Solvent-assisted conversion of solid organic waste to high value chemicals

Abstract

A method of producing hydrocarbons from an organic material. The method includes: dissolving a solid including an organic material in a solvent to form a carbon liquid feed; introducing the carbon liquid feed into a liquid inlet of a feed assembly of a reactor system; mixing the carbon liquid feed and an oxidant gas feed in the feed assembly; combusting, in the feed assembly, at least a portion of the carbon liquid feed to produce an at least partially combusted gas mixture and heat; introducing the carbon liquid feed and the at least partially combusted gas mixture to a reactor vessel in fluid connection with the feed assembly; and in the reactor vessel, converting, using the heat, the organic material in the carbon liquid feed into a high value chemical.

Description

SOLVENT-ASSISTED CONVERSION OF SOLID ORGANIC WASTE TO HIGH VALUE CHEMICALSTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure is directed to the solvent-assisted production of high value chemical products from solid organic waste.BACKGROUND

[0002] Recycling of used plastic materials plays an important role in minimizing plastic waste and pollution. In general, the recycling process is a highly complex process due to the varying structure, composition, color, and contaminants of plastics. For example, the process can include collection of plastics, transport to Material Recovery Facilities (MRF), sorting, separating, and cleaning, prior to chemically or mechanically transforming the plastic into recycled building blocks or products with acceptable quality. To achieve economies of scale, technologies that simplify the recycling process are of importance.

[0003] One promising approach for converting plastic waste into high value chemicals is cracking / pyrolysis. The cracking / pyrolysis approach involves breaking down complex plastic polymers into simpler molecules through high-temperature processes. This approach can offer several advantages such as the ability to handle various mixed and contaminated plastic waste and the fast production of pyrolysis oil and / or smaller olefins, which can be used to create new plastics or other chemical products, thus closing the loop in the plastic lifecycle. To this end, it is desired to develop new reactor design and process scheme that can process solid plastic waste efficiently while providing heat required for the cracking / pyrolysis.SUMMARY

[0004] This disclosure describes technologies relating to method and reactor design for converting solid organic waste into high value chemical products with the assistance of a solvent. The solid organic waste, e.g., plastic waste materials and bio-based waste materials, can be dissolved in the solvent to form a carbon liquid feed. The prepared carbon liquid feed can be then cracked in a reactor to produce high value chemicals such as olefins and aromatics. In particular, the reactor in various implementation has a unique feed assembly design with a constriction to create a mixed swirling fluid flow that travels along the reactor wall downward. The special reactor design described in this disclosure can enable fast mixingof the liquid and gas feeds, as well as integrating a partial combustion of the feed to provide heat required for endothermic reactions in the reactor. Advantages of this reactor design include reduction in volume of the combustion chamber, shorter process time, and higher conversion.

[0005] An implementation described herein provides a method of producing hydrocarbons from an organic material. A solid including an organic material is first dissolved in a solvent to form a carbon liquid feed. The carbon liquid feed is then introduced into a liquid inlet of a feed assembly of a reactor system. The carbon liquid feed and an oxidant gas feed are mixed in the feed assembly. In the feed assembly, at least a portion of the carbon liquid feed is combusted to produce an at least partially combusted gas mixture and heat. The carbon liquid feed and the at least partially combusted gas mixture are then introduced to a reactor vessel in fluid connection with the feed assembly. In the reactor vessel, using the heat, the organic material is converted in the carbon liquid feed into a high value chemical.

[0006] An implementation described herein provides a reactor system for converting a solid waste material. The reactor system includes a reactor vessel that defines a reaction chamber. The reactor system also includes a smoothly-curved converging-diverging conduit having a central axis at an inlet of the reaction chamber. The reactor system also includes a feed assembly having a central chamber through which the central axis passes that is in fluid communication with the converging-diverging conduit. The reactor system also includes flow passages couplable and configured to introduce a fuel gas feed and an oxidizer gas feed into the central chamber of the feed assembly to produce a swirling fluid flow pattern around the central axis. The reactor system also includes a liquid feed inlet couplable and configured to introduce, into the central chamber of the feed assembly, a filtered carbon liquid feed comprising an organic material to be converted. The reactor system can also include a mixer couplable and configured to mix a solid including the organic material with a solvent to form the carbon liquid feed. The reactor system can also include a filter in fluid connection with the mixer and the liquid feed inlet, the filter couplable and configured to remove remaining solid particulates from the carbon liquid feed to form the filtered carbon liquid feed. The reactor system can be an annular jet vortex reactor chamber (ANJEVOC) reactor system.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] For a more complete understanding of the implementations described herein, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, in which:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a solvent-assisted system for converting solid organic waste into high value chemicals;

[0009] FIG. 2 is an elevational, cross-sectional view of a reactor system for the conversion of the carbon liquid feed derived from the solid organic waste;

[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a feed assembly of the reactor system of FIG. 2;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the feed assembly and upstream end of a reaction chamber of the reactor system of FIG. 2; and

[0012] FIGS. 5-6 are process flow diagrams of the method of converting solid organic waste into high value chemicals in accordance with various implementations.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] In various implementations of the present disclosure, a unique reactor technology is used to convert solid plastic materials into high value chemicals, such as light olefins and aromatics. The solid plastic materials can include various types of used plastics and plastic wastes containing one or more polymers. Other solid organic materials such as bio-based wastes can also be a feed for the conversion process. In various implementations, the solid materials to be converted are first dissolved in a solvent, e.g., benzene, toluene, or xylene (BTX), or other hydrocarbons, to form a carbon liquid feed with appropriate viscosity, e.g., < 1000 cP. The carbon liquid feed can then be processed in a single reactor system where both an exothermic process and an endothermic process can be performed simultaneously to achieve an efficient conversion of the plastic materials into the products without the need of external heat. A partial combustion of the carbon liquid feed, a fuel gas feed, or both can generate heat that is used in the endothermic cracking / pyrolysis of the reactants.This conversion can be accomplished in single step of processing or with reduced or minimal processing steps and equipment, as compared to conventional plastic-to-chemical processing systems. More specifically, the conversion can be achieved using ANJEVOC (ANnular JEt VOrtex Chamber) cracking reactor technology that produces annularly swirled jets of feed gases where hydrogen (or other fuels such as natural gas, recycled syngas, etc.) and oxygengases are used to generate the heat required for cracking of hydrocarbons. In various implementations, the ANJEVOC reactor serves as a combustor to generate heat and as a cracker and a single processing unit for directly cracking the plastic waste or other bio-based materials dissolved in a solvent. The ANJEVOC reactor can be used as a high throughput millisecond reactor with near adiabatic operations with internal cooling leading to high light olefins yields and able to process difficult and mixed feedstocks with very high per-pass conversions without tube coking issues reported in conventional steam crackers. The ANJEVOC reactor can produce various high value chemicals such as ethylene, propylene, butenes and BTX from a feed comprising of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights. Examples of such ANJEVOC reactors are described in U. S. Patent Nos. 11,020,719 and 11,123,705; and International Publication Nos. W02022 / 010821A1; W02022 / 010822A1, and W02022 / 010823A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes, including the purpose of illustrating the configuration, construction and operation of such ANJEVOC reactors, and their various components.Solvent-assisted system design

[0014] FIG. 1 shows a solvent-assisted system 1 for converting solid organic waste 2 into high value chemicals. The solid organic waste 2 to be converted by the process can, for example, include a plastic waste, a bio-based waste, or other materials including some polymeric materials that can be cracked into a high value chemical. Examples of plastics that can be processed include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polycarbonate (PC). In various implementations, the solid organic waste 2 includes a mixture of various plastics and can also include non-plastic components. In some implementations, depending on the composition of the solid organic waste 2, the conversion process can include pretreatment to modify the composition for the purpose of solvent-assisted conversion by cracking. Examples of biobased waste include food waste, agricultural waste, paper waste, and other biomass materials.

[0015] In various implementations, the solid organic waste 2 can include a polymer having a molecular weight (M. W.) of 10,000 or greater. For example, the polymer in the solid organic waste 2 has a M. W. from 10,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, or 100,000 or greater. In some implementations, the solid organic waste 2 has an average M. W. from 10,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, or 100,000 or greater.

[0016] Although this disclosure is focused on the use of solid organic waste 2 as the carbon source for the feed to be converted by the process, the carbon source is not limited to waste materials, and any other suitable materials containing polymeric materials can also be processed in various implementations.

[0017] The solvent-assisted system 1 can be equipped with a screw conveyer 3 to transport the solid organic waste 2 to a shredder 4. The shredder 4 can be used to shred the solid organic waste 2 into smaller solid particulates for easier handling and dissolution in a solvent in a subsequent step. Any suitable shredder can be used according to the specification of the solid organic waste 2. In some implementations, the step of separating and / or sorting components of solid organic waste 2 can be performed while being transported by the screw conveyer 3.

[0018] Further, the solvent-assisted system 1 can be equipped with a mixer 5 to receive the solid organic waste 2 in a shredded form from the shredder 4. In the mixer, the solid organic waste 2 can be mixed with and dissolved in a solvent. In various implementations, the solvent can be stored in and provided from a fresh solvent storage tank 6. At least a portion of the solid organic waste 2 is dissolved in the solvent to form a carbon liquid feed 7, which can be fed to a reactor system 10 for the conversion process.

