Master 1

Module: Petrochemical Processes

Chapitre II. Sources d’hydrocarbures oléfiniques et aromatiques

I. Introduction

Petrochemistry is the science that focuses on the use of basic chemical compounds.
derived from oil to produce other synthetic compounds that may or may not exist
in nature; in the latter case, these compounds are called artificial. These productions are, in
general, based on appropriate chemical reactions in the presence or absence of a catalyst.
For example, during oil refining, the naphtha cut resulting from distillation
atmospheric, can serve as a feedstock for a vapor cracking unit (or steam cracking).
This naphtha can be cracked in a steam cracker, producing unsaturated, fragile products.
susceptible to being transformed into plastics and other cosmetic products and
pharmaceuticals. Thus, it is possible to produce plastics from petroleum.
all kinds later used as raw materials in the sectors of
construction and in the electrical, electronic, textile, aerospace industries and others.
A steam cracker is a petrochemical unit used primarily to produce ethylene.
and propylene, two essential products in the manufacture of polyethylene and
polypropylene, two well-known plastics.
Indeed, by converting the intermediate products obtained either by distillation or by
secondary units, in specific petrochemical units, we obtain materials
first liable to be transformed into products that do not exist in nature.
Natural gas can also provide raw materials, methane, ethane for the
petrochemistry. We will see the different transformation schemes of these products into
other organic compounds whose ultimate transformation terms are:
plastic materials,
- solvents,
- resins,
- synthetic fibers,
- detergents,
plasticizers,
elastomers,
adhesives,
- the polyester,
- the nylon,
- medications,
- cosmetics,
- fertilizers.
Petrochemistry is mainly based on two types of processes: steam cracking and
extraction processes. By steam reforming of natural gas or naphthas, it
opens onto the production of hydrogen which serves, beyond its use as a vector
energy vector petrochemical in hydrotreatments, in the production of ammonia
then fertilizers, methanol and oxo alcohols, among others.
With the first type of process, olefins are obtained, while with the second type, we
extract of aromatics. Olefins and aromatics are raw materials that we
calls on major intermediaries serving in the plastics and pharmaceutical industries,
cosmetics, electronics, aerospace, and textiles.
 II. Vapor cracking

Levapocraquage is a petrochemical process through which saturated hydrocarbons are

broken into smaller, often unsaturated molecules. It is therefore the main source of
production of alkenes (ethylene, propylene, etc.), monomers that are the source of many
plastic materials.
1. Process
The starting products are usually naphtha, but can also be ethane.
or of LPG. Mixed with water vapor, they are brought to about 800 °C by passage.
in pipes heated by furnaces, for a very brief time, less than a second. The
the reaction products are cooled rapidly in order to interrupt it and obtain the
desired alkene mixture.
The exact composition of this depends on the starting materials, the temperature of the furnaces.
and the passage time in them. Light feed products (ethane, LPG) will provide
a greater amount of light alkenes, while naphtha will also provide
aromatic compounds. A higher cracking temperature ('severity') promotes the
ethylene and benzene formation, while a lower temperature provides more
propylene, C4 hydrocarbons, and liquid products.
The process generally leads to a progressive deposition of coke inside the pipes of
cracking, which gradually degrades the performance of the process. They are therefore periodically
decocted by passing an air-vapor mixture at a temperature close to 1,000 °C.

Levapocraquage is a petrochemical process that consists of obtaining, from a cut

petroleum such as naphtha, or light alkanes, alkenes (ethylene, propylene) better
valued. These alkenes are mainly at the base of the plastics industry
(polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.) Very reactive, they are also used in the production of goods
other products in the fields of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, construction, industry
electric, electronic, textiles, aerospace, etc.
The families of finished products are:
1. plastics,
2. solvents,
3. resins,
4. of synthetic fibers,
5. detergents,
6. plasticizers,
7. of elastomers,
8. of adhesives,
9. you polyester
10. you Nylon,
11. of medicines,
12. of cosmetics,
13. of fertilizers.

Petrochemistry is mainly based on two types of processes: steam cracking and

extraction processes. By steam reforming of natural gas or naphthas, it
leads to the production of hydrogen which serves, beyond its use as a vector
energy and petrochemical vector in hydrotreatments, in the production of
ammonia then fertilizers, methanol and oxo alcohols, among others.
With the first type of processes, we obtain olefins while with the second type, we
extract of aromatics. Olefins and aromatics are raw materials that one
calls upon major intermediaries serving in the plastics, pharmaceutical industry,
cosmetics, electronics, aeronautics, and textiles.
The vapor cracking process is a process used in petrochemistry, but the refiner in
profite pour récupérer les sous produits tels que les C3, C4, C5 et le raffinat pour être utilisés
in the composition of fuels.
Indeed, the objective of this process is to primarily produce ethylene (C2H4) and
propylene (C3H6) which are bases in the production of polyethylene and polypropylene
by polymerization. These two products are part of the major intermediates.
The feedstock used is either naphtha coming from the refinery or purchased externally, or from
l'ethane et/ou du propane , surtout au Moyen-Orient.

