Compact reformer unit in the low performance range, for production hydrogen from gaseous hydrocarbons
AssigneeZentrum fur Brennstoffzellen Technik ZBT GmbH
InventorsFalko Mahlendorf, Jurgen Roes, Jens Mathiask
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to a compact steam reformer which generates a hydrogen-rich product gas from hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon derivatives with water being supplied, and to a process for producing the hydrogen-containing product gas. The product gas may, for example, be used in a fuel cell to generate current and heat.
Claims9
Reformer unit for generating hydrogen from a starting material comprising a hydrocarbon-water mixture, having:
- a. a reactor vessel 1;
- b. a feed line 2 for feeding a starting material into the reactor vessel 1;
- c. a heat exchanger 3 in the form of a coaxial heat exchanger having a first, outer tube 3a, which is connected to the starting-material feed line 2, and having a second, inner tube 3b;
- d. a further heat exchanger 5, which is connected to the first tube 3a of the heat exchanger 3 and is arranged around a reformer space 6;
- e. a line 8 which is connected to the heat exchanger 5 and has at least one outlet opening for feeding the gaseous starting material into the reformer space 6, with a catalyst unit arranged therein which can be heated by a burner 7;
- f. at least one discharge line 9 for discharging the reformate which has been formed in the reformer space 6 to the second tube 3b of the heat exchanger 3, which at the other end is connected to a shift reactor 4;
- and
- g. a product discharge line 11 for the product gas which has been discharged from the shift reactor 4, and at least one discharge line 12 for the flue gas from the reactor vessel 1.
Reformer unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heat exchanger 3 which is connected to the starting-material feed line 2 is arranged around the shift reactor 4, which is preferably designed as a low-temperature shift reactor.
Reformer unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the line 8 has a plurality of outlet openings or a gap for feeding the gaseous starting material into the reformer space 6.
Reformer unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the product outlet line 11 is connected to a unit for purifying the product gas, preferably for reducing the CO content in the product gas.
Process for generating hydrogen from gaseous hydrocarbons, in which a starting material comprising a hydrocarbon-water mixture is fed into a reactor vessel via a feed line leading into a heat exchanger which is arranged in the preheating region, the heated starting-material gas discharged from this heat exchanger is fed to a reformer space with a catalyst unit arranged therein and a burner which heats the catalyst unit, the reformate discharged from the reformer space via a discharge line is fed to a shift reactor, and the product gas discharged from the shift reactor is discharged from the reactor vessel.
Process for preheating a starting material comprising a hydrocarbon gas/water mixture, in which the starting material, in countercurrent to the product gas and the flue gas, is passed into the heat exchanger which is arranged in the preheating region in the reactor vessel and is designed as a countercurrent heat exchanger in the form of a coaxial heat exchanger having a first, outer tube 3a and having a second, inner tube 3b, and is fed from said heat exchanger to the reformer space for catalytic conversion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.