[0019] The solvent can include, for example, an aromatic hydrocarbon such as benzene, toluene, or xylene (BTX). In some implementations, the solvent can include naphtha or other liquid hydrocarbons. Any liquid that can dissolve at least a portion of the solid organic waste 2 can be used. A suitable solvent can be selected in view of the solubility and stability during the conversion conditions, although the stability is not a requirement. While the solvent can be selected to be stable and inert during the conversion process, in other implementations, the solvent can be selected to be subject to thermal cracking in the reactor system 10 as a part of the reactants, which can produce a portion of the high value chemical from the conversion process. In various implementations, the concentration of the solid organic waste 2 in the carbon liquid feed is from 5 wt.% to 75 wt.%, for example, from 10 wt.% to 40 wt.%, from 15wt.% to 35 wt.%, or from 20 wt.% to 30 wt.%. In other implementations, the concentration of the solid organic waste 2 in the carbon liquid feed is less than 40 wt.%, 35 wt.%, or 30 wt.%.

[0020] In various implementations, the carbon liquid feed 7 is a mixture of hydrocarbons. Carbon and hydrogen can accordingly account for most of the chemical composition of the carbon liquid feed 7. For example, carbon and hydrogen can be at least 85 atomic %, 90 atomic %, 95 atomic %, 99 atomic %, or 99.9 atomic %. The carbon liquid feed 7 can containother elements such as nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. These heteroatoms can originate from the solid organic waste 2, the solvent, or other optional additives used in the preparation of the carbon liquid feed. In some implementations, the carbon liquid feed 7 consists of only carbon and hydrogen with only a negligible amount of other impurities.

[0021] As further described below, for a suitable fine spray formation, the carbon liquid feed 7 can be prepared to have a dynamic viscosity from 0.1 cP to 1000 cP prior to or at its introduction to the reactor system 10, as measured using ASTM D445 at a temperature from 25 °C to 400°C or from 100 °C to 400 °C.

[0022] In some implementations, as further illustrated in FIG. 1, the solvent-assisted system 1 can be equipped with a filter 8 to remove any undissolved solid materials from the carbon liquid feed fed from the mixer prior to introducing the carbon liquid feed to the reactor system 10.

[0023] The reactor system 10 is designed to enable a partial combustion reaction to provide heat that can be necessary for maintaining the cracking reaction to produce the high value chemicals. To enable the partial combustion reaction, an oxidant gas feed 11 is fed to the reactor system 10 through a feed assembly, which will be described further in detail below referring to FIGS. 2 and 3. Using the heat from the partial combustion, the carbon liquid feed 7 can be cracked and converted into a product stream 13 containing the high value chemicals. In various implementations, the high value chemicals include unsaturated hydrocarbons such as any one or more of olefins, C2 to Ce olefins, ethylene, propylenes, butenes, acetylene, C3 to Ce alkynes, butadienes, aromatic compounds, xylenes, benzene, toluene, and ethyl benzene. Furthermore, at least a portion of any one or more of these products, such as C2 to Ce alkanes, xylenes, benzene, and toluene, in the reactor product stream can be separated from the reactor product stream and recycled to form at least a portion of the hydrocarbon reactant feeds. The reactor system 10 can crack a broad range of hydrocarbons and the product slate is very narrow with primarily C2 - C3 products being formed, with some amount of carbon lost as CO and CO2. The carbon liquid feed 7 can make up from 0.5 wt.% to 100 wt.% of the total weight of the hydrocarbon reactant feeds.

[0024] The product stream 13 can also contain an unreacted portion of the solvent, which can be recovered using a solvent separator 15 downstream of the reactor system 10. The solvent separator 15 can include, for example, a distillation column configured to isolate a solvent stream from the product stream. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the solvent-assisted system 1 can also include a recycle line in fluid connection with the mixer 5 and the solvent separator 15 to transfer the recovered solvent from the solvent separator 15 to the mixer 5. Insome implementations, the solvent separator 15 can also be connected to a recovered solvent storage tank 17.

[0025] Still referring to FIG. 1, in some implementations, an additional carbon feed 19 can optionally be provided to the reactor system 10 through the feed assembly. For example, the additional carbon feed 19 can include a liquid hydrocarbon, which can be vaporized by a vaporizer / heater 21 to form a gas feed containing the hydrocarbon. The additional carbon feed 19 can provide additional heat by its partial combustion and serve as an additional reactant for cracking to produce a portion of the high value chemicals. In various implementations, the additional carbon feed 19 includes C3 or higher hydrocarbon species. In some implementations, relatively heavier hydrocarbons can also be used. These can include one or more of crude oil, gas oil, kerosene, diesel, naphtha, heavy naphtha, light naphtha, any one of a C20 to C40 hydrocarbon or mixtures or two or more thereof, a biomass-derived oil, a pyoil from plastic, a liquified plastic, a liquified plastic waste with impurities, a heteroatomcontaining hydrocarbon liquid, and combinations of these liquid hydrocarbons.

[0026] In one or more implementations, an optional fuel gas feed can also be provided to the reactor system 10. The optional fuel gas feed can be the additional carbon feed 19 as described above, where this feed gas itself can be subject to cracking. In other implementations, the optional fuel gas feed can only serve as the fuel for the combustion and not as a reactant for cracking. For example, the optional fuel gas feed can include hydrogen, methane, or natural gas. Accordingly, the conversion process can use one liquid feed, e.g., the carbon liquid feed 7, and one or more gas feeds. For example, in one or more implementations, the first gas feed is the oxidant gas feed 11 and the second gas feed is the additional carbon feed 19, with or without an additional fuel gas feed as the third gas feed. In another implementation, the oxidant gas feed 11 is the only gas feed. In various implementations, other gas feeds can also be fed to the reactor system 10 to adjust the conversion process. For example, steam and / or an inert diluent gas can be used to suppress coke formation.ANJEVOC reactor design

[0027] Referring to FIG. 2, an elevational cross-sectional representation of a reactor system 10 for the conversion of the carbon liquid feed 7 containing dissolved plastic waste or other organic materials is shown. The reactor system 10 is configured for the conversion of the carbon liquid feed 7. The reactor system 10 can also be used to convert additional gaseoushydrocarbons in conjunction with the carbon liquid feed 7. The reactor system 10 can constitute an ANJEVOC reactor and includes a reactor vessel 12 having a reactor wall 14 that defines an interior reaction chamber 16. The reactor wall 14 may have a cylindrical configuration with a constant diameter along all or a portion of its length, which can constitute a majority (i.e., > 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95%) of its length. In most instances, the reactor vessel 12 is oriented vertically so that the cylindrical reactor wall 14 is oriented in an upright orientation with downward flow. The reactor can have other orientations (e.g., horizontal, sloped, or upright with upward flow), however, because the process is controlled by the centrifugal force, which exceeds the gravitational force by several orders of magnitude. The reactor vessel 12 can be configured to provide a length to diameter ratio (L / D) of at least 2. In particular applications, the L / D ratio may range from 2-10, more particularly from 2-5.

[0028] The reactor vessel 12 can be formed from steel. The material for the reactor vessel 12 can be chemically resistant to corrosive elements such as chlorine that can be present in the carbon liquid feed 7 originating from the plastic waste or the like. In some implementations, the reactor vessel 12 contains a refractory metal.

[0029] In certain implementations, a cooling jacket can be provided around all or portions of the reactor vessel 12, wherein a second steel wall 18 is positioned around and spaced from the inner reactor wall 14 and a cooling fluid, such as water, can be circulated through the jacket formed between the walls 14, 18. In other implementations, the reactor wall 14 can be formed from one or more layers of refractory material that line the interior of an outer steel wall to reduce heat loss and sustain the high temperatures of the reactor system 10. Because of the unique design and operation of the reactor system 10, the reactor wall 14 is cooled internally by the high-velocity near-wall gas flow pushed by centrifugal forces against the reactor wall 14 so that in some applications no exterior cooling jacket is required. This also allows refractory materials to be used for the interior of the reactor wall 14. Refractory materials (without cooling) typically cannot be used with conventional cracking reactors with pure oxygen due to the higher temperatures, e.g., from 2000 °C to 2800 °C. Reaction temperature for the conversion of the carbon liquid feed 7, in the reactor system 10 typically ranges from 800 °C to 2500 °C, from 900 °C to 2000 °C, from 1000 °C to 1700 °C, or from 1200 °C to 1500 °C.

[0030] An outlet 20 is provided at a lower or downstream end of the reactor vessel 12 for removing or discharging cracked products from the reaction chamber 16. The outlet diametercan be same as the diameter of the reactor wall 14 or the outlet diameter can be reduced to accelerate the flow before quenching and collection downstream.

[0031] The reactor system 10 includes an inlet assembly 22 that is coupled or joined to the upper or upstream end of the reactor wall 14 of the reactor vessel 12. Here, the reactor vessel 12 is oriented vertically with the inlet assembly 22 located above the reactor vessel 12. This is so that any downstream liquid quenching fluids (e.g., water) that are used within the reaction chamber 16 to quench the reaction gases are carried by gravity to the outlet 20 and not towards the upstream end towards the inlet assembly 22.

[0032] The inlet assembly 22 defines a converging-diverging conduit 24 defined by a circumferential wall 26 that surrounds a central axis 28 of the reactor system 10. The central axis 28 of the reactor system 10 can be the same or coincides with the central axis of each of the inlet assembly 22 or conduit 24 and reactor vessel 12. The circumferential wall 26 extends from opposite upstream and downstream ends of the converging-diverging conduit 24. As used herein, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” or similar expressions with respect to describing various components of the reactor system 10 shall refer to the position of the component with respect to the direction of overall fluid flow through the reactor system 10 along the central axis 28.

[0033] As can be seen in FIG. 2, the circumferential wall 26 smoothly tapers or converges in width or diameter from the upstream ends to define an annular constricted neck portion located between the downstream and upstream ends of the converging-diverging conduit 24. At the annular constricted neck portion, the circumferential wall 26 of the conduit 24 transitions from converging or narrowing to diverging or widening. The circumferential wall 26 then smoothly expands or diverges in width or diameter downstream from the annular constricted neck portion. The interior of the circumferential wall 26 may have a circular perpendicular transverse cross section with respect to the central axis 28 along all or a portion of its length. The circumferential wall 26 defines an interior flow path of the inlet assembly 22, with the constricted neck portion being part of the smoothly curved and streamlined converging-diverging nozzle of the inlet assembly 22.