In the oil industry, there is always a search to maximize the production of high materials.
market value and the act of breaking long chains to obtain shorter chains
is a useful and profitable goal.
It should be noted that ethylene and propylene rarely exist in large quantities.
in nature because nature does not like unstable states. Indeed, in terms of chemistry we say
that these products are unsaturated, meaning that some of the bonds connecting the
carbon atoms between them are double. These unsaturated compounds are less stable than the
the saturated compounds that only have single bonds. They therefore tend to
saturating by capturing either other hydrogen atoms or oxygen atoms.

The petrochemical operation involves taking a naptha cut that is either lighter or heavier, or a
gas cut ethane/propane, containing saturated hydrocarbons with long chains
hydrocarbons with about ten carbon atoms.

The unit operates at very high temperature and low pressure. These cuts are introduced.
naphtha or gas in the gas cracker which has a series of reactor furnaces. Inside of
this unit maintains a very high temperature, ranging from 500 °C to 600 °C 700 °C, and in
presence of water vapor (of the order of 50/50 30 to 100 % by weight), called dilution,
which reduces the "residence time" and prevents the formation of coke. Under these conditions, the
naphtha or gas hydrocarbon molecules split into several pieces giving
birth to liquefied gases (hydrogen, methane, ethane...) of ethylene, propylene,
butadiene, isobutene and other unsaturated products as well as a fraction called raffinates
used as a component of fuels.
According to the quality of the naphtha or gas, yields of ethylene and propylene are obtained.
more or less high. Indeed, to achieve good yields in ethylene and propylene, it
It is recommended to have well 'paraffinic' loads (see the article on Petroleum) because the
the structure of these two products are paraffinic chains. An oil can be
paraffinic (contains a lot of paraffins, linear chains without cycles), naphthenic
(simple bond cycles), or aromatic (cycles with conjugated double bonds).
To get an idea, at the output of the unit, with a naphtha load, we have a yield of
around 25% to 30% of ethylene, 15% of propylene, the rest is made up of
methane, C4 compounds, aromatic-rich gasoline, and 4-carbon molecules
envoyées vers l'unité d'extraction des aromatiques.
Naphtha is not the only feedstock supplying a steam cracker. Any relatively
long and likely to be split into several fragments can be 'cracked'. This is how
that gas oils and distillates as well as certain hydrocarbons can also be used
aromatic as charges.
The ethylene produced from steam cracking is used in the manufacturing of vinyl chloride (VC), of
ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide, and ethanol. From vinyl chloride, we produce,
by polymerization, of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic material with multiple uses:
plastic piping, building, furniture, plastic bottles, clothing, etc.

By steam cracking, we essentially obtain olefinic products that we will see.

after use.

2. Olefin Derivatives
At the exit of the vapor cracker, primarily olefins such as ethylene, propylene,
butadiene, iso-butene, normal-butene, and isoprene and finally Statoniachypetrochridémie.
These are intermediate products which, through appropriate treatments, chlorination, oxidation,
polymerization gives rise to a whole range of new products. The schemes
The following show all the possibilities of manufacturing from these large intermediaries:
Below are the derivatives of ethylene:

The following diagram shows the transformations of propylene:

The diagram below shows the transformations of butadiene:

Finally, the transformations of isobutene, normal butene, and isoprene are indicated.
in the
the following diagram:
 3. Extraction methods
The aromatics, produced during the vapor cracking reactions are, after
hydrocracking, extracts from the gasoline that contains them. In general, we call for
extraction, with a solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) added with a certain percentage
water. The re-extraction of the aromatics from their association with this solvent is then obtained
by butane, which is non-aromatic like the other components of the charge of the
vapor cracker, but which, unlike the latter, easily separates from the aromatics by
distillation.
Extraction and re-extraction of aromatics are conducted in full columns of
liquids, called extractors, equipped with a rotating shaft carrying stirring turbines. It is
just as we isolate benzene, toluene, and xylenes (ortho and para).
4. Derivatives of Aromatics
All the aromatics, once extracted and purified, serve as raw materials for others.
hydrogenation or oxidation reactions in order to lead to plasticizers, solvents,
fibers, insecticides and many other products. Below are the different diagrams
transformations of benzene, cumene, toluene, and ortho and para xylenes.
The transformations of benzene can lead to products according to the diagram below:
As for cumene, it can lead to the following products:

Finally, toluene, ortho-xylene, and para-xylene can generate the following products:
after