Patent ID: 8002967

Claim:
Hydrocracking process for partially converting a hydrocarbon feedstock comprising the steps of: (a) hydrotreating a hydrocarbon feedstock with a hydrogen-rich gas in a hydrotreating reactor to produce a hydrotreated effluent stream comprising a liquid/vapour mixture that separates into a liquid phase and a vapour phase; (b) in a flash step conducted in the hydrotreater reactor and not requiring a change in pressure in the hydrotreater reactor, dividing the liquid phase into a controlled liquid portion and an excess liquid portion, by regulating the flow of controlled liquid from the separation step with a flow control element, and combining in the hydrotreater reactor all the vapour phase with the excess liquid portion to form a vapour plus liquid portion; and (c) subsequently separating a fraction containing feed for fluid catalytic cracking from the controlled liquid portion from the flash step and simultaneously transferring the vapour plus liquid portion from the flash step in the hydrotreater reactor to a hydrocracker to undergo a hydrocracking step to produce a diesel-containing fraction, or transferring the controlled liquid portion from the flash step in the hydrotreater reactor to a hydrocracker to undergo a hydrocracking step to produce a diesel-containing fraction and simultaneously separating a fraction containing feed for fluid catalytic cracking from the vapour plus liquid portion from the flash step.