between various materials in the various methods for quantitative, tracking and distribution. A suitable method that is referred to as "mass balance" is quantitative, tracking and distribution of the recovery component based on the quality of the recovery component in the method. In certain embodiments, the method for quantitative, tracking and distribution of the recovery component is supervised by a certification entity, which confirms the accuracy of the method and provides certification for the recovery component being applied to r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compound).

[0020] Now go to Figure 1b, an embodiment is provided in which r-organic chemical compounds (or r-para-xylene) include recycled content on a credit basis. The recycled content credit from the waste plastics is attributed to one or more streams within the facility. For example, the recycled content credit derived from the waste plastics can be attributed to the aromatics stream fed to the aromatics complex, or to any product separated and isolated in the aromatics complex, such as to the para-xylene stream. Alternatively, or in addition, depending on the specific configuration of the system, recycled content credits obtained from one or more intermediate streams within the conversion facility and / or the aromatics complex may also be attributed to one or more products within the facility, such as para-xylene. In addition, recycled content credits from one or more of these streams may also be attributed to the organic chemical compound stream, such as Figure 1b shown.

[0021] Thus, waste plastic streams or r-aromatic and r-paraxylene streams (and Figure 1b Any recovery component intermediate stream not shown in the above) can each serve as a "source material" for the recovery component credit. Aromatics fed to the aromatics complex, para-xylene products or any other products separated and / or isolated from the aromatics complex, para-xylene transferred (including sales) or fed to chemical processing facilities, any intermediate stream not shown, and even organic chemical compounds can each serve as a target product that can be counted into the recovery component credit. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment mentioned herein, the source material has a physical recovery component and the target product has less than 100% of the physical recovery component. For example, the source material can have at least 10%, at least 25%, at least 50%, at least 75%, at least 90%, at least 99% or 100% of the physical recovery component and / or the target product can have less than 100%, less than 99%, less than 90%, less than 75%, less than 50%, less than 25%, less than 10%, less than 1% of the physical recovery component, or no physical recovery component.

[0022] The ability to attribute the recovered component credit from the source material to the target product eliminates the co-location requirement between the facility for manufacturing the source material (with physical recovered components) and the facility for manufacturing the aromatic hydrocarbons or receiving the product of the recovered component value (such as para-xylene or organic chemical compound). This allows the chemical recovery facility / site at one location to process the waste material into one or more recovered component source materials, and then the recovered component credit from those source materials is applied to one or more target products being processed in an existing commercial facility located away from the chemical recovery facility / site (optionally within the same entity series), or the recovered component value is associated with the product transferred to another facility (optionally owned by a different entity), and the entity can deposit the recovered component credit into its recovered component inventory after the product is received, purchased or otherwise transferred. In addition, the use of recovered component credit allows different entities to produce source materials and aromatic hydrocarbons (or para-xylene or organic chemical compounds). This allows the effective use of existing commercial assets to produce aromatic hydrocarbons (or para-xylene or organic chemical compounds). In one or more embodiments, the source material is produced at a facility / site that is at least 0.1 mile, at least 0.5 mile, at least 1 mile, at least 5 miles, at least 10 miles, at least 50 miles, at least 100 miles, at least 500 miles, or at least 1000 miles from a facility / site where the target product is used to produce aromatics (or paraxylene or organic chemical compounds).

[0023] Attributing a recovered component credit from a source material (e.g., r-aromatics from a conversion facility) to a target product (e.g., an aromatics stream fed to an aromatics complex) can be accomplished by transferring the recovered component credit directly from the source material to the target product. Figure 1b As shown, recycled content credits can be applied to aromatics, para-xylene, or organic chemical compounds from any of waste plastics, r-aromatics, and r-para-xylene (if present) through recycled content inventory.

[0024] When recycled content stocks are used, materials from source materials with physical recycled content (e.g. Figure 1bThe recovered component credit of the waste plastics, r-aromatics and optionally r-paraxylene) shown in the figure is recorded in the recovered component inventory. The recovered component inventory can also contain the recovered component credit from other sources and other time periods. In one embodiment, the recovered component credit in the recovered component inventory corresponds to a part, and the recovered component credit is applied or assigned to the same target product containing the target part, and the target part either (i) cannot be chemically traced by the chemical approach for generating the recovered component credit, or (ii) can be chemically traced by the chemical approach for generating the recovered component credit. When the atoms from the source material such as waste plastics can theoretically be traced to one or more atoms in the target part of the target product by each chemical approach to obtain the atoms in the target part, chemical traceability is achieved.

[0025] In some embodiments, the waste plastic credits stored in the recycled content inventory can be checked against the quality of the processed waste plastics on a regular basis (e.g., annually or semi-annually). Such checks can be performed by appropriate entities at intervals consistent with the rules of the certification system in which the producer participates.

[0026] In one embodiment, once the recycled component credit is attributed to the target product (e.g., an aromatics stream, a paraxylene stream, or any intermediate stream not shown), the amount of recycled components based on the credit assigned to the organic chemical compound (e.g., TPA, PET, or other organic chemical compound) will be calculated by the mass proportion of atoms in the target product that can be chemically traced back to the source material. In another embodiment, a conversion factor can be associated with each step along the chemical pathway of the recycled component based on the credit. The conversion factor explains the amount of recycled components transferred or lost at each step along the chemical pathway. For example, the conversion factor can explain the conversion rate, yield, and / or selectivity of the chemical reaction along the chemical pathway. However, if desired, the amount of recycled components applied to the target product can be greater than the mass proportion of the target portion that can be chemically traced back to the waste plastic source material. Even if the mass proportion of atoms in the target portion that can be chemically traced back to the recycled source material (such as a mixed plastic waste stream) is less than 100%, the target product can receive up to 100% of the recycled components. For example, if the target fraction in the product only represents 30% by weight of all atoms in the target product that can be chemically traced back to a mixed plastic waste stream, the target product may still receive a recycled content value greater than 30% (up to 100% if desired). Although such application would violate the chemical traceability of the full value of the recycled content amount in the target product to the waste plastic source, the specific amount of recycled content value applied to the target product will depend on the rules of the certification system in which the producer participates.

[0027] As with physical recovered components, the amount of credit-based recovered components applied to r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compounds) can be determined using one of a variety of methods (such as mass balance) for quantifying, tracking, and allocating recovered components between various products in various processes. In certain embodiments, the method of quantifying, tracking, and allocating recovered components is overseen by a certification entity that confirms the accuracy of the method and provides certification for the application of the recovered components to r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compounds).

[0028] The r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compound) may have a credit-based recovery content of 25% to 90%, 40% to 80%, or 55% to 65% and a physical recovery content of less than 50%, less than 25%, less than 10%, less than 5%, or less than 1%. In certain embodiments, the r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compound) may have a credit-based recovery content of at least 10%, at least 25%, at least 50%, or at least 65%, and / or no more than 90%, no more than 80%, or no more than 75%, from one or more of r-aromatics and / or r-para-xylene, respectively.

[0029] In one or more embodiments, the recovered content of r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compounds) can include both physical recovered content and credit-based recovered content. For example, r-aromatics (or r-para-xylene or r-organic chemical compounds) can have at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, or at least 50% physical recovered content and at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, or at least 50% credit-based recovered content. As used herein, the term "total recovered content" refers to the cumulative amount of physical recovered content and credit-based recovered content from all sources.

[0030] Now go to Figure 2 , methods and facilities for forming recycled component organic chemical compounds (r-organic chemical compounds) are provided. As used herein, the term "organic chemical compound" refers to a chemical compound that includes carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms, but also includes oxygen atoms and / or nitrogen atoms. The organic chemical compound may include at least 75 atomic %, at least 80 atomic %, at least 85 atomic %, at least 90 atomic %, at least 95 atomic % or at least 99 atomic % of carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms (combined), with the remainder being nitrogen and oxygen.

[0031] Specifically, Figure 2The system diagram shown illustrates several types of waste plastic conversion facilities (e.g., pyrolysis facilities, refineries, steam cracking facilities, molecular reforming facilities and associated methanol to aromatics conversion facilities, and optional PET cracking facilities) for processing a waste plastic stream (and / or one or more streams derived from waste plastic) to provide a recycled component aromatic (r-aromatic) stream. Additionally, although Figure 2 , but each of these conversion facilities can also process conventional hydrocarbonaceous material streams and waste plastics and / or streams derived from waste plastics together. For example, an oil refinery can also process crude oil, and a steam cracking facility can also process hydrocarbon streams (for example, light gas and / or naphtha), and a molecular reforming facility can also process at least one hydrocarbon-containing stream (for example, coal, oil, etc.). In addition, an aromatics complex can also receive and process another aromatics-containing stream that is not from one or more of the conversion facilities. These additional feed streams may or may not include a recovery component.

[0032] like Figure 2 As shown, the r-aromatics stream or streams from one or more of the conversion facilities may then be further processed in an aromatics complex to provide recycled content para-xylene (r-para-xylene), which may then be oxidized in a TPA production facility to form recycled content terephthalic acid (r-TPA). Optionally, at least a portion of the r-PTA may be further reacted in a PET production facility to form recycled content polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET). One or more of the recycled content streams from these facilities may be used Figure 2 Other applications not specifically shown or discussed herein.

