Patent ID: 7964090

Claim:
A method for processing hydrocarbons comprising: mixing a hydrocarbon comprising one or more asphaltenes and one or more non-asphaltenes with a solvent, the hydrocarbon having a specific gravity of from about 6° API to about 25° API, as measured according to ASTM D4052 at 15.6° C., and wherein a ratio of the solvent to the hydrocarbon is about 2:1 to about 10:1; selectively separating the asphaltenes from the non-asphaltenes; vaporizing a portion of the asphaltenes in the presence of gasified hydrocarbons and combustion gas; cracking a portion of the asphaltenes at a temperature sufficient to provide a cracked gas comprising more than 0.5% vol C 1 -C 3 hydrocarbons, more than 0.5% vol C 4 -C 6 hydrocarbons, and more than 1% vol C 7 -C 9 hydrocarbons; depositing liquid asphaltenes, solid asphaltenes, or both onto one or more solids to provide one or more hydrocarbon containing solids; selectively separating the cracked gas from the hydrocarbon containing solids; combusting a portion of the hydrocarbon containing solids to provide the combustion gas; and gasifying the hydrocarbon containing solids to provide the gasified hydrocarbons and to regenerate the solids.