Process and system for steel and hydrogen production using recycled ferrous scrap and natural gas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11692231-B2
Application number	US-202217663152-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2022
Priority date	Sep 4, 2019
Publication date	Jul 4, 2023
Grant date	Jul 4, 2023

Abstract

A method for producing a homogenous molten composition and a fluid product is disclosed. For example, the method includes producing a first molten metal composition in an enclosed volume, contacting a hydrocarbon reactant with the first molten metal composition, decomposing the hydrocarbon reactant into at least one fluid product and carbon, forming a metal alloy from a mixture of the carbon and the first molten metal composition, and separating a homogenous second molten composition from the metal alloy.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A reactor to produce steel and hydrogen, the reactor comprising:
an enclosed volume;
a first inlet to feed a metal composition into the enclosed volume;
a second inlet to feed a hydrocarbon reactant into the enclosed volume;
a heat source to melt the metal composition into a first molten metal composition and to decompose the hydrocarbon reactant into at least one fluid product and carbon, wherein the first molten metal composition comprises iron and a metal, wherein the metal comprises at least one of: iron, nickel, manganese, cobalt, scandium, or lanthanum, wherein a metal alloy is formed from a mixture of the carbon and the first molten metal composition, and wherein a homogenous second molten composition is separated from the metal alloy;
a second enclosed volume, wherein the second inlet is coupled to the second enclosed volume;
a plurality of nozzles coupled to a bottom of the enclosed volume, wherein the first molten metal composition is dispersed into the second enclosed volume with the hydrocarbon reactant, wherein the first molten metal composition is dispersed at a range of 0.2 to 20,000 square centimeters of a surface area of the first molten metal composition per cubic centimeter of a volume of the second enclosed volume; and
a second heat source to heat the second enclosed volume and to maintain a temperature between 500 degrees Celsius (° C.) to 1500° C.

2. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the metal has a boiling point of less than 800 degrees Celsius (° C.) and a vapor pressure of at least 1 millimeter (mm) Hg at 1500° C.

3. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the homogeneous second molten composition comprises steel, cast iron, iron carbide, or nickel carbide and the at least one fluid product comprises hydrogen.

4. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the hydrocarbon reactant comprises at least one of: an alkane gas, an alkene gas, an alkyne gas, or an arene gas.

5. The reactor of claim 1 , further comprising an outlet to remove slag.

6. The reactor of claim 1 , further comprising an outlet to remove hydrogen gas.

7. The reactor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a knock-out pot to recover the homogeneous second molten composition.

8. The reactor of claim 7 , further comprising:
a baghouse filter to recover a metal in gas form when separated from the metal alloy.

9. The reactor of claim 8 , further comprising:
a recirculation line coupled from the baghouse filter to the enclosed volume.

10. The reactor of claim 9 , further comprising:
a pump to recirculate the metal in gas form from the baghouse filter to the enclosed volume via the recirculation line.

11. The reactor of claim 1 , further comprising:
an adsorber column to purify the at least one fluid product; and
a compressor to compress the at least one fluid product.

12. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the first inlet and the second inlet are positioned to provide a counter-flow, a co-current flow, or a cross-flow operation.

13. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the reactor comprises a bubble-column reactor or a spray reactor.

14. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the reactor is operated in a continuous process or a batch process.

15. The reactor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller communicatively coupled to the heat source to control the heat source to heat the enclosed volume to between 500 degrees Celsius to 1500 degrees Celsius at 1-2 bars of pressure.

16. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the heat source has independently controlled zones to heat a first portion of the enclosed volume to a first temperature and to heat a second portion of the enclosed volume to a second temperature.

Assignees

• Palo Alto Res Ct Inc

Inventors

• Desai Divyaraj
• Rivest Jessica Louis Baker
• Boysen Dane Andrew
• Pandey Rahul
• Beh Eugene Shin Ming

Classifications

• C01B3/0031

  Intermetallic compounds; Metal alloys · CPC title

• C21B2400/032

  Separating slag from liquid, e.g. from water, after quenching · CPC title

• C01B2203/06

  Integration with other chemical processes · CPC title

• C21B13/0013 Primary

  introduction of iron oxide into a bath of molten iron containing a carbon reductant · CPC title

• C01B3/24 Primary

  of hydrocarbons · CPC title