# US 2012/0074039 A1 · Upgrading light naphtas for increased olefins production > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2012/0074039 A1 - Document ID: US20120074039A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/262,925 - Filed: 2010-04-22 - Published: 2012-03-29 - Earliest claimed: 2009-04-23 - Assignees: Total Petrochemicals Research Feluy - Inventors: José Castor Gonzalez; Jean Mazurelle; Walter Vermeiren - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20120074039A1 ## CPC - C10G 9/00: Thermal non-catalytic cracking, in the absence of hydrogen, of hydrocarbon oils - C10G 45/58: to change the structural skeleton of some of the hydrocarbon content without cracking the other hydrocarbons present, e.g. lowering pour point; Selective hydrocracking of normal paraffins (C10G32/00 takes precedence; improving or increasing the octane number or aromatic content of naphtha C10G35/00) - C10G 45/62: containing platinum group metals or compounds thereof - C10G 45/64: containing crystalline alumino-silicates, e.g. molecular sieves - C10G 69/06: including at least one step of thermal cracking in the absence of hydrogen - C10G 69/14: plural parallel stages only - C10G 2300/1044: Heavy gasoline or naphtha having a boiling range of about 100 - 180 °C - C10G 2300/4081: Recycling aspects - C10G 2300/807: Steam - C10G 2400/20: C2-C4 olefins - C10G: CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION (cracking to hydrogen or synthesis gas C01B; cracking or pyrolysis of hydrocarbon gases to individual hydrocarbons or mixtures thereof of definite or specified constitution C07C; cracking to cokes C10B); RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES ## Abstract The present invention is a process to upgrade light naphthas comprising branched paraffins and their use as a feedstock in a steam cracking unit, said light naphthas consisting essentially of 90 to 100% by weight of hydrocarbons having at least 5 and up to 8 carbon atoms, said process comprising, a) optionally providing an isomerization zone recovered from the gasoline unit of an oil refinery, b) optionally providing a separation zone capable to treat an hydrocarbon stream comprising branched paraffins and normal paraffins to produce a first hydrocarbon stream having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content and a second hydrocarbon stream having an enhanced branched paraffins content and a reduced normal paraffins content, c) optionally providing a depentanizer, such that at least two of a), b) and c) are present, wherein, the light naphtha is sent to one of a), b) and c), streams are circulating between the various zones a), b) or c), a stream rich in normal paraffins is sent to the steam cracking unit. ## Claims ### Claim 1 Process to upgrade light naphthas comprising branched paraffins and their use as a feedstock in a steam cracking unit, said light naphthas consisting essentially of 90 to 100% by weight of hydrocarbons having at least 5 and up to 8 carbon atoms, said process comprising, a) providing an isomerization zone recovered from the gasoline unit of an oil refinery, b) providing a separation zone capable to treat an hydrocarbon stream comprising branched paraffins and normal paraffins to produce a first hydrocarbon stream having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content and a second hydrocarbon stream having an enhanced branched paraffins content and a reduced normal paraffins content, e) optionally providing a depentanizer, d) sending the light naphtha to the isomerization zone and operating said zone at conditions effective to produce a light naphtha having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content, e) sending the withdrawn light naphtha from step d) to the separation zone to recover a first and a second hydrocarbon streams, f) sending the first hydrocarbon stream recovered from step e) to the steam cracking unit, g) recycling at least a part of the second hydrocarbon stream recovered from step e) at the inlet of the isomerization zone, h) optionally, before the recycling of step g), sending the second hydrocarbon stream recovered at step e) to a depentanizer to recover a stream comprising essentially pentane and a stream having a reduced pentane content and sending at least a part of said stream comprising essentially pentane at the inlet of the isomerization zone. ### Claim 2 Process to upgrade light naphthas comprising branched paraffins and their use as a feedstock in a steam cracking unit, said light naphthas consisting essentially of 90 to 100% by weight of hydrocarbons having at least 5 and up to 8 carbon atoms, said process comprising, a) providing an isomerization zone recovered from the gasoline unit of an oil refinery, b) providing a separation zone capable to treat an hydrocarbon stream comprising branched paraffins and normal paraffins to produce a first hydrocarbon stream having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content and a second hydrocarbon stream having an enhanced branched paraffins content and a reduced normal paraffins content, c) sending the light naphtha to the separation zone to recover a first and a second hydrocarbon streams, d) sending the second hydrocarbon stream recovered from step c) to the isomerization zone and operating said zone at conditions effective to produce a light naphtha having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content, e) mixing the outlet stream of step d) with the first hydrocarbon stream recovered from step c) and sending said mixed stream to the steam cracking unit. ### Claim 3 Process to upgrade light naphthas comprising branched paraffins and their use as a feedstock in a steam cracking unit, said light naphthas consisting essentially of 90 to 100% by weight of hydrocarbons having at least 5 and up to 8 carbon atoms, said process comprising, a) providing an isomerization zone recovered