[0033] Figure 2 The system shown may include or be a chemical recycling facility. Chemical recycling facilities are not the same as mechanical recycling facilities. As used herein, the terms "mechanical recycling" and "physical recycling" refer to a recycling process comprising melting waste plastics and forming the molten plastics into new intermediate products (e.g., particles or sheets) and / or new final products (e.g., bottles). In general, mechanical recycling does not substantially change the chemical structure of the recycled plastics. The chemical recycling facility described herein can be configured to receive and process waste streams from mechanical recycling facilities and / or waste streams that cannot normally be processed by mechanical recycling facilities.

[0034] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment mentioned herein, at least two, at least three, at least four, at least five, at least six, at least seven or all of the pyrolysis facility, refinery, steam cracking facility, molecular reforming facility, methanol to aromatics conversion facility, aromatics complex and TPA production facility and PET production facility can be co-located. As used herein, the term "co-location" refers to the property that at least two objects are located in the same physical location and / or are within 5 miles, 3 miles, 1 mile, 0.75 miles, 0.5 miles or 0.25 miles of each other (measured as the straight-line distance between two specified points). When two or more facilities are co-located, the facilities can be integrated in one or more ways. Examples of integration include, but are not limited to, thermal integration, utility integration, wastewater integration, mass flow integration via pipelines, office spaces, cafeterias, integration of plant management, IT departments, maintenance departments, and sharing of common equipment and parts (such as seals, gaskets and the like).

[0035] In addition, one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, five or more, six or more, seven or all of the pyrolysis facility, refinery, steam cracking facility, molecular reforming facility, methanol to aromatics conversion facility, aromatics complex, TPA production facility, and PET production facility can be commercial scale facilities. For example, in one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments mentioned herein, one or more of these facilities / steps can receive one or more feed streams at a combined average annual feed rate of at least 500 pounds per hour, at least 1000 pounds per hour, at least 1500 pounds per hour, at least 2000 pounds per hour, at least 5000 pounds per hour, at least 10,000 pounds per hour, at least 50,000 pounds per hour, or at least 100,000 pounds per hour averaged over a year. In addition, one or more of these facilities can produce at least one recycled component product stream at an average annual rate of at least 500 pounds per hour, or at least 1000 pounds per hour, at least 1500 pounds per hour, at least 2000 pounds per hour, at least 2500 pounds per hour, at least 5000 pounds per hour, at least 10,000 pounds per hour, at least 50,000 pounds per hour, or at least 75,000 pounds per hour, averaged over a year. When more than one r-product stream is produced, these rates can apply to the combined rates of all r-products.

[0036] One or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, five or more, six or more, seven or all of the pyrolysis facility, refinery, steam cracking facility, molecular reforming facility, methanol to aromatics conversion facility, aromatics complex, TPA production facility and PET production facility can work in a continuous manner. For example, each step or method in each facility and / or the method between facilities can work continuously and can not include batch or semi-batch operation. In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment mentioned herein, at least a portion of one or more of the facilities can work in a batch or semi-batch manner, but the operation between facilities can be continuous as a whole.

[0037] like Figure 2 As shown, the waste plastic may be introduced into one or more conversion facilities for processing the waste plastic (or hydrocarbon streams derived from the waste plastic) to form a recovered content product. Figure 2 Examples of conversion facilities shown include pyrolysis facilities, refineries, steam cracking facilities, molecular reforming facilities (with methanol to aromatics conversion facilities), and PET cracking facilities. A single chemical recovery complex may include one or more of these facilities, or several conversion facilities may be located in separate locations (i.e., not co-located). Figure 2 As shown, these facilities can operate independently or in combination to provide a recycled content aromatics (r-aromatics) stream, which can then be processed to form recycled content terephthalic acid (r-PTA) and, in some cases, recycled content polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET). The basic operation of these facilities will be discussed in more detail below.

[0038] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment mentioned herein, a mixed waste plastic stream can pass through a plastic processing facility (not shown), and the processed waste plastic can be introduced into one or more conversion units. If there is a plastic processing facility, it can separate the mixed plastic into a PET-rich stream and a polyolefin (PO)-rich stream, and these separated streams can be introduced into a separate conversion facility. In addition, or in an alternative, the plastic processing facility can also reduce the size of the incoming plastic by crushing, peeling, pelletizing, grinding, granulating and / or pulverizing steps, and / or the waste plastic can be melted or combined with a liquid to form a liquefied plastic or slurry. There can also be one or more cleaning or separation steps to remove dirt, food, sand, glass, aluminum, lignocellulosic materials (such as paper and cardboard) from the incoming waste stream.

[0039] Initially transferred to the pyrolysis facility, waste plastics (and in some cases mainly PO-containing waste plastics) can be introduced into the pyrolysis facility, where the waste plastics can be pyrolyzed to form at least one recycled component pyrolysis effluent (r-pyrolysis effluent) stream. Any suitable pyrolysis facility / step can be used, and it can include, for example, at least one pyrolysis reactor for chemical and / or thermal decomposition of waste plastics. Although pyrolysis is generally carried out in a reaction environment that is substantially free of molecular oxygen, the pyrolysis process can be further defined by other parameters, such as the pyrolysis reaction temperature in the reactor, the residence time in the pyrolysis reactor, the type of reactor, the pressure in the pyrolysis reactor, and the presence or absence of a pyrolysis catalyst.

[0040] The feed of pyrolysis reactor can include waste plastics, be substantially composed of waste plastics or be composed of waste plastics, and feed stream can have at least 3000 grams / mole, at least 4000 grams / mole, at least 5000 grams / mole or at least 6000 grams / mole number average molecular weight (Mn).If the feed of pyrolysis reactor contains the mixture of component, the Mn of pyrolysis feed is the average Mn (based on the weight of single feed component) of all feed components.The waste plastics in the feed of pyrolysis reactor can include waste plastics after consumption, waste plastics after industry or its combination.In certain embodiments, the feed of pyrolysis reactor comprises coal and / or biomass (for example, lignocellulose waste, switchgrass, fat and oil derived from animal, fat and oil derived from plant etc.) less than 5 weight %, less than 2 weight %, less than 1 weight %, less than 0.5 weight % or about 0.0 weight %. The feed to the pyrolysis reaction may also include less than 5 wt %, less than 2 wt %, less than 1 wt %, or less than 0.5 wt %, or about 0.0 wt % of a co-feed stream, including steam and / or a sulfur-containing co-feed stream. In other cases, the steam fed to the pyrolysis reactor may be present in an amount of up to 50 wt %.

[0041] The pyrolysis reaction can involve heating and converting the waste plastic raw material in an atmosphere that is substantially free of molecular oxygen or in an atmosphere that contains less molecular oxygen relative to ambient air. For example, the atmosphere in the pyrolysis reactor can contain no more than 5% by weight, no more than 4% by weight, no more than 3% by weight, no more than 2% by weight, no more than 1% by weight, or no more than 0.5% by weight of molecular oxygen. The pyrolysis reaction in the reactor can be a heating pyrolysis carried out in the absence of a catalyst, or a catalytic pyrolysis carried out in the presence of a catalyst. When a catalyst is used, the catalyst can be homogeneous or heterogeneous, and can include, for example, oxides, certain types of zeolites and other mesoporous catalysts.

[0042] The pyrolysis reactor can have any suitable design and can comprise film reactor, screw extruder, tubular reactor, stirred tank reactor, riser reactor, fixed bed reactor, fluidized bed reactor, rotary kiln, vacuum reactor, microwave reactor or autoclave. Reactor can also utilize feed gas and / or lifting gas to promote that feed is introduced in the pyrolysis reactor. Feed gas and / or lifting gas can comprise nitrogen and can comprise steam and / or sulfur-containing compounds that are less than 5 % by weight, less than 2 % by weight, less than 1 % by weight or less than 0.5 % by weight or about 0.0 % by weight. Feed and / or lifting can also comprise light hydrocarbons such as methane, or hydrogen, and these gases can be used alone or in combination with steam.

[0043] After leaving the reactor, the recycled component pyrolysis effluent (r-pyrolysis effluent) stream can be separated to form a recycled component pyrolysis stream, including a recycled component pyrolysis residue (r-pyrolysis residue) and a recycled component pyrolysis vapor (r-pyrolysis vapor), or the r-pyrolysis vapor can be further separated to provide a recycled component pyrolysis gas (r-pyrolysis gas) stream and a recycled component pyrolysis oil (r-pyrolysis oil) stream. In some cases, the second separation step can be omitted, so the r-pyrolysis vapor stream is removed from the facility and introduced into a downstream processing facility.

[0044] When taken out as separate product streams, the r-pyrolysis oil may comprise primarily C5 to C22 hydrocarbon components, or it may comprise at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, at least 75 wt%, or at least 80 wt% of C5 to C22 hydrocarbon components, and the r-pyrolysis gas may comprise primarily C2 to C4 hydrocarbon components, or at least 30 wt%, at least 40 wt%, at least 45 wt%, at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, at least 75 wt%, or at least 80 wt% of C2 to C4 hydrocarbon components. In some cases, the C2 to C4 components in the r-pyrolysis gas can include at least 50 wt%, at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, or at least 75 wt% of alkanes and / or at least 40 wt%, at least 45 wt%, at least 50 wt%, at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, or at least 75 wt% of olefins based on the amount of C2 to C4 hydrocarbon components in the stream. The r-pyrolysis residue stream can include at least 55 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 75 wt%, at least 85 wt%, or at least 90 wt% of C20 and heavier hydrocarbons (e.g., pyrolysis wax), and a carbonaceous component that is solid at 200° C. and 1 atmosphere absolute pressure (e.g., pyrolysis char).

