Conversion of plastics to olefin and aromatic products with product recycle

A method of producing olefins and aromatic compounds from a plastic feedstock, the method comprising:

• contacting a plastic feedstock and a catalyst composition at a temperature of from 420° C. to 730° C. within a reactor, said temperature being at least one of 1) a time-interval average catalyst bed temperature of from 420° C. to 730° C. wherein the time interval is 3 minutes or less from the start of the reaction;
• 2) a temperature in the reactor of from 420° C. to 730° C. at at least one location that is from 0.3 L or less from the at least one inlet where the plastic feedstock and the catalyst composition are introduced, where L is the length of the reactor flow path;
• and 3) a weight-averaged catalyst bed temperature in the reactor of from 420° C. to 730° C. weight-averaged at two or more locations that is from 0.3 L or less and/or to 0.3 L or greater from the at least one inlet where the plastic feedstock and the catalyst composition are introduced, where L is the length of the reactor flow path, and wherein the catalyst composition comprises a non-fresh fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst and a ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst, wherein the amount of ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst makes up from 10 wt. % to 50 wt. % of the total weight of the non-fresh FCC catalyst and the ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst to simultaneously increase production of both light gas olefins and aromatics, the feedstock and the catalyst composition being at a catalyst-to-feed ratio of from 6 or greater;
• allowing at least a portion of the plastic feedstock to be converted to products of at least one of olefins and aromatic compounds within the reactor, at least some of the products being contained in a liquid product stream;
• and
• directing at least a portion of the liquid product stream to one or more of the following (A)-(E), wherein:
• (A) is a catalytic reformer under conditions suitable for producing aromatics to form reformed products containing aromatic compounds and non-aromatic compounds, and directing the reformed products to a separating unit to provide an aromatic-rich separated product and a non-aromatic-rich separated product from at least a portion of the reformed products and recycling the non-aromatic-rich product to the reactor;
• (B) is a separation unit to provide an aromatic-rich separated product and a non-aromatic-rich separated product, and directing at least a portion of the non-aromatic-rich separated product to the reactor;
• (C) is a hydroprocessing unit under conditions suitable for hydroprocessing to provide a hydroprocessed product and recycling at least a portion of the hydroprocessed product to the reactor;
• (D) is a separation unit to provide an aromatic-rich separated product and a non-aromatic-rich separated product, and directing at least a portion of the non-aromatic-rich separated product as a feed to a hydroprocessing unit under conditions suitable for hydroprocessing to provide a hydroprocessed product and recycling at least a portion of the hydroprocessed product to the reactor;
• and
• (E) is a pyrolysis reactor to provide a liquid and gas pyrolysis product stream of which the liquid product is separated into an aromatics-rich product and a non-aromatics-rich product, the non-aromatic-rich product being recycled back to the reactor with or without being hydroprocessed prior to being recycled.