Feed Temperature Control Before Quench Column
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing olefins from fossil materials and recycling waste plastic are inefficient, with waste plastic being difficult to recycle and utilize, and existing cracking processes struggling to integrate gasification units without disrupting operations.
Innovation Solution
An integrated process that treats a feed before a quench column by combining gasifier and cracker flows, controlling temperature, and using cooling systems to kill chemical reactions, allowing for the efficient production of olefins from polyolefins and recycling of plastics without requiring additional quenching equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If waste plastic is mechanically recycled, then recycling cost is reduced, but the plastic can only be used in lower level applications and recycling efficiency is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of waste plastic through gasification and cracking processes, transforming it from a mechanical recycling approach to a chemical recycling approach. This enables the production of olefins and other valuable chemicals from waste plastic, significantly improving recycling efficiency and enabling higher value applications while maintaining cost-effectiveness through integrated process design
2Adaptability or versatility
If a gasifier unit is integrated into an existing cracker unit, then process versatility is improved, but the integration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the gasifier unit with the existing cracker unit by combining their flows and integrating their operations. The gasifier flow is combined with the cracker flow, and the integrated system shares common equipment such as the quench column, allowing waste plastic and fossil feedstocks to be processed together in a unified system, thereby improving versatility while managing integration complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated process design enables the cracker unit to handle multiple feedstocks (both fossil-based and waste plastic) through a universal processing system. The gasifier and cracker are designed to work together in a multi-functional configuration that can process different materials through the same downstream equipment, achieving versatility without proportionally increasing complexity
3Stability of the object's composition
If temperature of the feed is controlled before the quench column, then process stability is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated gasifier-cracker system utilizes the heat generated from the gasification and cracking processes themselves to maintain the required temperatures. The exothermic nature of these reactions provides the thermal energy needed for temperature control, reducing the need for external energy input while maintaining process stability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the easy integration of a gasifier unit into an existing cracker unit without shutting down the process, allows for the production of olefins and polyolefins in an energy- and cost-effective manner, and improves plastic recycling by upgrading waste materials.
Implementation Method 1
at least one gasifier for forming a gasifier flow by a gasification
Implementation Method 2
at least one cracking furnace for forming a cracker flow
Implementation Method 3
cooling at least partly the gasifier flow for killing chemical reactions after the gasification
Data Source
AI summary
A method and a process arrangement for treating a feed before a quench column in an integrated process, in which the integrated process comprises at least one gasifier for forming a gasifier flow, at least one cracking furnace for forming a cracker flow, at least one quench column for treating the feed comprising the gasifier flow and cracker flow and at least one transfer line to supply the feed to the quench column. The gasifier flow is cooled at least partly for killing chemical reactions after a gasification, the cracker flow is cooled at least partly after the cracking furnace, the gasifier flow is combined to the cracker flow before a transfer line valve of the transfer line to form the feed to the quench column, and temperature of the feed is controlled to a predetermined temperature of the transfer line before the quench column.