[0045] The r-pyrolysis oil may also contain one or more of the following (i) to (v): (i) less than 500 ppm, less than 450 ppm, less than 350 ppm, less than 250 ppm, less than 100 ppm, less than 75 ppm, less than 50 ppm, less than 25 ppm, or less than 10 ppm sulfur; (ii) less than 300 ppm, less than 150 ppm, less than 100 ppm, less than 50 ppm, less than 25 ppm, less than 10 ppm, or less than 5 ppm chlorine; (iii) less than 500 ppm, less than 250 ppm, less than 100 ppm (iv) less than 500 ppb, less than 250 ppb, less than 100 ppb, less than 50 ppb, less than 25 ppb, less than 10 ppb, less than 5 ppb, or less than 2 ppb of arsenic; and / or (v) less than 1500 ppm, less than 1000 ppm, less than 500 ppm, less than 250 ppm, less than 100 ppm, less than 75 ppm, less than 50 ppm, less than 30 ppm, or less than 20 ppm of nitrogen.

[0046] like Figure 2 As shown, at least a portion of the r-pyrolysis residue can be introduced into a molecular reforming facility alone or in combination with a waste plastic stream and / or other feed streams (not shown) that may or may not include recycled components. Examples of other feed streams introduced into a molecular reforming facility may include, but are not limited to, coal, petroleum coke, lignocellulosic materials, liquid hydrocarbons, natural gas, organic hydrocarbons, and mixtures thereof. When waste plastics are introduced into a molecular reforming facility, it can be in the form of a solid powder and / or in the form of a slurry with water or other liquids.

[0047] As used herein, the term "molecular reforming" refers to converting a carbonaceous feed into synthesis gas (CO, CO2 and H2). Molecular reforming encompasses both steam reforming and partial oxidation (POX) gasification. As used herein, the term "steam reforming" refers to converting a carbonaceous feed into synthesis gas (i.e., a gas stream comprising at least 90% by weight, at least 95% by weight, at least 97% by weight, or at least 99% by weight of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide) by reacting with water. Steam reforming may include, for example, steam-methane reforming, wherein the carbonaceous feed includes a methane-containing stream, such as natural gas. As used herein, the term "partial oxidation (POX) gasification" or "POX gasification" refers to converting a carbonaceous feed into synthesis gas at high temperature, wherein the conversion is carried out in the presence of less than a stoichiometric amount of oxygen. The carbonaceous feed of POX gasification may include solids, liquids and / or gases and may include waste plastics in some cases. When one or more feed streams to the molecular reforming facility include waste plastic or recycled content derived from waste plastic (or another source), the syngas produced is recycled content syngas (r-syngas). When a portion of the feed does not include waste plastic or is not derived from waste plastic, r-syngas may also include non-recycled content.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, at least a portion of the r-synthesis gas formed in the molecular reforming facility can be introduced into a methanol to aromatics conversion facility. The methanol to aromatics (MTA) conversion facility includes a methanol synthesis step for synthesizing methanol from synthesis gas (or synthesizing recycled component methanol, r-methanol from r-synthesis gas) and a methanol conversion step for converting r-methanol into a recycled component aromatics (r-aromatics) stream. In some cases, the MTA conversion facility may first react the methanol (or r-methanol) stream at a temperature of about 400°C to 600°C, or 450°C to 500°C under the action of a selective catalyst (e.g., ZSM) to form a mixture of aromatics, olefins, and alkanes. Some heavier alkanes and / or olefins can be recovered with at least a portion of the benzene and / or toluene to increase the conversion rate, while the lighter alkanes can be further reacted at a higher temperature of 500°C to 600°C to form additional aromatics (r-aromatics), which can be further processed (e.g., separated) to provide such as Figure 2 The recovered component aromatics (r-aromatics) stream shown. The resulting r-aromatics stream leaving the methanol to aromatics conversion facility can include the recovered components benzene, toluene, and xylenes (r-BTX), and can include, for example, at least 35 wt%, at least 40 wt%, at least 45 wt%, or at least 50 wt% and / or no more than 95 wt%, no more than 85 wt%, no more than 75, no more than 70, no more than 65, or no more than 60 wt% of these components.

[0049] Back to Figure 2When the chemical recovery facility includes an oil refinery, at least a portion of the r-pyrolysis oil and / or r-pyrolysis gas (or r-pyrolysis vapor, if not separated in the pyrolysis facility) can be introduced into one or more locations of the oil refinery to undergo at least one processing step, thereby providing one or more recovered component hydrocarbon products. Examples of recovered component hydrocarbon products produced by the oil refinery can include, but are not limited to, recovered component light gas (r-light gas), recovered component naphtha (r-naphtha), and recovered component aromatics (r-aromatics). In addition, waste plastic streams (typically liquefied waste plastics) can also be processed in at least one unit within the oil refinery to provide these recovered component streams.

[0050] The processing steps employed in a refinery may include separation or distillation, cracking, and reforming, as well as other processing steps for removing sulfur, nitrogen, and other impurities. In some cases, the r-pyrolysis oil and / or r-pyrolysis vapor may be introduced into an atmospheric distillation unit (ADU) and may be separated along with the crude oil feed to form several recovery component hydrocarbon fractions. Lighter fractions such as r-light gas may be further separated to remove impurities, while heavier fractions such as r-gas oil may be introduced into a gas oil cracker and subjected to thermal cracking and / or catalytic cracking to provide recovery into cracked light gas (r-cracked light gas) and recovery into cracked naphtha (r-cracked naphtha). At least a portion of the r-cracked naphtha, along with the r-naphtha removed from the ADU, may be introduced into a reformer unit, where the naphtha may be converted into a recovery component reformate (r-reformate) stream. The r-reformate stream may primarily include C6 to C10 aromatics, and at least a portion of this stream may be used as Figure 2 The r-aromatics stream shown is taken from a refinery.

[0051] When the chemical recovery complex includes a steam cracking facility, at least a portion of r-light gas and / or r-naphtha from a refinery and / or r-pyrolysis gas and / or r-pyrolysis oil from a pyrolysis facility can be introduced into the steam cracking facility. In some cases, a gas phase stream (e.g., r-pyrolysis gas and / or r-light gas, optionally with another primarily C2 to C4 gas stream, with or without recovery components) can be introduced into the inlet of a steam cracking furnace in the steam cracking facility, while in other cases, these streams can be introduced into one or more locations downstream of the furnace. When one or more liquid phase streams (e.g., r-pyrolysis oil and / or r-naphtha, optionally with another primarily C5 to C22 liquid stream, with or without recovery components) are introduced into the steam cracking facility, these streams can be fed to the inlet of the steam cracking furnace.

[0052] In a steam cracking furnace, a hydrocarbon feed stream (which may include one or more of r-pyrolysis oil, r-pyrolysis oil, r-light gas, and r-naphtha) may be thermally cracked in the presence of steam to form a major recovered component olefin-containing (r-olefin-containing) stream and a recovered component pyrolysis gasoline (r-pyrolysis gasoline) stream. The r-olefin-containing stream may be compressed and further processed in a separation zone of the steam cracking facility to provide one or more recovered component olefin (r-olefin) products (e.g., r-ethylene and / or r-propylene), while the recovered component pyrolysis gasoline (r-pyrolysis gasoline) comprising primarily C6 to C10 aromatics may be used as Figure 2 The r-aromatics stream shown is taken from a steam cracking facility.

[0053] The r-aromatic stream or streams withdrawn from each refinery, steam cracking facility, MTA conversion facility (or two or more, or a combination of all of these facilities) may have one or more of the following properties (i) to (viii): (i) the stream may comprise primarily C6 to C10 (or C6 to C9) aromatics, or it may comprise at least 25 wt%, at least 35 wt%, at least 45 wt%, at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, at least 75 wt%, at least 80 wt%, at least 85 wt%, or at least 90 wt% of C6 to C10 (or C6 to C9) aromatic components; (ii) the stream may comprise less than 75 wt% of C6 to C10 (or C6 to C9) aromatic components; %, less than 65 wt %, less than 55 wt %, less than 45 wt %, less than 35 wt %, less than 25 wt %, less than 15 wt %, or less than 10 wt % of non-aromatic components; (iii) the stream may contain at least 1 wt %, at least 2 wt %, at least 3 wt %, at least 5 wt %, or at least 10 wt % and / or no more than 30 wt %, no more than 25 wt %, no more than 20 wt %, no more than 15 wt %, no more than 10 wt %, or no more than 7 wt % of benzene, which may include recycled component benzene (r-benzene) and / or non-recycled component benzene; (iv) the stream may contain at least 5 wt %, at least 10 wt %, at least 15 wt %, or at least 20 wt % and / or no more than (v) the stream may contain at least 2 wt%, at least 5 wt%, at least 10 wt%, at least 15 wt%, at least 20 wt%, or at least 25 wt% and / or no more than 75 wt%, no more than 70 wt%, no more than 65 wt%, no more than 60 wt%, no more than 55 wt%, no more than 50 wt%, no more than 45 wt%, no more than 40 wt%, no more than 35 wt%, no more than 30 wt%, or no more than 25 wt% of C8 aromatics (or one or more of recycled component C8 aromatics, r-C8 aromatics), C9 aromatics (or recycled component C9 aromatics, r-C9 aromatics) and C10 aromatics (or recycled component C10 aromatics, r-C10 aromatics), individually or in combination; (vi) the stream may contain at least 5 wt%, at least 10 wt%, or at least 15 wt% and / or no more than 50 wt%, no more than 45 wt%, or no more than 40 wt% of mixed xylenes, including recycled component and non-recycled component xylenes; (vii) the stream may contain no more than 15 wt%, no more than 10 wt%, no more than 5 wt%, no more than 2 wt%, or no more than 1 wt% of C5 and lighter components and / or C11 and heavier components;and (viii) the stream may contain a total amount of at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, at least 75 wt%, at least 80 wt%, at least 85 wt%, or at least 90 wt% C6 to C10 (or C9 to C10) hydrocarbon components based on the total weight of the stream.;

