(61e) Thermal Crude to Chemicals

Steam crackers traditionally use ethane, LPG and naphtha as feedstock. Occasionally, heavier hydrocarbons such as gas oils and hydrowax have been utilized. There is one complex that processes very light crude and condensate directly in a steam cracker. Lummus, CLG and Aramco have conducted intense joint research over the last several years to understand the implications of steam cracking crudes heavier than very light crudes and condensates with the bulk of the experiments conducted on Arab Light. The research involved understanding of the distribution of molecular species within the whole crude including the very complex structures in asphaltenes. Novel techniques of separation avoiding conventional crude and vacuum distillation, appropriate catalyst and reactor platforms and smart heat integration permitted the consistent yield of chemicals to increase from 50 to 60% to between 70 and 80% and sometimes higher. Hydrogen was added selectively to produce the right feed species for the cracker and to maximize heater run lengths. One important objective of the research that led to successful commercialization in 2020, was the avoidance of producing any low-value streams such as pyrolysis gas oils even while processing heavier hydrocarbon feeds. Heat integration, operability and reliability were key parameters in the development as was the very significant reduction of overall CAPEX, OPEX, plot space and CO2 footprint. Some of the salient features of this technology will be discussed in this paper.