Patent ID: 6979757

Claim:
In a method for operating an olefin production plant that employs a pyrolysis furnace to severely thermally crack hydrocarbon materials for the subsequent processing of said cracked materials in said plant, said furnace having in its interior a convection heating section and a separate radiant heating section, said radiant heating section being employed for said severe cracking, the improvement comprising providing whole crude oil as the primary feedstock to said furnace, preheating said feedstock to a temperature of from about 500° F. to about 750° F. to form a mixture of vaporous and liquid hydrocarbons, collecting said mixture in a vaporization/mild cracking unit, in said unit separating said vaporous hydrocarbons from said liquid hydrocarbons, passing said vaporous hydrocarbons to said radiant heating section, retaining said liquid hydrocarbons in said unit, introducing at least one heated gas into said unit to mix with said liquid hydrocarbons in said unit to dilute said liquid hydrocarbons and heat same to a temperature of from about 800° F. to about 1,300° F. to form additional vaporous hydrocarbons, removing said additional vaporous hydrocarbons to said radiant heating section, removing at least part of said liquid hydrocarbons from said unit and passing same through at least one controlled cavitation device to at least one of vaporize and mildly crack at least part of said removed liquid hydrocarbons thereby forming an additional liquid/vapor mixture in said at least one cavitation device, and returning said additional mixture to said unit.