Integrated gasification and electrolysis process
AssigneeGas Technology Institute
InventorsAndrew Kramer, James Seaba, David Lamont
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Aspects of the invention relate to improvements in the flexibility with which oxygen and hydrogen, for example from electrolysis, may be supplied to processes having both gasification and methanation steps, as well as improvements in how such processes may be operated in response to variations in carbonaceous feeds. Offsets, between the ideal quantity of hydrogen and the quantity available from a given source may be compensated for by adjusting one or more operations of the process, and in particular such operation(s) that ultimately impact the quantity of CO and/or CO2 available downstream of the gasifier for conversion to methane in an RNG product stream.
Claims27
A process for producing methane, the process comprising:
- in a gasifier, contacting a carbonaceous feed with an oxygen-containing gasifier feed to provide a gasifier effluent comprising CO, CO2 and H2;
- in a methanation reactor, reacting electrolysis hydrogen, obtained from an electrolyzer, with at least a portion of the CO and/or CO2 in the gasifier effluent to form methane, and
- adjusting an operation of the process, affecting a methanation reactor inlet CO concentration or a methanation reactor inlet CO2 concentration, in response to a makeup quantity of the electrolysis hydrogen,
- wherein the operation is upstream of the methanation reactor and not a recycle of a portion of a process stream back to an upstream operation.
An integrated gasification, methanation, and electrolysis process for producing renewable natural gas, the process comprising:
- in a gasifier of a gasification zone, contacting biomass with an oxygen-containing gasifier feed to provide a gasification zone effluent comprising CO, CO2 and H2, wherein the oxygen-containing gasifier feed comprises electrolysis oxygen obtained from electrolysis of water in an electrolyzer;
- in a methanation reactor of a methanation zone, converting at least a portion of the CO and/or the CO2 in the gasification zone effluent to methane;
- and
- obtaining the renewable natural gas as, or recovering the renewable natural gas from, a methanation zone effluent,
- wherein the gasification zone or the methanation zone comprises at least one operation affecting CO concentration or CO2 concentration, the process further comprising adjusting the operation in response to a makeup quantity of electrolysis hydrogen obtained from the electrolyzer, and
- wherein the operation is upstream of the methanation reactor and not a recycle of a portion of a process stream back to an upstream operation.
A process for producing methane, the process comprising:
- gasifying a carbonaceous feed to provide a gasifier effluent comprising CO, CO2 and H2;
- introducing a makeup quantity of hydrogen to the methanation reactor or upstream of the methanation reactor, to react at least a portion of the makeup hydrogen with at least a portion of the CO and/or CO2 in the gasifier effluent to form methane, and
- adjusting an operation of the process in response to the makeup quantity of hydrogen,
- wherein the operation is upstream of the methanation reactor, and further wherein the operation is not a recycle of a portion of a process stream back to an upstream operation.
A process for gasification of a carbonaceous feed, the process comprising:
- in a gasifier, contacting the carbonaceous feed with an oxygen-containing gasifier feed, performing a series of operations downstream of the gasifier to provide a gasifier effluent comprising CO, CO2 and H2, wherein at least one of said series of operations causes a change in a concentration of CO and/or CO2 from an inlet of said at least one operation to an outlet of said at least one operation, or otherwise causes a change in a relative amount of CO and/or CO2 from the inlet of said at least one operation to the outlet of said at least one operation,
- the process further comprising:
- adjusting said at least one of said series of operations, in response to a makeup quantity of electrolysis hydrogen, said makeup quantity being provided by an electrolyzer that further provides a makeup quantity of oxygen for said oxygen-containing gasifier feed,
- wherein said adjusting is performed to maintain a CO/H2 molar ratio of the gasifier effluent, following combining of said makeup quantity of electrolysis hydrogen with a product of any of said series of operations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.