[0034] The nozzle geometry of the converging-diverging conduit 24 is configured based upon the theory relating to swirling conical jets of a viscous incompressible fluid. This phenomenon is described in the journal article by Pannala et al., entitled " Novel Annular Jet Vortex Reactor for High-Temperature Thermochemical Conversion of Hydrocarbons to Acetylene," published in ACS Engineering in 2022 (Pannala, S. et al. ACS Engineering 2022, 2(5), 406-420). The downstream or diverging portion of the conduit 24 is configured for non-supersonic fluid flow. Conduits or nozzles configured for supersonic flow, such as de Laval nozzles, are configured differently from the conduit 24 to provide supersonic flow downstream to form a shockwave. In various implementations, the diverging conduit 24 does not form such a supersonic flow or a shockwave. Instead, the conduit 24 has a geometry that facilitates a recirculation and backflow of gases within the interior reaction chamber 16 near the central axis 28 in combination with annular swirling jet gas flow adjacent to the inner reactor wall 14. As such, the conduit 24 will have a greater angle of divergence than the angle of divergence typically used in de Laval nozzles, which have an angle of divergence of 15° or less). In, certain implementations, the overall angle of divergence “A” (FIG. 2) relative to the central axis 28 can be from 25° or more. In particular instances, the angle of divergence A for the diverging portion of the conduit 24 discussed herein is from 25° to 55°. In some implementations, the angle of divergence A is of from at least, equal to, and / or between any two of 25°, 26°, 27°, 28°, 29°, 30°, 31°, 32°, 33°, 34°, 35°, 36°, 37°, 38°, 39°, 40°, 41°, 42°, 43°, 44°, 45°, 46°, 47°, 48°, 49°, 50°, 51°, 52°, 53°, 54°, and 55°. The large divergence angle leads to recirculation of fluid flow at the reactor wall 14, as a result of the upstream swirling flow coupled with the convergent divergent conduit 24.

[0035] The downstream end of the diverging portion of conduit 24 joins the reactor wall 14 at an inlet of the reaction chamber 16 around its perimeter so that the conduit 24 is in fluid communication with the reaction chamber 16 of the reactor vessel 12. The upstream end of the converging portion of conduit 24 forms an inlet for the reactor vessel 12.

[0036] A feed assembly 32 is provided with the reactor system 10. A perspective view of the feed assembly 32 is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional perspective view of the feed assembly 32 and an upstream end of the reaction chamber 16 of the reactor system 10 of FIG. 2. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the feed assembly 32 joins the upstream end of conduit 24 and is in fluid communication with the conduit 24, with the central axis 28 passing through the feed assembly 32. The feed assembly 32 includes a downstream feed assembly wall 34 that extends circumferentially around and joins the upstream end of the converging portion of conduit 24. The feed assembly wall 34 or circumferential portions thereof are oriented perpendicularly or substantially perpendicularly (i.e., < 15 degrees from perpendicular about its circumference as it extends radially from the central axis) to the central axis 28.

[0037] Axially spaced upstream from the downstream wall 34 along the central axis 28 is an upstream feed assembly wall 36. The upstream wall 36 or circumferential portions thereof are oriented perpendicular to or substantially perpendicularly (i.e., < 15 degrees fromperpendicular about its circumference as it extends radially from the central axis) to the central axis 28.

[0038] An upstream gas partition wall 38 and a downstream gas partition wall 40 are axially spaced between the downstream and upstream feed assembly walls 34, 36 and are axially spaced from one another, with the upstream partition wall 38 being positioned upstream from the downstream partition wall 40. The partition walls 38, 40 or circumferential portions thereof are also each oriented perpendicularly to or substantially perpendicularly (i.e., < 15 degrees from perpendicular about its circumference as it extends radially from the central axis) to the central axis 28. Each of the partition walls 38, 40 has a central opening 42, 44, respectively, that surrounds the central axis 28 and is concentric with the convergingdiverging conduit 24. The inner ends of the partition walls 38, 40 defining the openings 42, 44 terminate at a position upstream of the converging-diverging conduit 24. The central openings 42, 44 each have a circular configuration. Other continuously-curved shapes for the central openings 42, 44 (e.g., oval) may also be used provided such configuration facilitates the swirling of gases to provide the required swirling flow patterns described herein. This shape may also correspond to the cross-sectional shape of the circumferential wall 26 of the converging-diverging conduit 24. In most applications, however, the central openings 42, 44 will be circular in shape. The central openings 42, 44 may have a diameter or width that is the same or slightly different (smaller or larger) than the diameter or width of the constricted neck of the converging-diverging conduit 24 at its narrowest point.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 2, the upstream partition wall 38 defines an annular gas flow passage 46 located between the upstream feed assembly wall 36 and the upstream side of the upstream partition wall 36. In the implementation shown, the flow passage 46 constitutes an upstream annular hydrocarbon reactant feed inlet flow passage for introducing a gaseous hydrocarbon to be converted (e.g., the additional carbon feed 19 in FIG. 1), e.g., into high value chemicals such as light olefins and aromatics. Likewise, an annular gas flow passage 48 is defined by the downstream side of the downstream partition wall 40 and the downstream feed assembly wall 34. In the implementation shown, the flow passage 48 can constitute an annular steam or water inlet flow passage.

[0040] An intermediate partition wall 50 is axially spaced between the downstream gas partition wall 40 and the upstream gas partition wall 38 to define downstream and upstream intermediate annular gas inlet flow passages 52, 54. The intermediate partition wall 50 also has a central opening 56 that surrounds the central axis 28 and is concentric with the converging-diverging conduit 24. The inner ends of the partition wall 50 defining the opening56 terminate at a position upstream of the converging-diverging conduit 24. The central opening 56 may have a circular configuration. Other shapes for the central opening 56 (e.g., oval) may also be used provided such configuration facilitates the swirling of gases to provide the required swirling flow patterns described herein.

[0041] The intermediate partition wall 50, or circumferential portions thereof, is also oriented perpendicularly to or substantially perpendicularly (i.e., < 15 degrees from perpendicular about its circumference as it extends radially from the central axis) to the central axis 28. In the implementation shown, the annular flow passage 52 can constitute an oxygen or oxidizing gas flow passage (e.g., for the oxidant gas feed 11 in FIG. 1) to facilitate combustion. The annular flow passage 54 can constitute a fuel gas flow passage for introducing a fuel gas for combustion. As described above, gas feeds except the oxidant gas feed 11 can be optional and omitted in some implementations.

[0042] The area between the downstream and upstream feed assembly walls 34, 36 and spaced radially inward from the central openings 42, 44, 56 of the partition walls 38, 40, 50, respectively, forms a central chamber 58 of the feed assembly 32 that surrounds the central axis 28. The central axis 28 also coincides with and forms a central axis of the central chamber 58 and feed assembly 32.

[0043] This configuration provides flow passages through which gas feeds, if more than one gas feed is used, can each be separately introduced and passed through the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54, respectively, into the central chamber 58 of the feed assembly 32 in a swirling fluid flow pattern about the central axis 28 such that the feeds combust in the central chamber to form swirling combustion gases. The gas feeds can include a gas feed to be cracked (e.g., the additional carbon feed 19), steam, oxygen gas (e.g., the oxidant gas feed 11), and hydrogen-rich fuel for providing combustion heat.

[0044] The feeds are introduced into the central chamber in a direction that is nonparallel to the central axis 28. To this end, one or more of the feed assembly wall 34, the upstream wall 36, the partition walls 38, and 40 the intermediate partition wall 50 (or circumferential portions thereof) are configured to introduce the feeds into the central chamber 58 of the feed assembly 32 in a swirling fluid flow pattern about the central axis 28 such that the feeds combust in the central chamber to form swirling combustion gases. The feed assembly wall 34, the upstream wall 36, the partition walls 38, and 40 the intermediate partition wall 50 (or circumferential portions thereof) can be oriented in a direction that is non-parallel to the central axis 28. In some implementations, one or more of the feed assembly wall 34, the upstream wall 36, the partition walls 38, and 40 the intermediatepartition wall 50 (or circumferential portions thereof) can be oriented less than or equal to 5 degrees, less than or equal to 10 degrees, less than or equal to 15 degrees, less than or equal to 20 degrees, less than or equal to 30 degrees, less than or equal to 40 degrees from a direction perpendicular the central axis 28.

[0045] In some implementations where the additional carbon feed 19 is used for the conversion process, the upstream flow passage 46 can act as a gaseous hydrocarbon feed inlet flow passage. A fuel gas feed such as a hydrogen-rich gas feed or hydrogen gas (H2) can optionally be introduced into one of the first and second adjacent annular fuel gas inlet flow passages 52, 54, with an oxygen gas (O2) or oxygen-containing gas feed (e.g., the oxidant gas feed 11) being introduced into the other of the flow passages 52, 54. Typically, the fuel and oxygen gas feeds will be introduced into flow passages that are immediately adjacent to one another to facilitate rapid combustion. In certain applications, the downstream flow passage 52 can be used for delivering the oxidizer or oxy gen-containing gas and the upstream flow passage 54 will be used for delivering the hydrogen-rich fuel gas. The steam feed can be introduced into the downstream annular steam inlet flow passage 48. In other instances, the various feeds can be altered in sequence within the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54. For example, any of flow passages 48, 52, 54 can act as a gaseous hydrocarbon feed inlet flow passage. In certain applications, the steam feed can be combined or introduced with one or more of the other feeds. This may include combining the steam feed with the fuel-gas feed, the oxygen-containing gas feed, or the hydrocarbon gas feed.

