US 5,670,703 AGranted

Process and installation for producing liquid fuels and raw chemicals

AssigneeMannesmann Aktiengesellschaft

InventorsSimon Barendregt, Jean Lucien Monfils

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Abstract

The invention is directed to a process and an installation for the production of liquid fuels and raw chemicals from crude petroleum within the framework of a refinery process with process steps for distillation, thermal and/or catalytic cracking, and possibly reformation. The refinery process is directly supplemented by various process steps, i.e. a partial flow of the C.sub.4 components together with a flow of methanol or ethanol is subjected to a catalytic reaction, the unconverted n-butane-containing portion of the components is subjected to isomerization, a part of the isobutane is subjected to a thermal cracking process, and finally the product flow emerging therefrom is guided back, in its entirety or in part, into the fractionation stage for splitting.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A process for refining crude petroleum, comprising the steps of:

(a) generating refinery gas and liquid gas (LPG) and gasolines (C.sub.5.sup.+) by distilling the crude petroleum;
(b) splitting the refinery gas, the liquid gas (LPG) and gasolines by fractionation into a gas flow and flows of higher hydrocarbons (C.sub.3, C.sub.4, C.sub.5.sup.+), the higher hydrocarbon flow containing C.sub.4 components comprising n-butane, isobutane and isobutylene;
(c) subjecting at least a portion of the higher hydrocarbon flow containing C.sub.4 components together with a flow of one of methanol and ethanol to a catalytic reaction for producing one of tert-butyl methyl ether (MTBE) and tert-butyl ethyl ether (ETBE);
(d) separating an unconverted portion of the n-butane containing C.sub.4 components from the catalytic reaction;
(e) subjecting said unconverted portion to isomerization for converting a part of the n-butane into isobutane;
(f) subjecting at least a part of the isobutane to thermal cracking for forming isobutylene and propylene;
and
(g) guiding at least a part of a product flow from the thermal cracking back to the splitting step.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.