Patent ID: 9458390
Filing Date: 2016-10-04
CPC Classification: C10G

Claim Text:
1. A process for forming light olefins, comprising: (a) heating a hydrocarbon feedstock containing at least 10 ppmw of metals and at least 5.0 wt % asphaltenes at a temperature range of from 870° F. to 1000° F. to produce a vaporized hydrocarbon by visbreaking said hydrocarbon feedstock and vaporizing at least 98 wt. % of said hydrocarbon feedstock; (b) separating the vaporized hydrocarbon in a knockout drum to produce a hydrocarbon vapor portion having less than 10 ppmw metals and a non-vaporized resid-containing portion, wherein (i) said visbreaking of step (a) is carried out upstream of the knockout drum, (ii) steps (a) and (b) are carried out upstream of any hydroprocessing of said hydrocarbon feedstock, (iii) additional visbreaking is carried out in the knockout drum, and (iv) said hydrocarbon vapor portion has less than 5 ppmw of metals; and (c) feeding said hydrocarbon vapor portion to a catalytic cracking process to form light olefins.