[0054] The example of C8 aromatics includes but is not limited to mixed xylenes, such as o-xylene, p-xylene and m-xylene, and ethylbenzene and styrene, while C9 aromatics can include for example isomers of cumene, propylbenzene, methylethylbenzene, isomers of methylstyrene and isomers of trimethylbenzene. The example of C10 aromatics can include but is not limited to isomers of butylbenzene, isomers of diethylbenzene and isomers of dimethylethylbenzene. When these components are present in the aromatic stream, one or more of the components can include recovery components and / or can include non-recovery components.

[0055] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments mentioned herein, the r-aromatics stream may comprise from 20 wt% to 80 wt%, or from 25 wt% to 75 wt%, or from 30 wt% to 60 wt% benzene and / or from 0.5 wt% to 40 wt%, or from 1 wt% to 35 wt%, or from 2 wt% to 30 wt% toluene, and / or from 0.05 wt% to 30 wt%, or from 0.10 wt% to 25 wt%, or from 0.20 wt% to 20 wt% C8 aromatics, based on the total weight of aromatics in the r-aromatics stream.

[0056] like Figure 2 As shown, at least a portion of one or more or all of the r-aromatic streams from a conversion facility (e.g., a refinery, a steam cracking facility, and / or an MTA conversion facility) can be introduced into an aromatics complex, where the r-aromatic stream can be processed to form at least one recovered component aromatics product stream. The r-aromatic stream introduced into the aromatics complex can undergo several processing steps, including but not limited to separation (e.g., distillation, extraction, crystallization, adsorption, and combinations thereof), isomerization, alkylation, and transalkylation / disproportionation. The resulting recovered component aromatics product taken out of the aromatics complex can include, for example, recovered component para-xylene (r-para-xylene), recovered component meta-xylene (r-m-xylene), and recovered component ortho-xylene (r-o-xylene), as well as a stream that primarily includes recovered component benzene (r-benzene), recovered component toluene (r-toluene), and even recovered component C9 and heavier aromatics (r-C9+). In some cases, each of the streams can include at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, at least 75 wt%, at least 80 wt%, at least 85 wt%, at least 90 wt%, at least 92 wt%, or at least 95 wt% of the recited components, based on the total weight of the stream.

[0057] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments mentioned herein, a recovery component raffinate (r-raffinate) stream may be withdrawn from the aromatics complex, such as Figure 3a The r-raffinate may include primarily C5 to C8 hydrocarbon components, but may include less than 20 wt%, less than 15 wt%, less than 10 wt%, or less than 5 wt% aromatics. This stream may be returned to a reformer unit in a refinery and / or a steam cracking furnace of a steam cracking facility for further processing to form an additional stream including recovered component aromatics (r-aromatics).

[0058] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments mentioned herein and generally as Figure 3a As shown, the chemical recycling facility may include a PET cracking facility for thermal cracking of waste plastics mainly including PET. The feed of the PET cracking facility may include at least 55% by weight, at least 60% by weight, at least 65% by weight, at least 70% by weight, at least 75% by weight, at least 80% by weight, at least 85% by weight, at least 90% by weight, or at least 95% by weight of waste PET. In the PET cracking facility, at least a portion of the waste PET can be thermally cracked and / or catalytically cracked, and then the cracking stream can be separated to form a recycled component aromatics (r-aromatics) stream. The r-aromatics stream from the PET cracking facility may include at least 50% by weight, at least 55% by weight, at least 60% by weight, at least 65% by weight, or at least 75% by weight of p-xylene, at least a portion of which is r-p-xylene. The r-aromatics stream from the PET cracking facility may also include less than 40% by weight, less than 35% by weight, less than 30% by weight, less than 25% by weight of toluene and xylene in combination. In some cases, an r-aromatic stream from a PET cracking facility may be introduced into an aromatics complex and processed therein to form a recycled component r-paraxylene stream, such as Figure 2 As shown by the dotted line in .

[0059] like Figure 2 As shown, at least a portion of the r-paraxylene stream withdrawn from the aromatics complex can be introduced into a terephthalic acid (TPA) production facility, where the paraxylene can be oxidized and further processed to form a recycled component purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA). The r-paraxylene stream introduced into the TPA facility can contain at least 85 wt%, at least 90 wt%, at least 95 wt%, at least 97 wt%, or at least 99 wt% paraxylene, and may or may not include non-recycled components.

[0060] Reference now Figure 4, a schematic diagram of the major steps of a TPA production facility for producing r-TPA from r-para-xylene and a PET production facility for producing r-PET from r-TPA is provided. Although shown in the same figure, the TPA production facility and the PET production facility may or may not be co-located and may or may not be operated by the same business entity. In addition, or in the alternative, the aromatics complex can be integrated with the TPA production facility so that it is located within less than 10, less than 5, less than 2, or less than 1 of the TPA production facility and / or so that it is in fluid flow communication with the TPA production facility.

[0061] like Figure 4 As shown, r-para-xylene (and optionally non-recovered component para-xylene) stream can be introduced into the primary oxidation step / zone of the TPA production facility, wherein para-xylene can be oxidized with molecular oxygen in the presence of a catalyst and a solvent. The catalyst may include several components, such as, for example, cobalt, manganese, bromine and combinations thereof, and the solvent may include or may be acetic acid. The primary oxidation zone may include at least one reactor that can operate at a temperature between 120°C and 200°C, 140°C to about 180°C, or 150°C to 170°C. The liquid phase reaction may be implemented in any suitable type of reaction vessel (including, but not limited to, CSTR and bubble tower). When the feed to the primary oxidation step / zone includes r-para-xylene, the stream taken out from the primary oxidation zone includes crude terephthalic acid (CTA) slurry and may include recovered component CTA (r-CTA) slurry.

[0062] The r-CTA slurry includes relatively high levels of impurities such as 4-carboxybenzaldehyde, p-toluic acid, fluorenone and other color bodies and is therefore not suitable for use as a feedstock for the production of PET. Therefore, the r-CTA produced in the primary oxidation step / zone may be subjected to an additional treatment that converts the r-CTA into a recycled component purified terephthalic acid r-(PTA) suitable for making PET.

[0063] like Figure 4 As shown, the r-CTA from the primary oxidation step / zone can be further processed to r-PTA by passing through a treatment step / zone, a crystallization step / zone, and a recovery step / zone. In the treatment step / zone, the r-CTA slurry undergoes additional reactions to remove unwanted impurities and / or color bodies and provide a liquid stream including r-PTA.

[0064] Examples of suitable methods for removing impurities from the r-CTA slurry include hydrogenation and secondary oxidation. When hydrogenation is used in the processing step / zone, at least a portion of the initial oxidation solvent (e.g., acetic acid) can be removed from the r-CTA slurry and the r-CTA can be dissolved in water. The resulting aqueous r-CTA stream can then be subjected to catalytic hydrogenation to convert the impurities in the r-CTA into more desirable and / or easier to separate compounds. The resulting dissolved r-PTA stream can be introduced into a crystallization zone, such as Figure 4 shown.

[0065] When secondary oxidation is used in the processing step / zone, at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 65 wt%, at least 70 wt%, at least 75 wt%, at least 80 wt%, at least 85 wt%, at least 90 wt%, or at least 95 wt% of the initial acetic acid solvent may be removed from the r-CTA by filtration or other suitable method to provide filtered r-CTA, which may be combined with fresh acetic acid to form a second r-CTA slurry. The second r-CTA slurry may then be further oxidized in the secondary oxidation step / zone to remove / react at least a portion of the impurities and provide an r-PTA slurry. When performed, the secondary oxidation step may be carried out at a higher temperature than the primary oxidation step and have an average temperature in the range of, for example, about 190°C to about 280°C, about 200°C to about 250°C, or about 205°C to 225°C. The resulting slurry of r-PTA and acetic acid may be introduced into a crystallization zone, such as Figure 4 shown.

