Oxy-fuel heated hydrogen production process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11814288-B2
Application number	US-202217990452-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 18, 2022
Priority date	Nov 18, 2021
Publication date	Nov 14, 2023
Grant date	Nov 14, 2023

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for hydrogen production as well as apparatuses useful in such systems and methods. Hydrogen is produced by steam reforming of a hydrocarbon in a gas heated reformer that is heated using one or more streams comprising combustion products of a fuel in an oxidant, preferably in the presence of a carbon dioxide circulating stream.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process comprising:
reacting a hydrocarbon with water in a reforming reactor in the presence of a catalyst to form a synthesis gas stream;
processing at least a portion of the synthesis gas stream to isolate a stream of substantially pure hydrogen;
forming a heating fluid stream comprising carbon dioxide and water by passing a stream comprising predominately carbon dioxide through a combustor where a fuel is combusted with an oxidant;
passing at least a portion of the heating fluid stream into the reforming reactor to provide process heat in the reforming reactor.

2. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 1 , comprising passing into the reforming reactor a stream comprising the hydrocarbon and the water so that the hydrocarbon and water contact the catalyst under reaction conditions effective to form the synthesis gas and so that the synthesis gas proceeds out of the reforming reactor through a synthesis gas outlet.

3. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 2 , wherein the reforming reactor comprises a pressure containment vessel and at least one set of concentrically arranged tubes positioned within the pressure containment vessel, each of the at least one set of concentrically arranged tubes comprising: an outer catalyst tube; an inner reaction product gas tube; and the catalyst material positioned within a space defined between an inside surface of the outer catalyst tube and an outside surface of the inner reaction product gas tube.

4. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 3 , wherein the at least one set of concentrically arranged tubes positioned within the pressure containment vessel are arranged vertically so that an upper end of the at least one set of concentrically arranged tubes defines a hot end where the reforming reactor operates with a higher temperature, and a lower end of the at least one set of concentrically arranged tubes defines a cold end where the reforming reactor operates with a lower temperature, relative to the hot end.

5. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 4 , wherein the reforming reactor further comprises an upper tube sheet that is arranged to functionally align with the outer catalyst tube, and a lower tube sheet that is arranged to functionally align with the inner reaction product gas tube.

6. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 5 , comprising passing the stream comprising the hydrocarbon and the water into the reforming reactor through a first inlet that opens into a space defined between the upper tube sheet and the lower tube sheet.

7. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 6 , wherein the reforming reactor is arranged so that the synthesis gas outlet is positioned at a level of the reforming reactor that is below a position of the first inlet.

8. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 5 , wherein the reforming reactor is arranged so that the synthesis gas outlet is positioned below the lower tube sheet.

9. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 5 , wherein a bottom of the lower tube sheet and a bottom portion of the pressure containment vessel define a collection space for the synthesis gas stream, which proceeds downwardly from the hot end through an inner bore of the inner reaction product gas tube.

10. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 9 , comprising passing the stream comprising the hydrocarbon and the water into the reforming reactor so that the stream comprising the hydrocarbon and water passes upwardly, from the cold end toward the hot end, through the space within which the catalyst material is positioned.

11. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 10 , wherein the synthesis gas stream that proceeds downwardly from the hot end through an inner bore of the inner reaction product gas tube is in a heat transfer relationship with the stream comprising the hydrocarbon and the water that passes upwardly from the cold end toward the hot end, through the space within which the catalyst material is positioned.

12. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 9 , wherein the synthesis gas stream, when entering the inner bore of the inner reaction product gas tube, is at a temperature of about 600° C. to about 1000° C.

13. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 12 , wherein the heating fluid entering the reforming reactor is at a temperature that is about 25° C. to about 100° C. higher than the temperature of the synthesis gas stream when the synthesis gas stream is entering the inner bore of the inner reaction product gas tube.

14. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 3 , wherein passing at least a portion of the heating fluid stream into the reforming reactor is carried out so that the at least a portion of the heating fluid stream enters a second inlet of the reforming reactor at a position such that the heating fluid stream contacts the hot end of the at least one set of concentrically arranged tubes and flows downwardly around an outer surface of the outer catalyst tube toward a heating fluid outlet through which the heating fluid leaves the reforming reactor.

15. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 14 , wherein the heating fluid that flows downwardly around an outer surface of the outer catalyst tube flows in a multi-pass cross-flow arrangement defined by a succession of baffle plates attached to an inner surface of the pressure containment vessel.

16. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 14 , wherein the heating fluid that flows downwardly around an outer surface of the outer catalyst tube flows in a space defined between the outer surface of the outer catalyst tube and a tube at least partially surrounding the at least one set of concentrically arranged tubes.

17. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 14 , wherein the heating fluid stream, when entering the second inlet of the reforming reactor, is at a temperature of about 300° C. to about 700° C.

18. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 17 , wherein the heating fluid stream leaving the reforming reactor though the heating fluid outlet is at a temperature that is about 25° C. to about 100° C. higher than a temperature of the stream comprising the hydrocarbon and the water that is passed into the reforming reactor.

19. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 2 , wherein the reforming reactor is operated under a maximum pressure differential between the heating fluid entering the reforming reactor and the stream comprising the hydrocarbon and the water entering the reforming reactor, the maximum pressure differential being less than 10 bar.

20. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 2 , wherein the synthesis gas that proceeds out of the reforming reactor through a synthesis gas outlet is at a pressure of about 15 bar to about 120 bar.

21. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 2 , wherein an operating pressure of the catalytic reactor is about 15 bar to about 120 bar.

22. The oxy-fuel heated, hydrogen production process of claim 2 , wherein the stream comprising the hydrocarbon and the water that is passed into the reforming reactor is formulated so that a ratio of steam to carbon that is present in the hydrocarbon is about 2.5 to about 7.

Assignees

• 8 Rivers Capital Llc

Inventors

• Allam Rodney John

Classifications

• C01B3/38 Primary

  using catalysts · CPC title

• C01B2203/043

  Regenerative adsorption process in two or more beds, one for adsorption, the other for regeneration · CPC title

• C01B2203/146

  At least two purification steps in series · CPC title

• B01J2208/06

  Details of tube reactors containing solid particles · CPC title

• B01J2208/00221

  comprising baffles for guiding the flow of the heat exchange medium · CPC title