Enhancement of Fischer-Tropsch Process for Hydrocarbon Fuel Formulation in a GTL Environment
AssigneeExpander Energy Inc.
InventorsSteve Kresnyak, Steve Price, Jan Wagner
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Abstract
An enhanced natural gas processing method using Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process for the synthesis of sulfur free, clean burning, hydrocarbon fuels, examples of which include syndiesel and aviation fuel. A selection of natural gas, separately or combined with portions of natural gas liquids and FT naphtha and FT vapours are destroyed in a syngas generator and used or recycled as feedstock to an Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor in order to enhance the production of syndiesel from the reactor. The process enhancement results are the maximum production of formulated syndiesel without the presence or formation of low value by-products.
Claims38
A method for producing synthetic hydrocarbons comprising:
- providing a hydrocarbon source consisting essentially of ethane, propane, butane, pentane, pentane plus or mixtures thereof to a syngas generator comprising steam methane reformer under conditions to produce a hydrogen-rich syngas stream having a hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio of greater than 2:1;
- catalytically converting the hydrogen rich syngas stream in a Fischer-Tropsch reactor to produce synthetic hydrocarbons.
A method for producing synthetic hydrocarbons comprising:
- providing a first hydrocarbon source consisting essentially of ethane, propane, butane, pentane, pentane plus or mixtures thereof;
- providing a second hydrocarbon source comprising natural gas, methane, naphtha or combinations thereof;
- providing both the first and second hydrocarbon sources to a syngas generator comprising steam methane reformer under conditions to produce an enhanced hydrogen-rich syngas stream having a hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio of greater than 2:1;
- catalytically converting the enhanced hydrogen rich syngas stream in a Fischer-Tropsch reactor to produce synthetic hydrocarbons in a yield greater than that produced in the absence of the first hydrocarbon source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.