[0066] The r-PTA stream from the processing step / zone (whether dissolved in water or formed into an acetic acid slurry) can then be introduced into a crystallization zone, wherein the r-PTA is separated from the liquid to form crystalline r-PTA. When the r-PTA stream is a dissolved r-PTA stream from hydrogenation, the r-PTA can be precipitated from solution, thereby leaving water-soluble impurities and other reaction products in solution. Maintaining the solution at a temperature of at least 150°C or at least 160°C facilitates the separation. The r-PTA can then be separated from the liquid by centrifugation and / or filtration to provide solid r-PTA. When the r-PTA stream introduced into the crystallization step is a slurry of r-PTA formed by secondary oxidation in acetic acid, the solvent can be separated from the suspended r-PTA particles by centrifugation and / or filtration, and the resulting solid r-PTA can be sent to a recovery step / zone, such as Figure 4 shown.

[0067] In the recovery step / zone, solid r-PTA can be further processed by cooling, washing, drying and / or packaging to provide a final r-PTA product. The r-PTA product taken out from the recovery step can contain at least 95% by weight, at least 97% by weight, at least 99% by weight, at least 99.5% by weight, at least 99.9% by weight, or at least 99.99% by weight of terephthalic acid (or r-terephthalic acid). The r-PTA product stream may also include or not include non-recovered components. The r-PTA product can then be used for a variety of end-use applications, including for the manufacture of PET and other polymers. Other end uses of r-PTA include, but are not limited to, as a raw material for the manufacture of other chemicals (including terephthalate plasticizers), such as recycled components dioctyl terephthalate (r-dioctyl terephthalate) and recycled components dibutyl terephthalate (r-dibutyl terephthalate), and as an additive for paints and coatings, or as a starting material for various drugs.

[0068] like Figure 4 As shown, at least a portion of the r-PTA product can be introduced into a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) production facility, where the r-PTA product can be reacted with ethylene glycol to form recycled content PET (r-PET). At least a portion of the r-PTA introduced into the PET production facility can include non-recycled components from the same or different sources.

[0069] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments mentioned herein, at least a portion of the ethylene glycol (EG) introduced into the PET production facility may include recycled content EG (r-EG) and / or sustainable content EG (s-EG). In some cases, at least a portion of the EG may also include non-recycled content EG, or the EG introduced into the PET production facility may not include recycled content.

[0070] When at least a portion of the EG reacted in the PET production facility comprises r-EG, at least a portion of the r-EG may be formed by conversion of recycled component methanol (r-methanol) and / or by conversion of recycled component ethylene (r-ethylene), such as Figure 3bAs generally shown in . When r-EG is formed from r-methanol, it may follow one or more of several chemical pathways. For example, in one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment mentioned herein, r-methanol can be dehydrogenated to form a recovery component formaldehyde (r-formaldehyde), which can then be hydrocarbonized with water and carbon monoxide (or r-carbon monoxide) to form a recovery component glycolic acid (r-glycolic acid). The resulting r-glycolic acid can be esterified with methanol (or r-methanol) to provide a recovery component methyl glycolate (r-methyl glycolate), which can be hydrogenated (with H2 or r-H2) to form a recovery component ethylene glycol (r-EG). The r-EG can then be purified in a separation step to remove the byproduct recovery component diethylene glycol (r-DEG), and a portion of the r-EG can be introduced into a PET production facility. Alternatively, the r-formaldehyde formed as described above can be hydroformylated with recycled component synthesis gas (r-syngas) to provide recycled component ethanolaldehyde (r-ethanolaldehyde), which can then be hydrogenated (with H2 or r-H2) to form recycled component ethylene glycol (r-EG).

[0071] r-Methanol, used as a starting material for r-EG, can be formed by oxidizing recycled constituent methane (r-methane), which can originate from pyrolysis facilities, steam cracking facilities, and / or refineries ( Figure 2 Alternatively, at least a portion of the r-methanol may be derived from the catalytic synthesis of r-syngas. In some cases, at least a portion of the methanol used in this or any application described herein may include sustainable component methanol (s-methanol) formed, for example, by processing biomass.

[0072] When at least a portion of the r-EG introduced into the PET production facility is from r-ethylene, at least a portion of the r-ethylene can be oxidized to form recycled component ethylene oxide (r-EO). The r-EO can then be hydrated to provide recycled component ethylene glycol (r-EG), or the r-EO can be reacted with carbon dioxide (or recycled component carbon dioxide, r-CO2) and then hydrolyzed to form r-EG. The r-ethylene used in this reaction pathway can originate from a steam cracking facility of a refinery and / or a chemical recovery facility.

[0073] In one embodiment or in combination with any embodiment mentioned herein, r-EG can come from a solvent decomposition facility (not shown) for chemically recycling waste plastics and particularly waste PET. In a solvent decomposition facility, waste PET is decomposed into its monomer components (e.g., dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol) by reaction with heat and catalyst in the presence of a solvent. Examples of solvents include methanol (methanol decomposition), ethanol (ethanol decomposition), water (hydrolysis), ethylene glycol (glycolysis) and ammonia (ammonia decomposition). The resulting monomers including the recovered components can then be separated and taken out as a product stream (such as recovered component dimethyl terephthalate (r-DMT) and recovered component ethylene glycol (r-EG)). In some cases, at least a portion of the r-EG from a solvent decomposition facility can be introduced into a PET production facility.

[0074] like Figure 3b As shown, at least a portion of the EG introduced into a PET production facility may include sustainable component EG (s-EG), which includes one or more components from a biosource, and / or it may include EG that does not include recycled or sustainable components.

[0075] like Figure 2 b and 3, at least one comonomer can also be introduced into the PET production facility to react with r-PTA and / or EG (or r-EG or s-EG) to provide a recycled component copolyester (r-copolyester). The comonomer can include a diacid, a diol, a polyacid or a polyol. In some cases, two or more comonomers can be used, and these comonomers can be of the same type (e.g., two diols) or different types (e.g., diols and diacids). The comonomer or multiple comonomers may or may not include recycled components. When present, the comonomer or multiple comonomers can account for at least 5 mol %, at least 10 mol %, at least 15 mol % and / or no more than 45 mol %, no more than 40 mol %, no more than 35 mol %, no more than 30 mol %, no more than 25 mol %, no more than 20 mol %, no more than 15 mol %, or no more than 10 mol % of the copolymerized PET acid or diol component. When the comonomer is a diacid or polyacid, the percentages are determined with the total acid component being 100%, and when the comonomer is a diol or polyol, the percentages are determined with the total diol component being 100%.

[0076] Examples of suitable diacid comonomers (or r-comonomers) include, but are not limited to, isophthalic acid, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, phthalic acid, naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid, cyclohexanediacetic acid, diphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylic acid, diphenyl-3,4′-dicarboxylic acid, 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol, dicarboxylic acids, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, and mixtures thereof. Suitable diol comonomers may include, for example, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (1,4-CHDM), 2,2,4,4-trimethane-cyclo-1,3-butanediol (2,2,4,4-TMCD), neopentyl glycol (NPG), diethylene glycol (DEG), isosorbide, 1,4-butanediol, and 1,3-propanediol. In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments mentioned herein, the comonomer may comprise isophthalic acid (PIA) or recycled content isophthalic acid (r-PIA). In some cases, at least a portion of the r-PIA may be formed by oxidizing recycled content meta-xylene (r-meta-xylene) in an isophthalic acid (PIA) production facility, such as Figure 2 At least a portion of the r-meta-xylene may originate from the same or a different aromatics complex as the r-para-xylene used to form the r-PTA.

[0077] In one embodiment or in combination with one or more embodiments mentioned herein, the r-PET may not include a significant amount of comonomers such that the r-PET is considered a PET homopolymer. In such cases, the total amount of comonomers present in the r-PET (based on the total acid and total diol components) may be no more than 6 mole %, no more than 5 mole %, no more than 4 mole %, no more than 3 mole %, no more than 2 mole %, or no more than 1 mole %, based on the total acid and / or diol components.

[0078] like Figure 4 As shown, r-PTA (and optionally PTA) may be introduced into an esterification zone / step along with ethylene glycol (r-EG, s-EG, and / or EG), and the acid and diol may be polymerized in the esterification zone / step to form r-PET oligomers. When present, at least one diacid and / or diol comonomer (or r-comonomer) may also be added and reacted to form r-co-PET oligomers. The esterification may be conducted at atmospheric pressure or below in the presence of a catalyst. The r-oligomers removed from the esterification zone may be introduced into a downstream polymerization zone / step, such as Figure 4As shown, further reactions may occur to increase the molecular weight of the resin. After the polymerization step is completed, the molten r-PET may be sent to a granulation and crystallization zone, where r-PET particles may be formed and crystallized, as well as dried and further processed to remove residual impurities (e.g., acetaldehyde). In some cases, the r-PET particles may be subjected to solid-state polymerization to achieve even higher molecular weights (measured as intrinsic viscosity IV), while in other cases, solid-state polymerization is not used. The final r-PET particles may be removed from the PET production facility and sent to one or more downstream facilities for further processing and / or use.

[0079] In one embodiment or in combination with any of the embodiments mentioned herein, at least a portion of the r-PET particles can be used to form at least one r-PET article. Such formation generally includes melting the r-PET to form an r-PET melt, and then extruding or otherwise shaping the r-PET to form a recycled content PET article (r-PET article). Examples of r-PET articles include, but are not limited to, bottles, containers, preforms, films, sheets, and other similar articles, which can be used alone or further processed to form an article for a desired end use.

[0080] definition

[0081] It should be understood that the following is not intended to be an exhaustive list of defined terms. Other definitions may be provided in the foregoing description, such as, for example, where context accompanies the use of a defined term.

