Single stage pitch process and product

A method of converting slurry oil into isotropic pitch, comprising

• a. charging a feed comprising slurry oil having a boiling range to a tubular or pipe reactor operating at a temperature above 900° F. and passing said feed through said reactor at a velocity of at least 1 m/s for a time sufficient to provide an effluent comprising at least 20 wt % of an isotropic pitch product, unconverted or only partially converted material boiling within the same boiling range as the feed and lighter materials produced as a result of thermal cracking, thermal dealkylation, or thermally induced polymerization of said feed, and wherein a pressure in said reactor is maintained above 500 psig and sufficient to suppress mesophase formation to less than 1.0 wt % in said isotropic pitch product;
• b. discharging into a flash drum operating at a pressure less than 1/10th said pressure in said reactor said pitch, said unconverted or partially converted feed and said lighter material;
• c. flashing from said flash drum a vapor phase comprising said unconverted or partially converted feed and said lighter material from a residual liquid phase comprising said isotropic pitch;
• d. cooling said vapor phase removed from said flash drum sufficiently to condense at least a majority by weight of said unconverted or partially converted feed, charging said cooled vapor phase into a separation vessel and separating therein a liquid phase comprising said unconverted or partially converted hydrocarbons and a vapor phase comprising at least a majority, by volume, of said lighter material;
• e. removing from said separation vessel and recycling said liquid phase to a reactor and removing a vapor phase comprising said lighter material.

A process for thermally polymerizing an aromatic rich liquid obtained as a heavy product from the a fluidized catalytic cracking process to produce isotropic pitch comprising

• a. charging a slurry oil, clarified slurry oil, or filtered slurry oil feed to a tubular or pipe reactor having an inlet and an outlet and passing said feed through said reactor at thermal polymerization conditions including a temperature above 900° F., an average liquid velocity of at least 1 m/s, and outlet pressure of at least 500 psig to produce a reactor effluent comprising at least 20 wt % isotropic pitch, unconverted feed or partially polymerized material and lighter liquid products having a lower boiling point than said feed and comprising gasoline boiling range materials and normally gaseous products;
• b. discharging said reactor effluent into a flash drum operated at a pressure from sub-atmospheric to 50 psig and flashing therein said effluent to produce a liquid phase comprising isotropic pitch having a softening point above 80° C. and a vapor phase comprising unconverted or partially converted feed, gasoline boiling range material, and normally gaseous hydrocarbons,
• c. removing from said flash drum said liquid phase comprising isotropic pitch as a product of the process and a flash drum vapor phase;
• d. cooling said flash drum vapor phase at a temperature and pressure sufficient to condense at least a majority by weight of said unconverted or partially converted feed and produce a flash drum cooled vapor phase and condensed liquid phase which is charged to a vapor liquid separator;
• e. separating in said vapor liquid separator said cooled vapor and condensed liquid and withdrawing a liquid phase containing a majority of said unconverted or partially converted feed and a vapor phase comprising at least a majority by weight of said gasoline boiling range components;
• f. analyzing at least periodically said isotropic pitch product for mesophase content and maintaining said pressure sufficiently high maintain to suppress mesophase formation in said reactor and reduce mesophase contamination of said isotropic pitch product to a predetermined level below 1 wt %.