An apparatus and method are provided for processing hydrocarbon feeds. The method enhances the conversion of hydrocarbon feeds into ethylene. In particular, the present techniques expose feed containing hydrocarbons to high-severity operating conditions in a pyrolysis reactor and separate the reactor product from the reactor into a first product having hydrogen and a second product including ≧90 mole percent of the acetylene in the reactor product. Then, the second product is reacted with a catalyst in a converter to form ethylene.