Recycle Content Olefin Production via Integrated Pyrolysis and Cracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current recycling processes for waste materials are economically challenging and require expensive sorting, limiting the ability of large-scale production facilities to efficiently process diverse waste materials into recycle content feedstocks for producing non-biodegradable products.
Innovation Solution
A process involving the pyrolysis of recycled waste to produce recycle content pyrolysis oil (r-pyoil), which is then cracked in a furnace to form olefin-containing effluents, utilizing a cracking furnace with specific coil configurations and temperature conditions to enhance recycling efficiency and product yield.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If expensive physical sorting of waste materials is performed to achieve pure single-composition waste volumes, then manufacturing precision of recycle content products is improved, but device complexity and processing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates problematic components (heterogeneous materials, contaminants) from the waste stream through pyrolysis processing, allowing the remaining material to be processed as a unified feedstock. This eliminates the need for complex physical sorting infrastructure while achieving consistent product quality through chemical processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical/physical sorting systems with thermal chemical processing. Instead of using mechanical separators, conveyor systems, and manual sorting, the invention uses pyrolysis reactors and cracking furnaces to chemically process mixed waste materials into uniform recycle content products, thereby eliminating complex mechanical sorting infrastructure.
2Productivity
If diverse waste materials are processed together to maximize recycling efficiency, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision of products decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent controls product composition consistency by precisely managing pyrolysis and cracking process parameters (temperature profiles, residence time, oxygen concentration, catalyst conditions). By optimizing these parameters, the system can process diverse waste materials together while maintaining consistent product quality through chemical control rather than physical homogeneity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent treats diverse waste materials as a composite feedstock that is uniformly processed through pyrolysis to create a standardized recycle content oil, which is then cracked to produce consistent olefin products. This approach accepts material diversity in the input while achieving compositional consistency through chemical transformation.
3Productivity
If pyrolysis and cracking processes are integrated within production facilities, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pyrolysis unit and cracking furnace into an integrated production system where the output of one process feeds directly into the next. This combination eliminates transport steps, intermediate storage, and coordination delays, thereby improving productivity despite the increased complexity of integrating multiple processing units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the integrated facility to handle multiple waste material types through a single pyrolysis-cracking system, making the facility universally applicable to diverse feedstocks. This multi-functionality improves productivity by consolidating what would otherwise require separate dedicated facilities for different waste streams.
4Productivity
If large-scale production facilities process recycle content feedstocks, then productivity is improved, but ease of manufacture decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary pyrolysis processing to convert diverse waste materials into a standardized recycle content oil feedstock before the cracking process. This preliminary action simplifies the subsequent cracking operation by providing a consistent feedstock, thereby making large-scale production more manageable and less difficult despite the increased production volume.
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 large-scale production of recycle content olefins from diverse waste materials, improving recycling efficiency and environmental impact by integrating pyrolysis and cracking processes within production facilities, thereby reducing the economic and environmental burdens of processing non-biodegradable products.
Implementation Method 1
a pyrolysis unit producing recycle content pyrolysis oil (r-pyoil) and/or recycle content pyrolysis gas (r-pygas)
Implementation Method 2
cracking a cracker feedstock comprising a recycle content pyrolysis oil composition (r-pyoil) in at least one furnace coil of a cracker furnace
Data Source
AI summary
Processes and systems for making recycle content hydrocarbons, including olefins, from recycled waste material. Recycle waste material may be pyrolyzed to form recycle content pyrolysis oil composition (r-pyoil), at least a portion of which may then be cracked to form a recycle content olefin composition (r-olefin). In some cases, the pyrolysis and cracking may be carried out in different sections of the same furnace, or in different furnaces in the same cracker facility. Pyrolysis conducted in a furnace may or may not require retrofitting a furnace previously used to crack alkanes to form olefins.