Patent ID: 7396449

Claim:
In a method for operating an olefin production plant that employs a pyrolysis furnace to thermally crack hydrocarbon materials for the subsequent processing of said cracked materials in said plant, said furnace having in its interior at least a convection heating section and a separate radiant heating section, said radiant heating section being employed for said cracking, the improvement comprising providing natural gas condensate liquid as the primary feedstock to said furnace, said feedstock consisting essentially of at least one distillate and hydrocarbons that boil at temperatures lower than said at least one distillate, (1) directing said feedstock to a first zone of a vaporization unit and separating a portion of said feedstock in said first zone into a first vapor stream consisting essentially of only hydrocarbons that boil at a temperature lower than said at least one distillate while leaving a first liquid stream consisting essentially of said at least one distillate and remaining hydrocarbons that boil at a temperature lower than said at least one distillate, and (2) passing said first liquid stream to a second zone of said vaporization unit, (3) contacting said first liquid stream with steam in said second zone so that said first liquid stream mixes with said steam to produce a second vapor stream consisting essentially of only remaining hydrocarbons that boil at temperatures lower than said at least one distillate, and a second liquid stream consisting essentially of only said at least one distillate, (4) passing at least one of said first vapor stream and said second vapor stream to said cracking furnace, and (5) recovering said second liquid stream containing said at least one distillate from said second zone and disposing of said second liquid stream other than in said cracking furnace.