[0046] In certain implementations, one or more of the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 may remain idle or be omitted from the feed assembly 32. If a flow passage is omitted, one of the partition walls 38, 40, 50 need not be present and the number of flow passages will be reduced. In such instances, certain feeds can be combined and introduced together, such as the steam feed previously discussed.

[0047] In the illustrated reactor system 10, flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 are configured so that the different feeds pass through flow passages perpendicularly or substantially perpendicularly to the central axis 28 in an inwardly swirling fluid flow pattern within said flow passages so that the feeds flow about the central axis 28 within the central chamber 58. The swirling fuel gas and oxidizer feeds combust within the central chamber 58.

[0048] In the illustrated reactor system 10, walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 forming the different flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 are parallel to one another in many cases. However, in other cases, walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 can be non-parallel to one another. The walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 are axially spaced apart to provide the desired volume and flow characteristicsfor the gases flowing through them. This can be based upon the desired flow rates or linear velocities of each of the feed gases and their relative amounts. For instance, the relative volume of oxygen gas needed for the combustion is typically smaller than the volume of the hydrogen-rich fuel gas needed for the combustion. Therefore, the partition wall 50 can be spaced closer to the downstream partition wall 40 so that the flow passage 54 for the hydrogen fuel is larger and accommodates the greater flow of fuel gas. The particular spacing may depend on fuel gas and oxidizer combination, the desired volume for combustion, and nature of the hydrocarbon feeds.

[0049] Annular gas manifolds 60, 62, 64, 66 are provided around the outer periphery of the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54, respectively. In an example, the gas manifold 60 can be fluidly coupled to a gaseous hydrocarbon feed source. The manifold 62 can be fluidly coupled to a steam source. The manifold 64 can be fluidly coupled to an oxygen-containing-gas source, such as a pure O2 feed. And the manifold 66 is fluidly coupled to a hydrogen-rich or fuel feed source, such as H2. The manifolds 60, 62, 64, 66 are provided with the feed assembly 32 to facilitate introduction of feed gases into the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54. In other implementations, the different feed sources to each manifold can be varied.

[0050] In general, the gas inlets from the manifolds 60, 62, 64, 66 are oriented to generate an inwardly swirling flow of gases within central chamber 58. In other words, the gas inlets direct the incoming flow of gases along paths that extend inwardly from the walls of central chamber 58 but not along a radius of central chamber 58 directly toward the central axis 28. An inwardly swirling flow of gases from the inlets is created, rather than a series of flows that traverse central chamber 58 by the shortest, radial path and intersect at central axis 28. As an aside, one or more inlets can be provided for each flow passage 46, 48, 52, 54. Furthermore, the walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 that form the different flow passages of the feed assembly 32 prevent the gases from flowing axially along the direction of central axis 28 while they are contained within the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54. The manifolds 60, 62, 64, 66 can be configured as standard manifolds (e.g., snail-like) as can be typically used in vortex devices.

[0051] Referring to FIG. 3, in some implementations, one or more or all of the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 can be provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 (e.g., 10 to 60 guide vanes for each flow passage). Each guide vane 68, 70, 72, 74 can be a planar member that is oriented in a plane that is parallel to the central axis 28 and extends between the walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50. The guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can be circumferentially spaced an equal distance from one another. In certain implementations, the guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can be fixed in place, with the upper and lower side edges ofthe guide vanes being joined along their lengths or a portion of their lengths to the walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 so that there are no air gaps between the side edges of the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 and the walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50. In other implementations, however, the guide vanes are movable. In such cases, the upper and lower side edges of the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can be closely spaced from the walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 to provide a small clearance to allow movement. The close spacing may minimize air gaps through which gases may pass. Seals can also be used to effectively close these spaces or clearances while allowing movement. In other instances, the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can be oriented so that the plane of the vane is in a non-parallel or slanted orientation relative to the central axis 28. In such cases, the side edges can be fixed to the walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 or remain closely spaced from walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 50 to minimize air gaps. In certain applications, the guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can be configured as airfoils, such as described in U. S. Patent No. 11,123,705.

[0052] In the illustrated reactor system 10, the guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 are provided adjacent to the outer perimeter of the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 and are spaced in an annular or circular ring pattern near the manifold inlets. In other reactor systems, they can be provided in an annular pattern at other positions located radially inward or further within the interior of the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54. Alternatively, one or more additional annular sets of guide vanes can be located radially inward from those located along the outer periphery to facilitate inwardly swirling fluid flow.

[0053] Feed gases from the manifolds 60, 62, 64, 66 are delivered nearly tangentially to the outer perimeter of central chamber 58, where the guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can direct the gas flow in an inwardly swirling or spiraling fluid flow pattern within the central chamber 58. In some implementations, the inlets from the manifolds 60, 62, 64, 66 can be oriented or directed to impart the full inwardly swirling fluid flow without the use of or need for guide vanes. In other implementations, the guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can impart the full swirling flow of the introduced gases, such as in instances where the gas from the manifold inlets can be directed radially toward the central axis 28 or do not impart the full desired swirling flow. In such cases the guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 prevent flow directly toward the central axis 28 and direct the flowing gases nearly tangentially with respect to the inner walls of central chamber 58 to provide the inwardly swirling or spiraling fluid flow pattern.

[0054] The guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 of each flow passage 46, 48, 52, 54 can be mounted on actuators (not shown) so that they can be selectively movable to various positions to provide a selected inwardly spiraling flow pattern. The guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74can be pivotal about an axis that is parallel to the central axis 28 so that the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can be moved to various positions.

[0055] The orientation of the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 and / or the orientation of the inlets of the manifolds 60, 62, 64, 66 of each flow passage will provide swirling or spiraling fluid jet flow that is in the same rotational direction about the central axis 28, i.e., clockwise or counter-clockwise. Thus, gases within each of the flow passages will flow clockwise or counterclockwise about the central axis 28. In general, the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 will all introduce gases at the same angle inner relative to the walls of central chamber 58 to provide the desired swirling fluid flow characteristics. If the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 are movable, then they will typically be actuated to move in unison or close to unison.

[0056] In an example, oxygen and hydrogen fuel gases from flow passages 52, 54, gaseous hydrocarbon feed from flow passage 46 and steam from flow passage 48 can be discharged into the central chamber 58 of the feed assembly 32. Because the oxygencontaining gas and hydrogen-rich fuel gas are introduced separately from one another and not as mixture, this eliminates safety issues that would otherwise occur if these gases were premixed prior to their introduction into the feed assembly 32. Furthermore, the combustion reaction takes place rapidly, with most of the combustion occurring within a small space within the central chamber 58 where the two streams of oxy gen-containing gas and hydrogen-rich fuel gas from the flow passages 52, 54 are mixed after being discharged from the flow passages 52, 54. The combustible mixture can be ignited, e.g., using a spark, chemicals, or pilot flame that extends through the bottom surface or side surfaces of the reactor. Suction from the swirling flow can transport heat from an ignition device to the combustion zone of the central chamber 58 to initiate the ignition.

[0057] The gaseous hydrocarbon feed from the upstream flow passage 46, and steam from flow passage 48 are discharged into the central chamber 58 so that gaseous hydrocarbon feed, steam and heated combustion gases are mixed together and form a swirling gas mixture within the central chamber 58. This swirling gas mixture then passes through the convergingdiverging conduit 24 and into the reaction chamber 16 of the reactor vessel 12.Carbon liquid feed inlet for ANJEVOC reactor

[0058] Referring to FIG. 2, a liquid feed inlet 76 is also formed in the upstream feed assembly wall 36 for introducing, into the feed assembly 32, all or a portion of the carbon liquid feed 7 to be converted by the reactor system 10 into, e.g., high value chemicals such aslight olefins and aromatics. In certain implementations, there can be more than one or multiple liquid feed inlets 76. The liquid feed inlet 76 can be formed as a length of conduit that joins the feed assembly wall 36. The conduit can include an inlet axis that is aligned with and / or parallel to the central axis 28 so that the liquid feeds or a majority (i.e., > 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95%) of the liquid feeds introduced through the inlet 76 can be introduced axially or at a non-perpendicular angle with respect to the central axis 28 into the central chamber 58. In other words, the liquid feeds introduced through the inlet 76 are not introduced perpendicularly to the central axis 28. A liquid feed manifold 80 can be used to introduce liquid feeds through the liquid feed inlet 76. The manifold 80 is fluidly coupled to a liquid feed source, for example the mixer 5 in FIG. 5 or a feed storage. The manifold 80 comprises one or more spray nozzles 78 that can be used to introduce the liquid feed as a spray of liquid droplets into the central chamber 58. Where multiple liquid feed inlets 76 are employed, the manifold 80 can comprise multiple spray nozzles 78 positioned and oriented for introducing, into the central chamber 58 through the liquid feed inlets 76, the liquid feed as multiple sprays of droplets. In some implementations, the droplets in the liquid feed define a non-swirling spray and / or a radially-extending fanned pattern so that all or a portion of the droplets are not parallel to the central axis, but will have both axial and radial flow velocity components. Moreover, the droplet pattern can be centered on or close to the central axis 28 where the swirl velocities are lowest. In some implementations, one or more spray nozzles 78 introduce liquid into the central chamber 58 of the feed assembly 32 where the swirl velocity of the swirling fluid flow is less than 5 m / s during operation of the reactor system 10. One or more spray nozzles can be located within a certain placement radius (“PR”) defined from a point where the central axis 28 intersects a plane defined by the upstream wall 36 of the feed assembly 32. In one implementation, the radius PR is no greater than 30% of the radius of the central chamber 58. In other implementations, the radius PR is no greater than 20% of the radius of the central chamber 58. As described below in various implementations, using a nozzle that creates a particular droplet size and placing the nozzle in a central location within the feed assembly of the reactor system described below (i.e., aligned with or close to the central axis) results in hydrocarbon conversion efficiencies not seen in conventional reactor systems. As described below, the central location of the nozzle injects the carbon liquid feed 7 into an area of a reactor with a low swirl velocity (e.g., swirl velocity of less than 5 m / s). The location along with the droplet size allows the liquid droplets to vaporize before the droplets enter an area of the feed assembly with higher swirl velocities, thereby preventing rapid coking of the reactor. Thecombination of a location for the nozzle and a droplet size generated by the nozzle at that location thus provides certain unique advantages.

