Refrigeration system for the production and recovery of olefins

Abstract

An autothermal cracking process for production and recovery of olefins. The process comprises feeding a substantially hydrocarbon feedstock and an oxygen-containing gas to an autothermal cracker to provide a hydrocarbon product stream comprising olefins. A waste enthalpy source generated by said autothermal cracking process is used to at least partially drive an ammonia absorption refrigeration system to provide chilling for at least one process stream in the separation and/or purification of olefins from the hydrocarbon product stream. In addition, an ammonia absorption refrigeration process comprising at least one enthalpy source selected from the group consisting of: quench water generated through the cooling of cracked gases from an autothermal cracking reactor; steam generated through the cooling of cracked gases from an autothermal cracking reactor; sufficiently warm streams derived from processes which utilize the ethylene produced from the autothermal cracking process; and sufficiently warm streams from other chemical or refinery process units located near an autothermal cracking reactor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.