System and method for generating power and enhanced oil recovery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10014541-B2
Application number	US-201715474805-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2017
Priority date	Nov 16, 2011
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

A method for producing a purified carbon dioxide product suitable for EOR and surplus electricity uses a vaporous hydrocarbon feed and a SOFC system. A SOFC system includes a condensate removal system, an acid gas removal system, a hydrodesulfurization system, a sorption bed system, a pre-reformer, a solid oxide fuel cell, a CO2 separations system and a CO2 dehydration system operable to form the purified carbon dioxide product, where the SOFC system is operable to produce surplus electricity from the electricity produced by the solid oxide fuel cell. A method of operating the pre-reformer to maximize the internal reforming capacity of a downstream solid oxide fuel cell uses a pre-reformer fluidly coupled on the upstream side of a solid oxide fuel cell. A method of enhancing hydrocarbon fluid recovery from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation using a SOFC system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A solid oxide fuel cell (“SOFC”) system for producing a purified carbon dioxide product suitable for enhanced oil recovery (“EOR”) and surplus electricity from a vaporous hydrocarbon feed, the SOFC system comprising:
a condensate removal system that is operable to receive the vaporous hydrocarbon feed and to separate higher-carbon compounds from the vaporous hydrocarbon feed to form a dry sour gas;
an acid gas removal system that fluidly couples to the condensate removal system and is operable to extract hydrogen sulfide from the dry sour gas to form a dry sweet gas;
a hydrodesulfurization system that fluidly couples to the acid gas removal system and is operable to convert heterorganic compounds in the dry sweet gas using hydrogen in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst into compounds that absorb onto a sorption bed material to form a treated process gas;
a sorption bed system that fluidly couples to the hydrodesulfurization system and is operable to extract compounds that absorb onto the sorption bed material from the treated process gas to form a desulfurized process gas;
a pre-reformer that fluidly couples to the sorption bed system and is operable to convert non-methane alkanes in the desulfurized process gas using steam in the presence of an active pre-reforming catalyst into methane and carbon oxides to form a reformed process gas;
a solid oxide fuel cell that fluidly couples to the pre-reformer and is operable to convert methane in the reformed process gas using oxygen in the presence of a reforming catalyst and an electrochemical conversion catalyst into carbon dioxide and water to form an anode off-gas and producing electricity;
a CO2 separations system that fluidly couples to the solid oxide fuel cell and is operable to extract carbon dioxide from the anode off-gas to form a carbon dioxide-rich gas; and
a CO2 dehydration system that fluidly couples to the CO2 separations system and is operable to extract water from the carbon dioxide-rich gas to form the purified carbon dioxide product;
where the SOFC system is operable to produce surplus electricity from the electricity produced by the solid oxide fuel cell.

2. The SOFC system of claim 1 further comprising a water-gas shift reactor system that fluidly couples to the solid oxide fuel cell on the downstream side and is operable to convert carbon monoxide in the anode off-gas using water in the presence of a water-gas shift catalyst into carbon dioxide and hydrogen to form a shifted anode off-gas,
where the CO2 separations system fluidly couples to the water-gas shift reactor system instead of the solid oxide fuel cell and is operable to extract carbon dioxide from the shifted anode-off gas of the water-gas shift reactor system instead of the anode-off gas of the solid oxide fuel cell to form the carbon dioxide-rich gas.

3. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the acid gas removal system additionally is operable to extract carbon dioxide from the dry sour gas to form a carbon dioxide-rich gas and where the CO2 dehydration system additionally fluidly couples to the acid gas removal system and is operable to extract carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide-rich gas from the acid gas removal system.

4. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the CO2 separations system additionally is operable to form a hydrogen-rich gas, and where the hydrodesulfurization system additionally fluidly couples to the CO2 separations system and is operable to use hydrogen-rich gas from the CO2 separation system as a source of hydrogen.

5. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the condensate removal system utilizes a cryogenically chilled liquid to separate higher-carbon compounds from the vaporous hydrocarbon feed.

6. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the condensate removal system utilizes an absorption-extraction process to separate higher-carbon compounds from the vaporous hydrocarbon feed.

7. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the acid gas removal system utilizes a reactive liquid to extract hydrogen sulfide.

8. The SOFC system of claim 1 where an anode side of the solid oxide fuel cell is operable for indirect internal reforming of methane.

9. The SOFC system of claim 1 where an anode side of the solid oxide fuel cell is operable for direct internal reforming of methane.

10. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the CO2 separations system utilizes pressure swing adsorption to separate carbon dioxide.

11. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the CO2 dehydration system is additionally operable to liquefy the purified carbon dioxide product.

12. The SOFC system of claim 1 where the vaporous hydrocarbon feed is an associated gas.

13. A method of enhancing hydrocarbon fluid recovery from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation using the solid oxide fuel cell (“SOFC”) system of claim 1 comprising the steps of:
producing a hydrocarbon fluid from the hydrocarbon-bearing formation;
separating associated gas from the produced hydrocarbon fluid;
introducing the associated gas into the SOFC system;
operating the SOFC system to produce the purified carbon dioxide product for enhanced oil recovery and surplus electricity; and
introducing into the hydrocarbon-bearing formation the purified carbon dioxide product using an injection well;
where the hydrocarbon-bearing formation contains the hydrocarbon fluid,
where the SOFC system is operable to receive associated gas and to produce the purified carbon dioxide product suitable for enhanced oil recovery and surplus electricity, and
where a portion of the hydrocarbon fluid comprises the associated gas.

14. A method of operating a pre-reformer to maximize internal reforming capacity of a downstream solid oxide fuel cell comprising the steps of:
introducing a desulfurized process gas into the pre-reformer, the desulfurized process gas having a temperature in a range of from about 200° C. to about 450° C. and comprising methane in a range of from about 51 to about 66 mole percent of the composition and non-methane alkanes in a range of from about 33 to about 45 mole percent of the composition, each on a dry basis of the desulfurized process gas;
introducing a superheated steam into the pre-reformer, the superheated steam having a temperature in the range of from about 250° C. to about 500° C. and a pressure in a range of from about 8 bars to about 12 bars, such that a steam-to-carbon ratio (SCR) of the introduced superheated steam to the introduced desulfurized process gas is in a range of from about 0.5 to about 1.5; and
operating the pre-reformer such that a reformed process gas forms from the desulfurized process gas and the superheated steam, the reformed process gas comprising methane in a range of from about 78 to about 88 mole percent of the composition, carbon oxides in a range of from about 9 to about 12 mole percent of the composition, and hydrogen in a range of from about 0.5 to about 10 mole percent of the composition, each on a dry basis of the reformed process gas;
where that the reformed process gas has a methane selectivity in a range of from about 0.90 to about 0.99, and
where the pre-reformer fluidly couples to an upstream side of a solid oxide fuel cell and is operable to both receive the desulfurized process gas and convert the non-methane alkanes using steam in the presence of an active metal pre-reforming catalyst into methane and carbon oxides.

15. The method of claim 14 where operating the pre-reformer further comprises the step of operating the pre-reformer adiabatically.

16. The method of claim 14 where the temperature of the produced reformed process gas is in a range of from abou

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Jamal Aqil
• Pham Thang
• Harale Aadesh

Classifications

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• E21B43/164 Primary

  Injecting CO2 or carbonated water (in combination with organic material C09K8/594) · CPC title

• H01M8/0618 Primary

  Reforming processes, e.g. autothermal, partial oxidation or steam reforming · CPC title

• C01B3/48

  followed by reaction of water vapour with carbon monoxide · CPC title

• C01B2203/0233

  the reforming step being a steam reforming step · CPC title