Thermal Cracking of Recycled Hydrocarbon Gas-Mixtures with High Olefins Concentrations in the Feed: Operational Analysis of Industrial Furnaces

Abstract

Simulation studies of thermal cracking of recycled hydrocarbon gas mixtures are presented. Due to their relatively high unsaturated content these types of mixtures show behaviour in cracking furnaces different from that of their saturated homologues. The detailed mathematical and kinetic model developed was validated by using the process control laboratory cracked gas analysis of an industrially operated cracking furnace. The effects of different feed compositions and those of operating parameters are also examined. It is shown that the radiant coil temperature profile, online operation period of the furnace, and the yield of the main products are different at various unsaturated concentrations in the feed. The influence of the radiant section residence time is also presented. Simulation results compared with the experimentally measured data of an industrially operated cracking furnace show good agreements.