Steam Cracking Furnace Plastic Co-Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current advanced recycling processes for plastic materials require high energy usage and produce relatively low yields of useful chemicals, such as light olefin monomers, making them inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
A process involving steam cracking a mixture of hydrocarbons and a heavy feed containing plastic materials, where the plastic is cracked under pyrolysis conditions to produce a vapor phase effluent that is then combined with a hydrocarbon feed and steam, and heated within a steam cracking furnace to produce olefins, optimizing energy use and yield.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If current advanced recycling processes are used to break down plastic materials, then plastic materials can be recycled to reduce landfill and environmental burden, but high energy usage and low yield of useful chemicals occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines plastic material recycling with hydrocarbon processing by introducing plastic material into a steam cracking furnace that processes hydrocarbon feeds. This merging allows the plastic material to be cracked alongside hydrocarbons, utilizing the existing thermal processing infrastructure to produce chemicals from both feedstocks simultaneously, thereby improving yield without proportionally increasing energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the processing parameters by controlling the residence time of plastic material in the steam cracking furnace at specific ranges (e.g., 0.1 to 5 seconds) and maintaining temperature ranges (e.g., 700 to 900°C) that optimize the cracking of plastic material into useful chemicals. These parameter changes enable efficient conversion while managing energy consumption
2Productivity
If plastic materials are cracked under pyrolysis conditions to produce vapor phase effluent, then useful chemicals can be produced, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The steam cracking furnace is designed to handle multiple feedstocks including hydrocarbon feeds and plastic material simultaneously. This multi-functionality allows the single unit to perform both hydrocarbon cracking and plastic material pyrolysis, producing a combined effluent stream that can be processed into various chemicals, thereby reducing overall process complexity despite the advanced chemistry involved
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a vapor phase effluent stream as an intermediary carrier that transports chemicals from the cracking zone to subsequent processing sections. This intermediary approach simplifies the overall process architecture by allowing continuous flow through the system rather than requiring separate handling and processing of different streams
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 process enhances the efficiency of recycling plastic materials by reducing energy consumption and increasing the yield of valuable chemicals like olefins, addressing the inefficiencies of existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
The heated combined mixture can be steam cracked within a radiant section of the steam cracking furnace to produce a steam cracker effluent that can include olefins
Implementation Method 2
heating a hydrocarbon feed within a convection section of a steam cracking furnace and combining the hydrocarbon feed with an aqueous fluid to produce a heated mixture
Data Source
AI summary
Processes and systems for hydrocarbon pyrolysis. In some embodiments, a hydrocarbon can be heated within a convection section of a steam cracking furnace and combined with an aqueous fluid to produce a heated mixture. A heavy feed that includes a plastic material can be introduced into a vessel and a portion of the plastic material can be cracked therein. Liquid and vapor effluents exiting the vessel can be obtained. At least a portion of the liquid effluent can be heated to produce a heated fluid stream that can be recycled to the vessel. The vapor effluent can be combined with the heated mixture to produce a combined mixture that can be heated within the convection section to produce a heated combined mixture. At least a portion of the heated combined mixture can be cracked within a radiant section of the steam cracking furnace to produce a steam cracker effluent.