[0082] As used herein, the term "light gas" refers to a hydrocarbon-containing stream comprising at least 50 wt% C4 and lighter hydrocarbon components. The light hydrocarbon gas may include other components such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen, but these components are typically present in an amount of less than 20 wt%, less than 15 wt%, less than 10 wt%, or less than 5 wt% (based on the total weight of the stream).

[0083] As used herein, the term "median boiling point" or "T50" refers to the median boiling point of a process stream (i.e., the temperature value above which 50 weight percent of the stream composition boils and below which 50 weight percent of the stream composition boils).

[0084] As used herein, the term "boiling point range" or "critical point" refers to the temperature range over which a particular petroleum fraction boils. The lower value in the boiling point range is the initial boiling point (IBP) temperature of the specified fraction, and the upper value is the endpoint (EP) temperature of the specified fraction.

[0085] As used herein, the term "naphtha" refers to a physical mixture of hydrocarbon components separated in at least one distillation column of a petroleum refining facility, having a boiling point range between 90°F and 380°F.

[0086] As used herein, the term "light naphtha" refers to a specific portion of the naphtha fraction in a refinery that has a boiling point range between 90°F and 190°F.

[0087] As used herein, the term "heavy naphtha" refers to a specific portion of the naphtha fraction in a refinery that has a boiling point range between 190°F and 380°F.

[0088] As used herein, the terms "distillate" and "kerosene" refer to a physical mixture of hydrocarbon components separated in at least one distillation column of a petroleum refining facility, having a boiling point range of greater than 380°F to 520°F.

[0089] As used herein, the term "hydrocracker distillate" refers to the distillate fraction removed from a hydrocracker unit.

[0090] As used herein, the term "gas oil" refers to a physical mixture of hydrocarbon components separated in at least one distillation column of a petroleum refining facility, having a boiling point range of greater than 520°F to 1050°F.

[0091] As used herein, the term "atmospheric gas oil" refers to gas oil produced by an atmospheric distillation unit.

[0092] As used herein, the term "light gas oil" or "LGO" refers to a specific portion of the gas oil fraction in an oil refinery that has a boiling point range between 520°F and 610°F.

[0093] As used herein, "light vacuum gas oil" or "LVGO" refers to light gas oil produced by a vacuum distillation unit.

[0094] As used herein, "light vacuum gas oil" or "LCGO" refers to light gas oil produced by a coking unit.

[0095] As used herein, the term "heavy gas oil" or "HGO" refers to a specific portion of the gas oil fraction in an oil refinery that has a boiling point range between greater than 610°F and 800°F.

[0096] As used herein, "heavy vacuum gas oil" or "HVGO" refers to heavy gas oil produced by a vacuum distillation unit.

[0097] As used herein, "heavy coker gas oil" or "HCGO" refers to heavy gas oil produced by a coking unit.

[0098] As used herein, the term "vacuum gas oil" or "VGO" refers to a specific portion of the gas oil fraction in a refinery that has a boiling point range between greater than 800° F and 1050° F. Vacuum gas oil is separated from the original crude oil using a vacuum distillation column operating at pressures below atmospheric pressure.

[0099] As used herein, the term "residue" or "bottom" refers to the heaviest fraction from a distillation column in a refinery, having a boiling point range of greater than 1050°F.

[0100] As used herein, the term "vacuum bottoms" refers to the bottoms product from a vacuum distillation column.

[0101] As used herein, the term "atmospheric bottoms" refers to the bottoms product from an atmospheric distillation column.

[0102] As used herein, the term "gas plant" refers to equipment in a refinery for processing a hydrocarbon feed stream comprising primarily C6 and lighter components to provide one or more purified C1 to C6 alkane and / or olefin streams, including one or more distillation columns and auxiliary equipment such as pumps, compressors, valves, etc.

[0103] As used herein, the term "saturated gas plant" refers to a gas plant in a refinery for processing a hydrocarbon feed stream comprising primarily saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes). The feed stream of a saturated gas plant comprises less than 5 wt% olefins based on the total feed to the plant. The feed to a saturated gas plant in a refinery may come directly or indirectly from a crude distillation unit or a vacuum distillation unit and may undergo little or no cracking.

[0104] As used herein, the term "unsaturated gas plant" refers to a gas plant in an oil refinery for processing a hydrocarbon feed stream comprising saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes) and unsaturated hydrocarbons (olefins). The feed stream of an unsaturated gas plant includes at least 5 weight % olefins based on the total feed to the plant. The feed to a saturated gas plant in an oil refinery may come indirectly from a crude oil unit or a vacuum distillation unit, and may undergo one or more cracking steps before entering the gas plant.

[0105] As used herein, the term "gas oil cracker" refers to a cracking unit for processing a feed stream comprising primarily gas oil and heavier components. Although a gas oil cracker can process lighter components, such as distillates and naphtha, at least 50% by weight of the total feed to the gas oil cracker comprises gas oil and heavier components. The gas oil cracker can operate at a temperature of at least 350°F, at least 400°F, at least 450°F, at least 500°F, at least 550°F, or at least 600°F and / or no more than 1200°F, no more than 1150°C, no more than 1100°F, no more than 1050°F, no more than 1000°F, no more than 900°F, or no more than 800°F. The gas oil cracker can be operated at atmospheric pressure or near atmospheric pressure (e.g., at a pressure of less than 5 psig, less than 2 psig, or 1 psig) or can be operated at an elevated pressure (e.g., at a pressure of at least 5 psig, at least 10 psig, at least 25 psig, at least 50 psig, at least 100 psig, at least 250 psig, at least 500 psig, or at least 750 psig). In addition, cracking in the gas oil cracker can be carried out with or without a catalyst, and cracking can be carried out in the presence of hydrogen and / or steam or not.

[0106] As used herein, the term "fluid catalytic cracker" or "FCC" refers to a set of equipment used to reduce the molecular weight of heavy hydrocarbon streams by catalytic cracking in a fluidized catalyst bed, including a reactor, a regenerator, a main fractionator, and auxiliary equipment such as piping, valves, compressors and pumps.

[0107] As used herein, the term "reformer" or "catalytic reformer" refers to a process or facility in which a feedstock comprising primarily C6-C10 alkanes is converted to a reformed product comprising branched and / or cyclic hydrocarbons in the presence of a catalyst.

[0108] As used herein, the term "reformate" refers to a liquid product stream produced by a catalytic reforming process.

[0109] As used herein, the term "hydroprocessing" refers to the chemical processing of a hydrocarbon stream using or in the presence of hydrogen. Hydroprocessing is typically a catalytic process and includes hydrocracking and hydrotreating.

[0110] As used herein, the term "hydrocracking" refers to a type of hydroprocessing in which hydrocarbon molecules are cracked (ie, undergo a molecular weight reduction).

[0111] As used herein, the term "hydrotreating" refers to a type of hydroprocessing that does not crack hydrocarbon molecules, but rather removes oxygen, sulfur and other heteroatoms by hydrogenolysis or saturates unsaturated bonds by hydrogenation. It may or may not be carried out in the presence of a catalyst.

[0112] As used herein, the term "distillation" refers to the separation of the components of a mixture by differences in boiling points.

[0113] As used herein, the term "atmospheric distillation" refers to distillation performed at or near atmospheric pressure, typically used to separate crude oil and / or other streams into designated fractions for further processing.

[0114] As used herein, the term "vacuum distillation" refers to distillation performed at a pressure below atmospheric pressure, and typically at a pressure below 100 mm Hg at the top of the column.

[0115] As used herein, the term "coking" refers to the thermal cracking of heavy hydrocarbons (usually atmospheric or vacuum tower bottoms) to recover more valuable lighter products (such as naphthas, distillates, gas oils, and light gases).

[0116] As used herein, the term "aromatics complex" refers to a process or facility in which a mixed hydrocarbon feedstock (such as a reformate) is converted into one or more benzene, toluene and / or xylene (BTX) product streams (such as a para-xylene product stream). The aromatics complex may include one or more processing steps in which one or more components of the reformate are subjected to at least one of a separation step, a transalkylation step, a toluene disproportionation step, and / or an isomerization step. The separation step may include one or more of an extraction step, a distillation step, a crystallization step, and / or an adsorption step.

[0117] As used herein, the term "raffinate" refers to the aromatics-depleted stream removed from the initial separation step of an aromatics complex. Although most commonly used to refer to a stream removed from the extraction step, the term "raffinate" as used with respect to an aromatics complex may also refer to a stream removed from another type of separation, including but not limited to distillation or extractive distillation.

[0118] As used herein, the term "pyrolysis oil" or "pyoil" refers to a composition obtained from pyrolysis that is liquid at 25°C and 1 atmosphere absolute.

[0119] As used herein, the terms "pyrolysis gas" and "pyrolysis gas" refer to a composition obtained from pyrolysis that is in a gaseous state at 25°C and 1 atmosphere absolute pressure.

[0120] As used herein, the term "pyrolysis" refers to the thermal decomposition of one or more organic materials at elevated temperatures in an inert (ie, substantially oxygen-free) atmosphere.

[0121] As used herein, the term "pyrolysis vapor" refers to the overhead or vapor phase stream withdrawn from a separator in a pyrolysis facility that is used to remove r-pyrolysis residue from the r-pyrolysis effluent.

