Abstract: This paper mainly discusses the impact of heavy oil processing routes (hydrogenation solutions like VRDS, slurry bed and ebullated bed, coking solution as well as the solutions of coking + ebullated bed) on light oil yield and carbon emission, and analyzes their economic benefits in detail. Compared with decarbonization route, hydrogenation route not only has a high light oil yield and a high benefit whether or not carbon tax, but high carbon emissions. In three hydrogenation routes, slurry-bed case has the best economic benefit with the highest light oil yield, middle level carbon emission and the least investment. The ebullated bed case has the worst economic benefit with the least light oil yield and the highest investment. VRDS case has the highest carbon emission. Its investment and benefit are the second. Compared with the ebullated bed and coking case, the light oil yield and the economic benefit are improved significantly by their combination solution.

Key words: light oil yield, carbon emission, processing route, hydrogenation, decarbonization