[0059] The combination of axial and radial flow velocity components defines a spray pattern that has a low spray angle and keeps the pattern close to the central axis 28. As a result, the droplets are directed primarily axially (e.g., to define a spray angle of 40° or less). Such a spray angle helps ensure that liquid droplets are vaporized before being caught in the swirling gas flow and forced by centrifugal forces against the reactor wall, which can lead to coking. In particular implementations, the spray pattern can have a spray angle of at least, equal to, and / or between any two of 5°, 6°, 7°, 8°, 9°, 10°, 11°, 12°, 13°, 14°, 15°, 16°, 17°, 18°, 19°, 20°, 21°, 22°, 23°, 24°, 25°, 26°, 27°, 28°, 29°, 30°, 31°, 32°, 33°, 34°, 35°, 36°, 37°, 38°, 39°, and 40°. In certain implementations, the spray pattern can be a solid conical, hollow-conical, linear stream, or flat spray pattern. In various implementations, the liquid feed inlet 76 does not include guide vanes, such as the vanes 68, 70, 72, 74, or other structures that can impart a swirling fluid flow to the carbon liquid feed 7 before it enters the central chamber 58.

[0060] By introducing the carbon liquid feed 7 axially, the atomized spray with liquid droplets is primarily concentrated close to the central axis 28 of the reactor system 10 where the swirl velocity is lowest. In effect, the liquid droplets are concentrated at the “eye” of the swirling fluid flow. Higher swirl velocities are encountered away from the central axis 28 or centerline and closer to the walls. These higher swirl velocities could deposit the atomized droplets on the walls and guide vanes, causing coking and fouling. The small droplets interact with the counter current flow of the high temperature gases from the combustion and strong recirculation to vaporize the droplets and follow the other hydrocarbon gases to increase heat and crack in the reactor system 10.

[0061] The spray nozzle(s) 78 can be selected and / or configured to provide a particular droplet size. The spray nozzle(s) can be constructed or configured to a provide droplets under the selected flow conditions (e.g., pressure, velocity) having a Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) or D32 from 1 μm to 250 μm. As used herein, the SMD or D32 size is defined as the ratio of droplet volume to the surface area of the droplets in a spray. Droplet measurements can be determined using phase doppler interferometer (PDI) techniques. In particular implementations, the spray nozzle(s) at the liquid feed inlet 76 can provide a SMD size for the carbon liquid feed 7 of from at least, equal to, and / or between any two of 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm, 7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm, 10 pm, 11 pm, 12 pm, 13 pm, 14 pm, 15 pm, 16pm, 17 pm, 18 pin, 19 pin, 20 pin, 21 pin, 22 pin, 23 pin, 24 pin, 25 pin, 26 pin, 27 pin, 28 pm, 29 pm, 30 pin, 30 pin, 31 pin, 32 pin, 33 pin, 34 pin, 35 pin, 36 pin, 37 pin, 38 pin, 39 pm, 40 pm, 41 pin, 42 pin, 43 pin, 44 pin, 45 pin, 46 pin, 47 pin, 48 pin, 49 pin, 50 pin, 55 pm, 60 pm, 65 pin, 70 pin, 75 pin, 80 pin, 85 pin, 90 pin, 95 pin, 100 pin, 105 pin, 110 pin, 115 pm, 120 pm, 125 pin, 130 pin, 135 pin, 140 pin, 145 pin, 150 pin, 155 pin, 160 pin, 165 pm, 170 pm, 175 pin, 180 pin, 185 pin, 190 pin, 195 pin, 200 pin, 205 pin, 210 pin, 215 pm, 220 pm, 225 pm, 230 pm, 235 pm, 240 pm, 245 pm, and 250 pm.

[0062] The smaller the droplet size, the faster the vaporization and less likely the droplets will enter the higher swirl regions of the reactor. The smaller the droplet size, however, there is a higher pressure drop across the nozzle and there is a limit to how fine an atomization can be achieved with the nozzle. Droplet size is therefore a compromise between the two competing requirements.

[0063] Other characteristics of the droplets generated by the spray nozzle(s) 78 can include the weighted average droplet size. Weighted average droplet size can include a mass (volume) median or 50% diameter (Dvo.s), which is the diameter at which 50% of the total volume of droplets are contained in particles with smaller diameters. In certain implementations, the Dvo.s of the droplets can be from at least, equal to, and / or between any two of 10 pm, 11 pm, 12 pm, 13 pm, 14 pm, 15 pm, 16 pm, 17 pm, 18 pm, 19 pm, 20 pm, 21 pm, 22 pm, 23 pm, 24 pm, 25 pm, 26 pm, 27 pm, 28 pm, 29 pm, 30 pm, 30 pm, 31 pm, 32 pm, 33 pm, 34 pm, 35 pm, 36 pm, 37 pm, 38 pm, 39 pm, 40 pm, 41 pm, 42 pm, 43 pm, 44 pm, 45 pm, 46 pm, 47 pm, 48 pm, 49 pm, 50 pm, 55 pm, 60 pm, 65 pm, 70 pm, 75 pm, 80 pm, 85 pm, 90 pm, 95 pm, 100 pm, 105 pm, 110 pm, 115 pm, 120 pm, 125 pm, 130 pm, 135 pm, 140 pm, 145 pm, 150 pm, 155 pm, 160 pm, 165 pm, 170 pm, 175 pm, 180 pm, 185 pm, 190 pm, 195 pm, 200 pm, 205 pm, 210 pm, 215 pm, 220 pm, 225 pm, 230 pm, 235 pm, 240 pm, 245 pm, and 250 pm. In one specific implementation, the spray nozzle is configured to form droplets with a DV0.5 from 10 microns to 50 microns.

[0064] The Dvo.i is the diameter below which 10% of the total volume of droplets are found. In certain implementations, the Dvo.i of the spray can be from at least, equal to, and / or between any two of 5 pm, 6 pm, 7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm, 10 pm, 11 pm, 12 pm, 13 pm, 14 pm, 15 pm, 16 pm, 17 pm, 18 pm, 19 pm, 20 pm, 21 pm, 22 pm, 23 pm, 24 pm, 25 pm, 26 pm, 27 pm, 28 pm, 29 pm, 30 pm, 30 pm, 31 pm, 32 pm, 33 pm, 34 pm, 35 pm, 36 pm, 37 pm, 38 pm, 39 pm, 40 pm, 41 pm, 42 pm, 43 pm, 44 pm, 45 pm, 46 pm, 47 pm, 48 pm, 49 pm,50 pm. 55 pm, 60 pin, 65 pin, 70 pin, 75 pin, 80 pin, 85 pin, 90 pin, 95 pin, 100 pin, 105 pm, 110 pm, 115 pm, 120 pin, 125 pin, 130 pin, 135 pin, 140 pin, 145 pin, 150 pin, 155 pm, 160 pm, 165 pin, 170 pin, 175 pin. In one specific implementation, the spray nozzle is configured to form droplets with a DV0.1 from 5 microns to 25 microns.

[0065] The Dvo.9 is the diameter below which 90% of the total volume of droplets are found. In certain instances, the Dvo.9 of the spray can be from at least, equal to, and / or between any two of 20 pm, 21 pm, 22 pm, 23 pm, 24 pm, 25 pm, 26 pm, 27 pm, 28 pm, 29 pm, 30 pm, 30 pm, 31 pm, 32 pm, 33 pm, 34 pm, 35 pm, 36 pm, 37 pm, 38 pm, 39 pm, 40 pm, 41 pm, 42 pm, 43 pm, 44 pm, 45 pm, 46 pm, 47 pm, 48 pm, 49 pm, 50 pm, 55 pm, 60 pm, 65 pm, 70 pm, 75 pm, 80 pm, 85 pm, 90 pm, 95 pm, 100 pm, 105 pm, 110 pm, 115 pm, 120 pm, 125 pm, 130 pm, 135 pm, 140 pm, 145 pm, 150 pm, 155 pm, 160 pm, 165 pm, 170 pm, 175 pm, 180 pm, 185 pm, 190 pm, 195 pm, 200 pm, 205 pm, 210 pm, 215 pm, 220 pm, 225 pm, 230 pm, 235 pm, 240 pm, 245 pm, 250 pm, 255 pm, 260 pm, 265 pm, 270 pm, 275 pm, 280 pm, 285 pm, 290 pm, 295 pm, 300 pm, 305 pm, 310 pm, 315 pm, 320 pm, 325 pm, 330 pm, 335 pm, 340 pm, 345 pm, 350 pm, 355 pm, 360 pm, 365 pm, 370 pm, 375 pm, 380 pm, 385 pm, 390 pm, 395 pm, 400 pm, 405 pm, 410 pm, 415 pm, 420 pm, 425 pm, 430 pm, 435 pm, 440 pm, 445 pm, and 450 pm. In one specific implementation, the spray nozzle is configured to form droplets with a DVO.9 from 20 microns to 100 microns.