[0122] As used herein, the term "pyrolysis effluent" refers to the outlet stream withdrawn from the pyrolysis reactor in a pyrolysis facility.

[0123] As used herein, the term "r-pyrolysis residue" refers to a composition obtained from the pyrolysis of waste plastics, the composition mainly comprising pyrolysis char and pyrolysis heavy wax.

[0124] As used herein, the term "pyrolytic char" refers to a carbonaceous composition obtained from pyrolysis that is solid at 200°C and 1 atmosphere absolute pressure.

[0125] As used herein, the term "pyrolytic heavy wax" refers to C20+ hydrocarbons obtained from pyrolysis, which are not pyrolysis char, pyrolysis gas, or pyrolysis oil.

[0126] As used herein, the term "pyrolysis gasoline" refers to a hydrocarbon stream consisting primarily of C5 and heavier components removed from the quench section of a steam cracking facility. Typically, pyrolysis gasoline includes at least 10 wt% C6 to C9 aromatics.

[0127] As used herein, the term "lighter" refers to one hydrocarbon component or fraction having a lower boiling point than another hydrocarbon component or fraction.

[0128] As used herein, the term "heavier / heavier" means that one hydrocarbon component or fraction has a higher boiling point than another hydrocarbon component or fraction.

[0129] As used herein, the term "upstream" refers to a facility item that precedes another item or facility in a given process flow and may include intervening items and / or facilities.

[0130] As used herein, the term "downstream" refers to items or facilities that are located after another item or facility in a given process flow and may include intervening items and / or facilities.

[0131] As used herein, the term "alkane" refers to a saturated hydrocarbon that does not include a carbon-carbon double bond.

[0132] As used herein, the term "olefin" refers to an at least partially unsaturated hydrocarbon including at least one carbon-carbon double bond.

[0133] As used herein, the term "Cx" or "Cx hydrocarbon" or "Cx component" refers to a hydrocarbon compound that includes a total of "x" carbons per molecule, and encompasses all olefins, paraffins, aromatics, heterocyclic compounds, and isomers having the stated number of carbon atoms. For example, n-butane, isobutane, and tert-butane, as well as each of the butene and butadiene molecules, fall within the general description of "C4" or "C4 component".

[0134] As used herein, the term "r-para-xylene" or "r-pX" refers to a para-xylene product that is or comprises para-xylene that is derived directly and / or indirectly from waste plastics.

[0135] As used herein, the term "cracking" refers to the breaking down of complex organic molecules into simpler molecules by breaking carbon-carbon bonds.

[0136] As used herein, the term "steam cracking" refers to the thermal cracking of hydrocarbons in the presence of steam, typically carried out in a furnace at a steam cracking facility.

[0137] As used herein, the term "co-located" refers to the property of at least two objects being located in the same physical location and / or within five miles of each other (as measured by the straight-line distance between two designated points).

[0138] As used herein, the term "commercial scale facility" refers to a facility where the average annual feed rate averaged over a year is at least 500 pounds per hour.

[0139] As used herein, the terms "crude" and "crude oil" refer to a mixture of hydrocarbons that exists in a liquid phase and comes from natural underground reservoirs.

[0140] As used herein, the terms "recycled content" and "r-content" refer to compositions that are or include compositions derived directly and / or indirectly from waste plastic.

[0141] As used herein, the term "primarily" means greater than 50% by weight. For example, a stream, composition, feedstock, or product that is primarily propane is a stream, composition, feedstock, or product that contains greater than 50% by weight propane.

[0142] As used herein, the term "waste material" refers to used, discarded and / or discarded material.

[0143] As used herein, the terms "waste plastic" and "plastic waste" refer to used, discarded and / or discarded plastic materials.

[0144] As used herein, the terms "mixed plastic waste" and "MPW" refer to a mixture of at least two types of waste plastics, including but not limited to the following plastic types: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one or more polyolefins (PO), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

[0145] As used herein, the term "fluid communication" refers to a direct or indirect fluid connection between two or more processing, storage or transportation facilities or areas.

[0146] As used herein, the terms "a", "an", and "the" mean one or more than one.

[0147] As used herein, the term "and / or," when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items may be used alone, or any combination of two or more of the listed items may be used. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and / or C, the composition may contain only A; only B; only C; a combination of A and B; a combination of A and C, a combination of B and C; or a combination of A, B, and C.

[0148] As used herein, the phrase "at least a portion" includes at least a portion and up to and including the entire amount or time period.

[0149] As used herein, the term "chemical recycling" refers to a waste plastic recycling process that includes the steps of chemically converting waste plastic polymers into lower molecular weight polymers, oligomers, monomers and / or non-polymer molecules (e.g., hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, ethane, propane, ethylene and propylene) that are useful in themselves and / or can be used as feedstock for another (other) chemical production process.

[0150] As used herein, the terms "comprising," "comprises," and "comprise" are open transition words that are used to transition from the subject matter recited before the term to one or more elements recited after the term, wherein the one or more elements listed after the transition word are not necessarily the only elements that make up the subject matter.

[0151] As used herein, the term "cracking" refers to the breaking down of complex organic molecules into simpler molecules by breaking carbon-carbon bonds.

[0152] As used herein, the terms "including," "include," and "included" have the same open-ended meaning as "comprising," "comprises," and "comprise" provided above.

[0153] As used herein, the term "primarily" means greater than 50% by weight. For example, a stream, composition, feedstock, or product that is primarily propane is a stream, composition, feedstock, or product that contains greater than 50% by weight propane.

[0154] As used herein, the term "hydrocarbon" refers to an organic chemical compound that includes only carbon and hydrogen atoms.

[0155] As used herein, the term "organic chemical compound" refers to a chemical compound that includes carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms, but also includes oxygen atoms and / or nitrogen atoms.

[0156] As used herein, the term "diol" refers to an alcohol having two or more hydroxyl groups.

[0157] As used herein, the term "diacid" refers to an acid having two or more acid or carboxylic acid groups, and particularly a dicarboxylic acid.

[0158] As used herein, the term "diester" refers to an ester compound including two or more ester groups.

[0159] As used herein, the term "chemical pathway" refers to a chemical processing step or steps (eg, chemical reaction, physical separation, etc.) between an input material and a product, wherein the input material is used to make the product.

[0160] As used herein, the terms "credit-based recycled content," "non-physical recycled content," and "indirect recycled content" all refer to materials that cannot be physically traced back to waste materials, but to which recycled content credits are attributed.

[0161] As used herein, the term "directly derived" means having at least one physical component that is derived from waste material.

[0162] As used herein, the term "indirectly derived" refers to having an applied recycled content that is (i) attributable to waste materials but (ii) not based on having a physical component derived from waste materials.

[0163] As used herein, the term "remotely apart" means that the distance between two facilities, locations, or reactors is at least 0.1 miles, 0.5 miles, 1 mile, 5 miles, 10 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles, 500 miles, or 1000 miles.

[0164] As used herein, the term "mass balance" refers to a method of tracking recovered components based on their mass in the product.

[0165] As used herein, the terms "physical recycled content" and "direct recycled content" both refer to materials that are present in a product and that can be physically traced back to waste materials.

[0166] As used herein, the term "recycled content" refers to a composition that is or contains directly and / or indirectly derived from recycled waste materials. Recycled content is generally used to refer to physical recycled content and credit-based recycled content. Recycled content is also used as an adjective to describe products that have physical recycled content and / or credit-based recycled content.

[0167] As used herein, the term "recycled content credit" refers to a non-physical measure of physical recycled content derived from the mass of waste plastic that can be attributed directly or indirectly (ie, through a digital inventory) to a product secondary material.

[0168] As used herein, the term "total recycled content" refers to the cumulative amount of physical recycled content and credit-based recycled content from all sources.

[0169] As used herein, the term "waste material" refers to used, discarded and / or discarded material.

[0170] As used herein, the terms "waste plastic" and "plastic waste" refer to used, discarded and / or discarded plastic materials, including post-industrial or pre-consumer waste plastics and post-consumer waste plastics.

[0171] As used herein, the term "hydroprocessing unit" refers to a group of equipment for chemically processing a hydrocarbon stream in the presence of hydrogen, including reaction vessels, dryers, and main fractionators, as well as auxiliary equipment such as pipelines, valves, compressors, and pumps. Specific examples of hydroprocessing units include hydrocrackers (or hydrocracking units) configured to perform a hydrocracking process and hydroprocessors (or hydroprocessing units) configured to perform a hydrotreating process.

[0172] As used herein, the term "coker" or "coking unit" refers to a set of equipment for reducing the molecular weight of heavy hydrocarbon streams by thermal cracking or coking, including reaction vessels, dryers and main fractionators, as well as auxiliary equipment such as piping, valves, compressors and pumps.

[0173] As used herein, the term "steam cracking facility" or "steam cracker" refers to all equipment required for the process step of thermally cracking a hydrocarbon feed stream in the presence of steam to form one or more cracked hydrocarbon products. Examples include, but are not limited to, olefins such as ethylene and propylene. The facility may include, for example, a steam cracking furnace, cooling equipment, compression equipment, separation equipment, and piping, valves, storage tanks, pumps, etc. required to carry out the process step.