from the gasoline unit of an oil refinery, b) providing a separation zone capable to treat an hydrocarbon stream comprising branched paraffins and normal paraffins to produce a first hydrocarbon stream having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content and a second hydrocarbon stream having an enhanced branched paraffins content and a reduced normal paraffins content, c) optionally providing a depentanizer, d) sending the light naphtha to the separation zone to recover a first and a second hydrocarbon streams, e) sending the first hydrocarbon stream recovered from step d) to the steam cracking unit, f) sending at least a part of the second hydrocarbon stream recovered from step d) to the isomerization zone and operating said zone at conditions effective to produce a light naphtha having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content, g) optionally, before sending the second hydrocarbon recovered from step h) to the isomerization zone, sending said hydrocarbon stream to a depentanizer to recover a stream comprising essentially pentane and a stream having a reduced pentane content and sending said stream comprising essentially isopentane to the isomerization zone, i) recycling the outlet stream from step f) to the inlet of the separation zone. ### Claim 4 Process to upgrade light naphthas comprising branched paraffins and their use as a feedstock in a steam cracking unit, said light naphthas consisting essentially of 90 to 100% by weight of hydrocarbons having at least 5 and up to 8 carbon atoms, said process comprising, a) providing an isomerization zone recovered from the gasoline unit of an oil refinery, b) providing a deisopentanizer, c) sending the light naphtha to a deisopentanizer to recover a stream comprising essentially isopentane and a stream having a reduced isopentane content, d) sending the stream having a reduced isopentane content recovered from step c) to the steam cracking unit, e) sending the stream comprising essentially isopentane recovered from step c) to the isomerization zone and operating said zone at conditions effective to produce a light naphtha having a reduced branched paraffins content and an enhanced normal paraffins content, f) recycling the outlet of step e) to the inlet of the deisopentanizer. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) Process according to claim 1 wherein the isomerization zone operates under the presence of hydrogen. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) Process according to claim 1 wherein the light naphtha to be upgraded is a C5 cut comprising, the total being 100 w %, 100 to 95% of a mixture of pentane and isopentane and 0 to 5% of cyclopentane. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) Process according to claim 1 wherein the light naphtha to be upgraded is a C5/C6 cut comprising, the total being 100 w %, 0 to 10% of C7+, 0 to 10% of C4, 80 to 100% of a mixture of normal and branched C5 and C6. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) Process according to claim 7 wherein the light naphtha to be upgraded is a C5/C6 cut comprising, the total being 100 w %, 0 to 5% of C7+, 0 to 5% of C4, 90 to 100% of a mixture of normal and branched C5 and C6. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) Process according to claim 8 wherein the light naphtha to be upgraded is a C5/C6 cut comprising, the total being 100 w %, 0 to 2% of C7+, 0 to 5% of C4, 93 to 100% of a mixture of normal and branched C5 and C6. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) Process according to claim 7 wherein in the light naphtha to be upgraded the C7+ is a C7. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) Process according to claim 7 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the proportion of NaftC5+NaftC6 is less than 7 w %, preferably less than 5%. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) Process according to claim 7 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the proportion of Aromatics C6 is less than 5 w %. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) Process according to claim 12 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the proportion of Aromatics C6 is less than 2 w %. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) Process according to claim 13 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the proportion of Aromatics C6 is less than 1.5 w %. ### Claim 15 (depends on 4) Process according to claim 4 wherein the light naphtha to be upgraded is a C5 cut comprising, the total being 100 w %, 0 to 10 % of C7+, 0 to 10% of C4, 80 to 100% of C5, said C5 is essentially a mixture of iC5 and nC5. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) Process according to claim 15 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the C7+ is a C6+. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) Process according to claim 15 wherein the light naphtha to be upgraded is a C5 cut comprising, the total being 100 w %, 0 to 5% of C6+, 0 to 5% of C4, 90 to 100% of C5, said C5 is essentially a mixture of iC5 and nC5. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) Process according to claim 17 wherein the light naphtha to be upgraded is a C5 cut comprising, the total being 100 w %, 0 to 3% of C6+, 0 to 3% of C4, 94 to 100% of C5, said C5 is essentially a mixture of iC5 and nC5. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) Process according to claim 16 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the C6+ is a C6. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) Process according to claim 15 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the C5 mixture comprises less than 5 w % of NaftC5 (C5 napthenics). ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) Process according to claim 20 wherein in the light naphta to be upgraded the C5 mixture comprises less than 3 w % of NaftC5 (C5 napthenics)