[0066] To facilitate forming a suitable fine spray of the carbon liquid feed 7 having such small droplet sizes, the carbon liquid feed 7 can be modified to have a dynamic viscosity from 0.1 cP to 1000 cP prior to or at its introduction, as measured using ASTM D445, but at the temperature of operation (i.e., the temperature of the carbon liquid feed when passed through the nozzle(s)). For example, as discussed below, the carbon liquid feed 7 can in some cases be preheated to a temperature between 25 °C to 400°C and viscosity measured at this temperature. In some implementations, the carbon liquid feed 7 is preheated to a temperature between 100 °C to 400°C and viscosity measured at this temperature.

[0067] The droplet size is approximately proportional to dynamic viscosity to the power of 0.2 and thus lower dynamic viscosity leads to smaller droplet size. Typically, fluids with lower dynamic viscosity also have lower surface tension and the droplet size is approximately correlated to surface tension to the power of 0.5. In certain implementations, the carbon liquid feed 7 can be modified to have a dynamic viscosity from at least, equal to, and / or between any two of 0.1 cP, 0.2 cP, 0.3 cP, 0.4 cP, 0.5 cP, 0.6 cP, 0.7 cP, 0.8 cP, 0.9 cP, 1 cP,2 cP, 3 cP, 4 cP, 5 cP, 6 cP, 7 cP, 8 cP, 9 cP, 10 cP, 15 cP, 20 cP, 30 cP, 40 cP, 50 cP, 60 cP, 70 cP, 80 cP, 90 cP, 100 cP, 150 cP, 200 cP, 250 cP, 300 cP, 350 cP, 400 cP, 450 cP, 500 cP, 550 cP, 600 cP, 650 cP, 700 cP, 750 cP, 800 cP, 850 cP, 900 cP, 950 cP, and 1000 cP.Modification of the carbon liquid feed 7 can include heating it to a sufficient temperature and / or further diluting it with a low viscosity component such as aromatics (e.g., xylene benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene, which can be part of a recycle stream) to lower the dynamic viscosity.

[0068] In certain applications, the spray nozzle(s) 78 can be configured or selected as a two-fluid nozzle. Such two-fluid nozzles can allow for the introduction of two different fluids, each having different properties from the other. For example, the liquids could include a liquid phase fluid and vapor phase fluid that are each sprayed simultaneously through the nozzle 78. The two-fluid nozzle 78 can have a mixing chamber where the two fluids are mixed prior to being discharged as a spray. Such two-fluid nozzles also provide internal mixing of the two fluids to prevent clogging, as well as providing a fine atomized spray having the above-stated droplet size. Such two-liquid spray nozzles are described, for example, in U. S. Pat. App. Pub. No. US2020 / 0147624, which is incorporated herein in its entirety for all purposes, including the description of the construction and use of such nozzles. Two-fluid nozzles can facilitate rapid diffusion of the mixture from the outlet, atomization, and the formation of droplets that can be conveyed easily by the atomization gas. Two-fluid nozzles can help to atomize and disperse high viscosity liquids by flowing a gaseous phase with the high viscosity liquid phase. This can reduce liquid deposition on the mixed gas outlet and prevent clogging. A suitable commercially available two-fluid nozzle for use as the spray nozzle(s) 78 can include that marketed as the FLOWMAX® X-Series or FLOWMAX® FM3A nozzle, available from Spraying Systems Co., Tokyo, Japan.

[0069] The energy input to the spray nozzle is equal to the pressure drop across the nozzle multiplied by the flow rate. To obtain the same droplet size distribution, the choice of single-phase or two-phase nozzle depends on pressure drop. In addition to pressure drop, to obtain a targeted droplet size distribution, spray angle, hollow vs. full cone, etc., the choice might be limited in terms of a single or two-phase nozzle. For example, with respect to two-phase nozzles, there are options from internal mixing to external mixing to address fouling. Furthermore, for the current application with hydrocarbons, the right choice of spray nozzle can depend on high temperature operability, coking and fouling characteristics, erosion, ability to detect and unplug the narrow openings of the nozzles, etc. In general, two-fluid nozzles provide a broad range of control over the droplet size distribution and ability to self-clean as the vapor phase can be steam. A disadvantage can be that slight variations in vapor phase or liquid phase flow rates or pressures can dramatically vary the droplet and spray characteristics.

[0070] In various implementations, the carbon liquid feed 7 can be introduced into the liquid feed inlet 76 through the two-fluid spray nozzle 78 along with a gaseous hydrocarbon (e.g., the additional carbon feed 19) and / or steam (i.e., superheated steam) as the second fluid. The spray nozzle 78 is coupled to one end of the spray manifold 80 that is fluidly coupled to separate upstream liquid hydrocarbon and gas feed (i.e., steam and / or gaseous hydrocarbons) sources. The range of pressures for the liquid feed versus vapor feed depend on the design of the nozzle.

[0071] If the desired droplet characteristics are not achieved, the droplets can take significantly longer time to vaporize. Droplet vaporization time is proportional to square of the droplet diameter. In addition, the droplets can encounter higher swirl velocities leading to high centrifugal acceleration (e.g., 100 g to 100,000 g forces), resulting in deposition of the droplets onto the walls and coking and fouling of the reactor. This creates a positive feedback loop where any deposits will disrupt desirable hydrodynamics and accelerate additional maldistribution and deposition. This leads to coking and plugging of the reactor. For robust operations of the reactor with liquid feed, the droplet characteristics in terms of droplet size, spray angle, etc. can be thus important.

[0072] In many applications, the carbon liquid feed 7 will be converted in the reactor system 10 along with a gaseous hydrocarbon. As used herein, “gaseous hydrocarbon” is meant to include those hydrocarbons that are at conditions, such as temperature and pressure with or without addition of steam dilution, where the hydrocarbon is in a gaseous or superheated state prior to its introduction into the reactor system 10. This can include those hydrocarbons that can be liquids at standard atmospheric conditions but are at elevated temperatures and / or reduced pressures, such that they are vaporized prior to their introduction into the reactor system 10. The gaseous hydrocarbon can include, but is not limited to, natural gas liquids (NGL), a natural gas condensate, an associated petroleum gas, a C4 stream, a raw C4 stream, and any one or more of a gaseous C1 to C20 hydrocarbon or mixtures thereof, and combinations of these. For example, the gaseous hydrocarbon can have a boiling point at one atmosphere no greater than 450 °C, no greater than 250°C, or no greater than 150°C. As used herein, the raw C4 stream includes mixtures of C4 materials, including olefinic C4 materials, such as butadiene, butene, isobutylene, etc., such as those C4 olefins produced during steam cracking operations. By way of example, a typical raw C4 stream can have 1,3 butadiene, 1-buten, and isobutene in an amount from 15 wt.% to 35 wt.% each, 2-butene and n-butene in an amount from 5 wt.% to 15 wt.% each, and 1,2 butadiene, vinyl acetylene, and ethyl acetylene in an amount from 0.1 wt.% to 5 wt.%.

[0073] In certain instances, all or a portion of the gaseous hydrocarbon can be fed together with the carbon liquid feed 7 through the liquid feed inlet 76 and spray nozzle 78. In the case of the carbon liquid feed 7 that is introduced using the two-fluid nozzle 78, the gaseous hydrocarbon can be mixed with the carbon liquid feed 7 within the nozzle 78 itself, such as in a mixing chamber of the nozzle, prior to it being discharged as a spray. Where the spray nozzle 78 is not a two-fluid nozzle, the liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons can be mixed and combined upstream of the nozzle 78, where they both can be discharged together through the spray nozzle(s) 78. In still other instances, the gaseous hydrocarbon can be introduced separately from the carbon liquid feed 7 through the liquid feed inlet 76.

[0074] In many applications, all or a portion of the gaseous hydrocarbon feed to be converted by the reactor system 10 is introduced through one of the annular gas flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 of the feed assembly 32. Typically, this will be the upstream flow passage 46, which is immediately adjacent to the liquid feed inlet 76.

[0075] One or both of the carbon liquid feed 7 and / or gaseous hydrocarbon feed can be mixed with steam. This is typically superheated steam that is combined with and fed with the hydrocarbon feed prior to its introduction into the feed assembly 32 or central chamber 58. In the case of the carbon liquid feed 7 that is introduced using the two-fluid nozzle 78, the steam can be mixed with the carbon liquid feed 7 within the nozzle 78 itself prior to it being discharged as a spray. Steam can also be separately introduced into the feed assembly 32 through one of the annular flow passages, such as the downstream flow passage 48.

[0076] In an example of operation of the reactor system 10, a gaseous hydrocarbon feed, such as those discussed previously, is introduced from manifold 60 through an inlet into flow passage 46. A hydrogen-containing fuel gas is introduced from manifold 66 into flow passage 54. The hydrogen-containing fuel gas can be hydrogen gas (H2), methane (CH4), and / or CO / syngas or a combination of these. Here, the CH4 is used as fuel for combustion. In certain implementations where a combination of hydrogen gas and methane are used, the methane can be present in the fuel gas in an amount of from 20 mol%, 15 mol%, 10 mol%, 5 mol% or less. Greater amounts of methane can impact the desired selectivity. In other implementations, however, greater amounts of methane can be used, including 100% methane for the fuel gas. Natural gas can also be used as fuel gas.

[0077] The hydrogen-containing fuel gas can be a hydrogen-gas-rich stream composed primarily of hydrogen gas, which can be a recycled stream from downstream processing, or additional hydrogen gas. The hydrogen-gas-rich stream can contain other components such as methane, CO, steam, inert gases, and CO2. Other hydrocarbons can also be used as the fuel gas in certain implementations and applications. Additionally, small amounts of N2 can also be present. Sulfur can also be present in the fuel gas or other feed streams. If sulfur is present, additional separation upstream or downstream can be required. The reactor and process are sufficiently robust to accommodate the presence of sulfur, particularly since no catalyst is used. The ratio between the hydrocarbon feed (i.e., the total of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons) to hydrogen-containing fuel will typically range from 1 to 15, more particularly from 1 to 10, based on mass.

