| abstract |
The invention is a method for cracking heavy oils to olefins. In parallel streams, the heavy stream and a steam diluent are heated to the point of partial thermal cracking while in the other stream a lighter oil and steam are cracked to produce olefins. The hot, olefinic light stream is then mixed with the heated heavy stream and further cracked. The hot, olefinic stream acts as both a diluent and a heat source for cracking the heavy oil to an olefin containing product. |