Patent ID: 7268265

Claim:
A process for the production of light olefins comprising: mixing a cut from a fractionation column with fresh olefin feed to provide an olefin hydrogenation feed containing diolefins; mixing hydrogen with said olefin hydrogenation feed containing diolefins; selectively hydrogenating said olefin hydrogenation feed in liquid phase over a hydrogenation catalyst in a hydrogenation reactor to selectively convert said diolefins to monoolefins; vaporizing at least a portion of a hydrogenated effluent from said hydrogenation reactor; delivering at least a portion of said vaporized hydrogenated effluent as olefin cracking feed to an olefin cracking reactor to convert at least a portion of the olefins in said olefin cracking feed into a cracked olefin stream comprising C 2 to C 3 olefins; fractionating at least a portion of the cracked olefin stream in said fractionation column; and taking a side cut from said fractionation column to be part of said olefin hydrogenation feed or said olefin cracking feed.