[0078] An oxidizer or oxygen-containing gas, which can be a concentrated or pure oxygen gas, such as from an air separation unit (not shown), is introduced as the oxidizer feed through manifold 64 through inlets into the flow passage 52. Having the oxygen-containing gas introduced through the downstream flow passage 52 spaces it further from liquid feed inlet 76 and any hydrocarbons gas introduced through flow passage 46 to eliminate or minimize any combustion of the introduced hydrocarbon reactant feeds. In certain applications, the mole ratio of H2 / O2 can range from 2 to 9, more particularly from 2 to 5, and still more particularly from 2 to 4. The oxygen feed can provide an oxygen equivalent-to-fuel mole ratio of from 0.2 to 1.0. An excess of hydrogen also helps to scavenge free radicals (e.g., O, OOH, OH) formed that would otherwise react with the hydrocarbon feeds. In some cases, a mole ratio of H2 / O2 can be less than 2 to compensate for other fuel gases or to have excess O2 in the mixing region to release heat to counter endothermic cracking reactions. In some cases, hydrogen is sub-stoichiometric (below 1) to allow for additional exothermic reactions in the mixing zone. The oxygen feed can provide an oxygen equivalent-to-fuel mole ratio of from 0.125 to 0.50. Furthermore, the ratio between the hydrocarbon feeds to hydrogen fuel will typically range from 1.0 to 15 based on mass depending on the hydrocarbon feed.

[0079] Steam or water can be introduced through manifold 62 and through inlets into the flow passage 48. Steam can be introduced upstream of the other feeds and can be used to cool the walls of the converging-diverging conduit 24 and reactor vessel 12. The introduced steam also reduces the reaction temperatures within the reactor system 10. Steam can also be premixed with the various feeds, such as with the liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon feeds, fuelgas, and / or oxygen-containing feed. Steam can be used in a mass ratio of steam-to-fuel from greater than 0 to 10.0, more particularly from 0 to 2.0, in certain applications.

[0080] In practice, all of the oxygen gas and at least a portion of the hydrogen-containing fuel gas are typically combusted to form heated combustion products that are almost entirely mixed with the other feeds prior to exiting the converging-diverging conduit 24 and entering the reaction chamber 16. With the high centrifugal force of the swirling gases, the denser gases (e.g., cracking feed) flow closer to the reactor wall, while the hotter combustion products tend to flow through the center of the reactor. The device geometry and the swirling gas-mixture from the central chamber 58 results in a back flow of the gas mixture within the reaction chamber 16. This mixture flows upstream and radially inward from the thin, outer annular mixed gas flow layers circulating within the reaction chamber 16. Internal cooling of the walls can occur due to the high swirling steam delivered through flow passage 48 in FIG.2. Additional cooling (if necessary) occurs by a water jacket located between walls 14 and 18 in FIG. 2.

[0081] The carbon liquid feed 7 introduced through the inlet 76 from nozzle 78 as a spray of droplets is immediately vaporized. The low liquid viscosity and small droplet size increase the speed with which the liquid feed is heated and vaporized. In various implementations, there is no need for preheating the carbon liquid feed 7 prior to its introduction into the reactor system 10. In certain instances, the carbon liquid feed 7 can be preheated. This can be to reduce the viscosity to the viscosity range, previously discussed, to facilitate optimal droplet formation. Typical temperatures for the preheated liquid can range from 25 °C to 400 °C.

[0082] Based upon the type of hydrocarbon feeds, the operational conditions of the reactor vessel 12 can vary. The gas residence time within the reactor system 10 can range from 50 milliseconds or less, more particularly from 20 milliseconds or less. In particular implementations, the residence time can range from 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 millisecond or less, with 10 microseconds being the approximate lowest residence time. The pressure at the reactor outlet can vary. A suitable pressure at the reactor outlet can range from 0 kPa (g) to 10,000 kPa (g), more particularly from 0 kPa (g) to 1,000 kPa (g).

[0083] Reaction temperatures can range from 800 °C to 2500 °C where the lowest temperatures are found at the reactor exit when all the endothermic reactions are completed, and the highest temperatures are encountered in the combustion regions of the reactor (flame). The reaction temperature within the reactor and recirculation zone can range from900 °C to 1300 °C. In particular implementations, the temperature within the reactor and recirculation zone can range from 1000 °C to 1300 °C, more particularly from 1200 °C to 1250 °C. In some implementations, the reactor temperature is higher than what is achieved in conventional cracking reactors, such as tube furnace reactors, which typically operate at 800 °C to 900 °C. As discussed earlier, this is due to the temperature limitations of the metallic materials used for such conventional reactors. In the ANJEVOC reactor, the swirling gas mixture keeps the walls of the reactor cooler than in such conventional cracking reactors. The use of such higher temperatures also allows a shorter residence or shorter contact times, resulting in better selectivity and conversion without formation of unwanted products.Operating temperatures for the reactor can be selected to avoid excess production of such unwanted compounds, such as CO and CO2, or optimize the olefin-to-acetylene ratio, as acetylene is typically not desired.

[0084] The flow of gases into the central chamber 58 through the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 is tailored so that the axial velocity (i.e., along the same direction as the central axis 28) is zero or nearly zero. The inlets (not shown) and / or the orientation of the guide vanes 68, 70, 72, 74 can be set for each flow passage 46, 48, 52, 54 so that a selected azimuthal-to-radial velocity ratio for each of the feed streams that flow through the flow passages 46, 48, 52, 54 is achieved, wherein the azimuthal and radial directions are defined in a cross-section perpendicular to the central axis 28 of the reactor system 10. In particular, for each inlet, the radial direction is along a line that extends from the inlet to central axis 28. The azimuthal direction is perpendicular to both this radial direction and the axial direction (i.e., the direction of central axis 28). Returning to the azimuthal-to-radial velocity ratio, in particular implementations, it can range from greater than 0 to 30 or more, more particularly from > 0, 1, or 2 to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, or 30. In some applications the azimuthal-to-radial velocity ratio can range from > 0 to 5, more particularly from 2 to 4. The particular azimuthal-to-radial velocity ratio can vary depending upon the particular reactor configuration and composition of the various streams, however. This is more intimately related to the mixing times and reaction times depending on the flow rates, composition of the fuel and feedstocks used for cracking.

[0085] Converted hydrocarbon products produced in the reactor are removed from the reactor vessel 12 through outlet 20. The converted hydrocarbon products can be quenched within a quench zone of the reactor vessel 12 or they can be quenched exterior to the reactor vessel 12 in a quenching unit, such as a water-droplet-spray quench vessel, or other suitablegas quench device. The quenched products can be further processed and recycled, as discussed later on.

[0086] In a variation of the reactor described, additional hydrocarbon feed gas can be introduced as a secondary feed stream at an intermediate position along the length of reactor vessel 12, such as at inlet 82 (FIG. 2). One or more such inlets 82 can be provided at various locations and in the reactor vessel 12, which can be circumferentially and longitudinally spaced apart. The inlets 82 can be oriented or configured so that gases are introduced at an angle, as well, to facilitate swirling fluid flow, similar to that delivered from the inlets of the feed assembly 32. Feed assemblies provided on the reactor vessel 12 similar to the feed assembly 32 can be used for the introduction of such cracking feed gas so that the cracking feed is introduced as a swirling fluid flow.

[0087] In some implementations, a plurality of reactor inlet assemblies and corresponding feed assemblies can be provided in a single reactor while maintaining the high performance.

[0088] FIG. 5 is an example process flow diagram of the solid waste conversion process in accordance with an implementation. The process 500 starts with step 502 of dissolving a solid containing an organic material in a solvent to form a carbon liquid feed, followed by step 504 of introducing the carbon liquid feed into a liquid inlet of a feed assembly of a reactor system. In step 506, the carbon liquid feed and an oxidant gas feed are mixed in the feed assembly. In step 508, in the feed assembly, at least a portion of the carbon liquid feed is combusted to produce an at least partially combusted gas mixture and heat. In step 510, the carbon liquid feed and the at least partially combusted gas mixture is introduced to a reactor vessel in fluid connection with the feed assembly, and in step 512, in the reactor vessel, using the heat, the organic material is converted in the carbon liquid feed into a high value chemical.

[0089] FIG. 6 is another example process flow diagram of the solid waste conversion process in accordance with an implementation using a nozzle for spraying the liquid feed. The process 600 starts with step 602 of mixing an organic material in a solvent to form a carbon liquid feed, where at least a portion of the organic material is dissolved in the solvent, followed by step 604 of introducing the carbon liquid feed to a feed assembly through a nozzle as a spray containing the organic material. The feed assembly includes a constriction and a circumferential wall that surrounds a central axis of the feed assembly, where portions of the circumferential wall smoothly taper in width to form the constriction. In step 606, in the feed assembly, the spray is mixed with an at least partially combusted gas mixture having a swirling fluid flow pattern around a central axis of the feed assembly and flowingdownward in the feed assembly. In step 608, the spray mixed with the at least partially combusted gas mixture is introduced to a reactor vessel in fluid connection with the feed assembly, followed by step 610 of converting the organic material in the reactor vessel into a high value chemical.

[0090] The following examples serve to further illustrate various implementations and applications. In the Examples below, different experimental runs were made in an ANJEVOC reactor system 10 as described herein using various carbon liquid feeds containing a plastic waste.Implementations

[0091] An implementation described herein provides a method of producing hydrocarbons from an organic material. The method includes: dissolving a solid including an organic material in a solvent to form a carbon liquid feed; introducing the carbon liquid feed into a liquid inlet of a feed assembly of a reactor system; mixing the carbon liquid feed and an oxidant gas feed in the feed assembly; combusting, in the feed assembly, at least a portion of the carbon liquid feed to produce an at least partially combusted gas mixture and heat; introducing the carbon liquid feed and the at least partially combusted gas mixture to a reactor vessel in fluid connection with the feed assembly; and in the reactor vessel, converting, using the heat, the organic material in the carbon liquid feed into a high value chemical.

