Process for producing hydrogen-lean syngas for synthesis processes

A process comprising:

• (a) reacting, via a catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) reaction, a CPO reactant mixture in a CPO reactor to produce a hydrogen-lean syngas;
• wherein the CPO reactant mixture comprises hydrocarbons and oxygen;
• wherein the hydrocarbons comprise greater than or equal to about 3 mol % C2+ alkanes;
• wherein the CPO reactor comprises a CPO catalyst;
• wherein the hydrogen-lean syngas comprises hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide (C02), water, and unreacted hydrocarbons;
• and wherein the hydrogen-lean syngas is characterized by a hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H2/CO) molar ratio of from about 0.8 to about 1.6;
• (b) optionally introducing C02 to the CPO reactor, wherein the CPO reactant mixture is characterized by a C02 to carbon (C02/C) molar ratio in the CPO reactant mixture of greater than or equal to about 0.5:1, wherein the CO 2/C molar ratio refers to the total moles of C02 in the reactant mixture divided by the total moles of carbon (C) in the hydrocarbons in the reactant mixture;
• and
• (c) using at least a portion of the hydrogen-lean syngas in a downstream synthesis process, wherein the downstream synthesis process is selected from the group consisting of acetic acid synthesis process;
• dimethyl ether synthesis process;
• oxo-synthesis of aliphatic aldehydes and/or alcohols;
• and combinations thereof.

A chemical synthesis system comprising:

• (a) a catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) reactor comprising a CPO catalyst, and operable to produce a hydrogen-lean syngas from a CPO reactant mixture;
• wherein the CPO reactant mixture comprises hydrocarbons and oxygen;
• wherein the hydrocarbons comprise greater than or equal to about 3 mol % C2+ alkanes;
• wherein the hydrogen-lean syngas comprises hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide (C02), water, and unreacted hydrocarbons;
• and wherein the hydrogen-lean syngas is characterized by a hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H2/CO) molar ratio of from about 0.8 to about 1.6;
• and
• (b) a downstream synthesis apparatus configured to produce a chemical product from at least a portion of the hydrogen-lean syngas, wherein the downstream synthesis process is selected from the group consisting of acetic acid synthesis process;
• dimethyl ether synthesis process;
• oxo-synthesis of aliphatic aldehydes and/or alcohols;
• and combinations thereof.