The possibility to fulfill the increasing market demand and producers' needs in processing straightforwardly crude oil, a cheap and universally available feedstock, to produce petrochemicals appears to be a very attractive strategy.

This review looks at the main processes available for the production of light olefins with a focus on maximizing the production of propylene. Maximization of propylene production has become the focus of most refineries because it is in high demand and there is a supply shortage from modern steam crackers, which now produce relatively less propylene. The flexibility of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) to various reaction conditions makes it possible as one of the means to close the gap between supply and demand. The appropriate modification of the FCC process is accomplished by the synergistic integration of the catalyst, temperature, reaction-residence time, coke make, and hydrocarbon partial pressure. The main constraints for maximum propylene yield are based on having a suitable catalyst, suitable reactor configuration and reaction conditions.

The direct cracking of crude oil is an interesting option for producing cheaply large amounts of petrochemicals. This may be carried out with catalyst and equipment similar to that of catalytic cracking, but at a temperature range between that of standard catalytic cracking and steam cracking. Thermal cracking will play a role in the conversion, but is rarely disclosed in experimental or modeling work. Thus, a crude oil and its fraction were thermally cracked and the products yields were modeled using a 9 lumps cracking scheme. It was found that heavy fraction cracks twice as fast as diesel fraction and ten times faster than gasoline fraction, with activation energies in the 140-200 kJ/mol. Selectivity to ethylene, propylene and butenes were found similar in the operating range explored.