[0092] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the feed assembly includes a constriction and a circumferential wall that surrounds a central axis of the feed assembly, and portions of the circumferential wall smoothly taper in width to form the constriction.

[0093] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes introducing a fuel gas feed into a first gas inlet upstream of the constriction and in a flow direction that is non-parallel to the central axis; introducing the oxidant gas feed into a second gas inlet upstream of the constriction and in a flow direction that is non-parallel to the central axis; and combusting, in the feed assembly, at least a portion of the fuel gas to generate additional heat that is used in the conversion of the organic material.

[0094] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, mixing the fuel gas feed and the oxidant gas feed in the feed assembly forms a swirling gas mixture swirling around the central axis.

[0095] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the fuel gas includes hydrocarbon or natural gas.

[0096] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the carbon liquid feed is introduced into the liquid inlet of the feed assembly in a flow direction that is nonperpendicular to the central axis.

[0097] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes shredding the solid prior to dissolving in the solvent.

[0098] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes, prior to introducing the carbon liquid feed into the liquid inlet of the feed assembly, filtering the carbon liquid feed to remove remaining solid particulates from the carbon liquid feed.

[0099] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes: recovering a product stream including the solvent and the unsaturated hydrocarbon from the reactor vessel; extracting the solvent from the product stream to form a recovered solvent; and reusing the recovered solvent to prepare the carbon liquid feed.

[0100] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes: introducing a hydrocarbon gas feed into the feed assembly in a flow direction that is nonparallel to the central axis; mixing, in the feed assembly, the hydrocarbon gas feed with the at least partially combusted gas mixture; introducing the hydrocarbon gas feed mixed with the at least partially combusted gas mixture to the reactor vessel; and in the reactor vessel, converting, using the heat, the hydrocarbon gas feed into another high value chemical.

[0101] In an aspect, the hydrocarbon gas feed includes naphtha.

[0102] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the organic material includes a plastic waste, a biological waste, or a polymer having an average molecular weight of at least 10,000.

[0103] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the carbon liquid feed is introduced into the feed assembly as a spray.

[0104] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the feed assembly further includes a two-fluid nozzle, and the method further includes forming the spray by passing the carbon liquid feed through the two-fluid nozzle as a first fluid and passing a second fluid through the two-fluid nozzle.

[0105] In an aspect, the spray includes a Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) of droplets from 1 μm to 250 μm.

[0106] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the carbon liquid feed has a dynamic viscosity from 0.1 cP to 1000 cP when the carbon liquid feed is introduced into the feed assembly.

[0107] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the solvent includes an aromatic compound.

[0108] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the high value chemical includes an unsaturated hydrocarbon.

[0109] An implementation described herein provides a method of producing a hydrocarbon from an organic material. The method includes: mixing an organic material in a solvent to form a carbon liquid feed, at least a portion of the organic material being dissolved in the solvent; introducing the carbon liquid feed to a feed assembly through a nozzle as a spray including the organic material, where the feed assembly includes a constriction and a circumferential wall that surrounds a central axis of the feed assembly, and portions of the circumferential wall smoothly taper in width to form the constriction; in the feed assembly, mixing the spray with an at least partially combusted gas mixture having a swirling fluid flow pattern around a central axis of the feed assembly and flowing downward in the feed assembly; introducing the spray mixed with the at least partially combusted gas mixture into a reactor vessel in fluid connection with the feed assembly; and in the reactor vessel, converting the organic material into a high value chemical.

[0110] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes combusting at least a portion of the carbon liquid feed and heat, wherein the heat is used in the conversion of the organic material.

[0111] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes generating the at least partially combusted gas mixture by: introducing a fuel gas feed into a first gas inlet upstream of the constriction and in a flow direction that is non-parallel to the central axis; introducing an oxidant gas feed into a second gas inlet upstream of the constriction and in a flow direction that is non-parallel to the central axis; mixing the fuel gas feed and the oxidant gas feed in the feed assembly; and combusting, in the feed assembly, at least a portion of the fuel gas feed to produce the at least partially combusted gas mixture and another heat, wherein the another heat is used in the conversion of the organic material.

[0112] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the method further includes maintaining a temperature of the reactor vessel from 800 °C to 1200 °C during the conversion of the organic material.

[0113] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, a residence time of the carbon liquid feed in the reactor vessel is from 5 ms to 100 ms.

[0114] An implementation described herein provides a system that includes: a reactor vessel that defines a reaction chamber; a smoothly-curved converging-diverging conduit having a central axis at an inlet of the reaction chamber; a feed assembly having a central chamber through which the central axis passes that is in fluid communication with the converging-diverging conduit; flow passages couplable and configured to introduce a fuel gas feed and an oxidizer gas feed into the central chamber of the feed assembly to produce a swirling fluid flow pattern around the central axis; a liquid feed inlet couplable and configured to introduce, into the central chamber of the feed assembly, a filtered carbon liquid feed including an organic material to be converted; a mixer couplable and configured to mix a solid including the organic material with a solvent to form the carbon liquid feed; and a filter in fluid connection with the mixer and the liquid feed inlet, the filter couplable and configured to remove remaining solid particulates from the carbon liquid feed to form the filtered carbon liquid feed.

[0115] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the system further includes a shredder couplable and configured to shred the solid and provide the shredded solid to the mixer.

[0116] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the system further includes a solvent separator downstream of the reactor vessel, couplable and configured to isolate the solvent from a product stream from the reactor vessel; and a recycle line in fluid connection with the mixer and the solvent separator, couplable and configured to transfer the recovered solvent from the solvent separator to the mixer.

[0117] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the system further includes a flow passage couplable and configured to introduce, into the central chamber of the feed assembly, a hydrocarbon reactant feed to be converted.

[0118] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the system further includes a two-fluid nozzle couplable and configured to introduce, into the central chamber of the feed assembly, a liquid spray as a two-fluid spray so that the filtered carbon liquid feed is introduced through the two-fluid nozzle with a second fluid.

[0119] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the flow passages are couplable and configured to introduce the fuel gas feed, the oxidizer gas feed and the first hydrocarbon reactant feed are configured such that the fuel gas feed, the oxidizer gas feed and the first hydrocarbon reactant feed pass through flow spaces perpendicularly or substantiallyperpendicularly to the central axis in an inwardly swirling fluid flow pattern within said flow spaces so that the feeds flow around the central axis within the central chamber.

[0120] In an aspect, combinable with any other aspect, the system is an annular jet vortex reactor chamber (ANJEVOC) reactor system.

[0121] While the disclosure has been shown in some of its forms, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the scope of the disclosure based on experimental data or other optimizations considering the overall economics of the process. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method of producing hydrocarbons from an organic material, the method comprising:dissolving a solid comprising an organic material in a solvent to form a carbon liquid feed;introducing the carbon liquid feed into a liquid inlet of a feed assembly of a reactor system;mixing the carbon liquid feed and an oxidant gas feed in the feed assembly; combusting, in the feed assembly, at least a portion of the carbon liquid feed to produce an at least partially combusted gas mixture and heat; introducing the carbon liquid feed and the at least partially combusted gas mixture to a reactor vessel in fluid connection with the feed assembly; and in the reactor vessel, converting, using the heat, the organic material in the carbon liquid feed into a high value chemical.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the feed assembly comprises a constriction and a circumferential wall that surrounds a central axis of the feed assembly, portions of the circumferential wall smoothly tapering in width to form the constriction.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:introducing a fuel gas feed into a first gas inlet upstream of the constriction and in a flow direction that is non-parallel to the central axis;introducing the oxidant gas feed into a second gas inlet upstream of the constriction and in a flow direction that is non-parallel to the central axis; and combusting, in the feed assembly, at least a portion of the fuel gas to generate additional heat that is used in the conversion of the organic material.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein mixing the fuel gas feed and the oxidant gas feed in the feed assembly forms a swirling gas mixture swirling around the central axis.

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the fuel gas comprises hydrocarbon or natural gas.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the carbon liquid feed is introduced into the liquid inlet of the feed assembly in a flow direction that is non-perpendicular to the central axis.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, further comprising shredding the solid prior to dissolving in the solvent.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, further comprising, prior to introducing the carbon liquid feed into the liquid inlet of the feed assembly, filtering the carbon liquid feed to remove remaining solid particulates from the carbon liquid feed.

9. The method of any of claims 1-8, further comprising:recovering a product stream comprising the solvent and the unsaturated hydrocarbon from the reactor vessel;extracting the solvent from the product stream to form a recovered solvent; and reusing the recovered solvent to prepare the carbon liquid feed.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9, further comprising:introducing a hydrocarbon gas feed into the feed assembly in a flow direction that is non-parallel to the central axis;mixing, in the feed assembly, the hydrocarbon gas feed with the at least partially combusted gas mixture;introducing the hydrocarbon gas feed mixed with the at least partially combusted gas mixture to the reactor vessel; andin the reactor vessel, converting, using the heat, the hydrocarbon gas feed into another high value chemical.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the hydrocarbon gas feed comprises naphtha.

12. The method of any of claims 1-11, wherein the organic material comprises a plastic waste, a biological waste, or a polymer having an average molecular weight of at least 10,000.

13. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein the carbon liquid feed is introduced into the feed assembly as a spray.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the feed assembly further comprises a two-fluid nozzle, the method further comprising forming the spray by passing the carbon liquid feed through the two-fluid nozzle as a first fluid and passing a second fluid through the two-fluid nozzle.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the spray comprises a Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) of droplets from 1 μm to 250 μm.

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