Systems and methods for producing synthesis gas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12071345-B2
Application number	US-201917290583-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2019
Priority date	Oct 30, 2018
Publication date	Aug 27, 2024
Grant date	Aug 27, 2024

Abstract

In some embodiments, a system for producing synthesis gas, the system including a reactor including a burner, a combustion chamber, and a catalyst chamber, and a mixer upstream of the reactor configured to mix fuel with steam to produce humidified fuel that is provided to the burner of the reactor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for producing synthesis gas, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a reactor comprising a combustion chamber;
providing an electric heater comprising a heating element disposed vertically within a pressure vessel;
generating steam using the electric heater, wherein the step of generating steam comprises: pumping water into a bottom of the pressure vessel, supplying power to the heating element such that a free surface is formed within the pressure vessel between a liquid water phase and a saturated steam phase, and outputting steam from the pressure vessel;
mixing the steam output from the pressure vessel with a fuel gas to produce humidified fuel;
controlling the ratio of steam to fuel of the humidified fuel by adjusting the power supplied to the heating element to control a rate of steam generation from the pressure vessel;
delivering the humidified fuel and oxygen gas to the combustion chamber of the reactor; and
combusting the humidified fuel and the oxygen gas to produce synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide within the reactor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the humidified fuel has a mass ratio of steam to fuel in the range of 1:10 to 1:1.5.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the synthesis gas has a molar ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide in the range of 1.6:1 to 3:1.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a volume flow ratio of oxygen gas to humidified fuel is in the range of 0.5:1 to 0.6:1.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water is pumped into the bottom of the pressure vessel using a positive displacement pump.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the positive displacement pump is a diaphragm pump.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steam output from the pressure vessel is superheated.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the humidified fuel is at a temperature greater than the dew point of water but less than the boiling point of water.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the humidified fuel is at a temperature of less than 100 degrees Celsius.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fuel gas comprises natural gas.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating element is a coiled element.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of mixing the steam with a fuel gas to produce humidified fuel comprises mixing the steam and fuel gas in a static mixer.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reactor further comprises a catalyst chamber coupled to the combustion chamber.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein combustion reactants from the combustion chamber react with a catalyst contained within the catalyst chamber to generate a gas mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, unreacted methane, carbon dioxide, and water.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the catalyst chamber includes a catalyst comprising nickel on an alumina-silica support.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the catalyst comprises approximately 7% to 9% nickel by weight on the alumina-silica support.

Assignees

• Univ Texas

Inventors

• Dennis Brian H
• Macdonnell Frederick M

Classifications

• A61K39/00

  Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies (materials for immunoassay G01N33/53) · CPC title

• C01B2203/1671

  Controlling the composition of the product · CPC title

• C01B2203/1282

  using static mixers · CPC title

• C01B2203/1082

  Composition of support materials · CPC title

• C01B2203/1058

  Nickel catalysts · CPC title