Thermal/catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons for the production of olefins: A state-of-the-art review I: Thermal cracking review

Light olefins are one of the main raw materials for the petrochemical industry. They are mainly produced by steam cracking of hydrocarbons from ethane to gasoil. The pyrolysis takes place in the tubular reactors, inside the firebox of the furnace, at high temperature, low pressure and a very short residence time. This is the only available industrial process exists for the production of olefins yet although there are other processes such as catalytic cracking for the production of such materials. This paper reviews the main research works done on the process in the literature in the last five decades. Three sections of the furnace and tubular reactors which are fixed inside the furnace have been described in detail. A mathematical model is presented for the simulation of the firebox and the reactor. Some of the main experimental laboratory setup systems in the world have been reviewed and parts of the results are presented and discussed. Finally, a few computer software packages for the simulation and online optimization of thermal cracking furnaces are presented.