[0174] As used herein, the terms "refinery", "refining facility" and "petroleum refinery" refer to all equipment required to perform the separation and conversion of petroleum crude oil into various hydrocarbon fractions, one or more of which can be used as an intermediate for fuel sources, lubricants, asphalt, coke and other chemical products. The facilities may include, for example, separation equipment, thermal or catalytic cracking equipment, chemical reactors and product mixing equipment, as well as pipelines, valves, storage tanks, pumps, etc. required to perform the processing steps.

[0175] As used herein, the term "pyrolysis facility" refers to all equipment required to carry out the process step of pyrolyzing a hydrocarbon-containing feed stream that may include or may be waste plastics. The facility may include, for example, reactors, cooling equipment, and separation equipment, as well as piping, valves, storage tanks, pumps, etc. required to carry out the process step.

[0176] As used herein, the term "terephthalic acid production facility" or "TPA production facility" refers to all equipment required to carry out the process steps for forming terephthalic acid from para-xylene. The facility may include, for example, reactors, separators, cooling equipment, separation equipment (such as filters or crystallizers), and piping, valves, storage tanks, pumps, etc. required to carry out the process steps.

[0177] As used herein, the term "polyethylene terephthalate production facility" or "PET production facility" refers to all equipment required to carry out the processing steps for forming polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from terephthalate, ethylene glycol, and optionally one or more additional monomers. The facility may include, for example, polymerization reactors, cooling equipment, and equipment for recovering solidified and / or granular PET, as well as piping, valves, tanks, pumps, etc. required to carry out the processing steps.

[0178] As used herein, the term "chemical processing facility" refers to all equipment required for the processing steps of one or more chemical processes that convert starting materials into final chemical products. The facility may include, for example, separation or treatment equipment, reaction equipment, and equipment for recovering the final product, as well as pipes, valves, storage tanks, pumps, etc. required to carry out the processing steps.

[0179] The claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments

[0180] The preferred forms of the present invention described above are intended to be used as illustrations only and should not be used in a limiting sense to interpret the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may easily make modifications to the above exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0181] The inventors hereby declare that they intend to determine and assess the reasonable and fair scope of the present invention under the doctrine of equivalents as it relates to any device that does not materially depart from the literal scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for producing a recycled component organic chemical compound (r-chemical compound), the method comprising: (a) oxidizing a recycled content para-xylene (r-para-xylene) stream in an oxidation zone of a terephthalic acid (TPA) production facility to provide a recycled content crude terephthalic acid (r-CTA) slurry, wherein the r-para-xylene stream includes recycled content derived from waste plastics; (b) treating at least a portion of the r-CTA slurry to provide a liquid stream comprising recovered component purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA); as well as (c) crystallizing at least a portion of the liquid stream comprising r-PTA to provide a recovered purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA) product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the r-CTA slurry comprises a first solvent comprising acetic acid.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising, prior to the processing of step (b), removing at least a portion of the first solvent from the r-CTA slurry to provide r-CTA and combining the r-CTA with a second solvent to provide a second r-CTA slurry, wherein the processing of step (b) comprises processing the second r-CTA slurry to provide the liquid stream comprising r-PTA.

4. The process of claim 3, wherein the second solvent comprises primarily acetic acid, and wherein the treating of step (b) comprises further oxidation of the second r-CTA slurry.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the second solvent comprises primarily water, and wherein the treating of step (b) comprises hydrogenation of the second r-CTA slurry.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the r-paraxylene stream comprises a non-recycled component.

7. The method according to claim 1 further comprises, prior to the oxidation in step (a), converting the waste plastic into a recycled component aromatics (r-aromatics) stream and treating at least a portion of the r-aromatics stream in an aromatics complex to provide the r-paraxylene stream.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising reacting at least a portion of the r-PTA with ethylene glycol in a PET production facility to provide recycled content polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET), and wherein the EG comprises recycled content ethylene glycol (r-EG).

9. A method for producing a recycled component organic chemical compound (r-organic chemical compound), the method comprising: (a) converting waste plastics in at least one conversion facility to form a recycled content aromatics (r-aromatics) stream comprising recycled content para-xylene (r-pX); (b) separating at least a portion of the r-aromatics stream in an aromatics complex to provide a recovered component para-xylene (r-para-xylene) stream; (c) oxidizing at least a portion of the r-paraxylene stream in an oxidation zone of a terephthalic acid production facility to provide a recovered component crude terephthalic acid (r-CTA) slurry; and (d) processing at least a portion of the r-CTA slurry to provide a recovered component purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA) stream.

10. A process according to claim 9, wherein the conversion facility comprises a steam cracking facility for processing at least one recycled hydrocarbon (r-HC) stream, and wherein the r-aromatic hydrocarbon stream produced in the steam cracking facility comprises recycled pyrolysis gasoline (r-pyrolysis gasoline), wherein the r-HC stream comprises recycled pyrolysis oil (r-pyrolysis oil) and / or recycled pyrolysis gas (r-pyrolysis gas) from a pyrolysis facility for pyrolysis of waste plastics and / or recycled naphtha (r-naphtha) and / or recycled light gas (r-light gas) from a refinery for processing at least one stream of r-pyrolysis oil and / or r-pyrolysis gas from a pyrolysis facility for pyrolysis of waste plastics.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the conversion facility comprises a refinery for processing at least one recycled content hydrocarbon (r-HC) stream, and wherein the r-aromatics stream produced in the steam cracking facility comprises a recycled content reformate (r-reformate), wherein the r-HC stream comprises at least one of recycled content pyrolysis oil (r-pyrolysis oil) from a pyrolysis facility for pyrolyzing waste plastics, recycled content naphtha (r-naphtha) from an atmospheric distillation unit (ADU), and r-naphtha from a gas oil cracker in the refinery.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein the conversion facility comprises a methanol to aromatics facility configured to process recycled component methanol (r-methanol) to form the r-aromatics stream, wherein the r-methanol is from a methanol synthesis facility for converting recycled component synthesis gas (r-syngas) into r-methanol, and wherein the r-syngas is from a molecular reforming facility for processing a feed stream comprising waste plastics or one or more streams comprising recycled components derived from waste plastics.

13. The process of claim 9, wherein the conversion facility comprises a cracking facility for thermally cracking waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to form a recycled cracked PET (r-cracked PET) stream and separating at least a portion of the r-cracked PET stream to provide the r-aromatics stream.

14. The process of claim 9 wherein the separation of step (b) comprises an initial separation step for separating the r-aromatics stream into a recovery component benzene, toluene, and xylene (r-BTX) stream and a recovery component raffinate (r-raffinate) stream, and the process further comprises processing at least a portion of the r-raffinate stream in another facility to provide another r-aromatics stream and introducing at least a portion of the another r-aromatics stream into the aromatics complex.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising subjecting at least a portion of the r-BTX stream to one or more additional processing steps to provide the r-paraxylene stream, and wherein the r-paraxylene stream comprises at least 85 wt% paraxylene.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the processing of step (d) comprises treating the r-CTA slurry to provide a treated r-CTA slurry and crystallizing at least a portion of the treated r-CTA slurry to provide the r-PTA, and wherein the r-PTA comprises at least 97 weight percent terephthalic acid.

17. The process of claim 9, wherein at least two of the conversion facility, the aromatics complex, and the TPA production facility are commercial scale facilities and / or are co-located.

18. A method for producing a recycled component organic chemical compound (r-organic chemical compound), the method comprising: (a) forming recycled content purified terephthalic acid (r-PTA) from a recycled content para-xylene (r-para-xylene) stream in a terephthalic acid (TPA) production facility, wherein the r-para-xylene stream includes recycled content derived from waste plastics; and (b) reacting at least a portion of the r-PTA with ethylene glycol (EG) to form recycled content polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET).

19. The process of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of the r-paraxylene stream is obtained by processing a recovered component aromatics (r-aromatics) stream in an aromatics complex, and wherein the r-aromatics stream is derived from at least one of the following steps (i) to (iv): (i) thermally cracking waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to form a recycled cracked PET (r-cracked PET) stream and separating at least a portion of the r-cracked PET stream to provide the r-aromatics stream; (ii) reforming at least one recovered component hydrocarbon (r-HC) stream in a refinery to provide at least a portion of the r-aromatic hydrocarbon stream, wherein the r-HC stream comprises at least one of r-pyrolysis oil, r-naphtha, and r-cracked naphtha from a pyrolysis facility and / or a refinery; (iii) processing at least one recovered component hydrocarbon (r-HC) stream in a steam cracking facility to provide at least a portion of the r-aromatics stream, wherein the r-HC stream comprises at least one of r-pyrolysis oil, r-pyrolysis gas, r-naphtha, r-cracked naphtha, and r-light gas from a pyrolysis facility and / or a refinery; and (iv) processing at least one recycled content synthesis gas (r-syngas) and / or at least one recycled content methanol (r-methanol) stream in a methanol to aromatics (MTA) facility to provide at least a portion of the r-aromatics, wherein the r-syngas and / or the r-methanol include recycled content from waste plastics.

20. The process of claim 18, wherein the formation of step (a) comprises oxidizing at least a portion of the r-paraxylene stream in an oxidation zone to form a recovered component crude terephthalic acid (r-CTA), wherein the oxidation is conducted in the presence of a first solvent comprising acetic acid to provide an r-CTA slurry.

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