US 2025/0026638 A1Published application

Apparatus and process for steam reforming

AssigneeAir Products and Chemicals, Inc.

InventorsJay A. Thakkar, Alan D. Berger, Eugene S. Genkin, David Ross Graham, Paul Higginbotham

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Abstract

An apparatus and process for steam reforming can be configured to produce at least one product with reduced carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen oxide emissions. Some embodiments can be better adapted for retrofitting a pre-existing steam reforming process while other embodiments can be better adapted for use in a newly constructed facility. Embodiments can be configured to utilize a synthetic air oxidant to provide combustion that results in formation of a flue gas having relatively high carbon dioxide concentrations that may also have low nitrogen and low nitrogen oxide concentrations. A control system can be configured for utilization in such embodiments to control the steam reforming process and/or oxidant formation process as well. Some embodiments can also be configured to provide carbon dioxide recovery that can permit recovery of a second product stream comprised of carbon dioxide.

Claims21

Dependent claims

An apparatus for steam reforming comprising:

a combustion device configured to combust a fuel with an oxidant in a combustion chamber of the combustion device to form flue gas and heat at least one reactant stream passed through the combustion device to form at least one reformate stream for production of hydrogen;
a mixing device positioned to receive a mixing device portion of the flue gas from the combustion device to mix with oxygen from at least one source of oxygen to form the oxidant such that the oxidant comprises between 20 mole percent (mol %) oxygen (O2) and 40 mol % O2, between 20 mol % carbon dioxide (CO2) and 80 mol % CO2, between 0 mol % nitrogen (N2) and 25 mol % N2, and between 0 mol % water and 40 mol % water;
and
at least one of:
a first booster positioned downstream of the combustion device to help drive a flow of the flue gas to the mixing device and/or a carbon capture system;
an oxidant pre-heater positioned between the mixing device and the combustion chamber of the combustion device to pre-heat the oxidant before the oxidant is fed to the combustion chamber, the pre-heater positioned to receive a heating medium comprising boiler feed water for heating the oxidant to pre-heat the oxidant;
and/or
at least one oxidant pre-heating heat exchanger conduit positioned in the combustion device to receive the oxidant from the mixing device and pre-heat the oxidant therein via flue gas within the combustion chamber before the oxidant is fed to the combustion chamber of the combustion device for combustion of the fuel and formation of the flue gas.

5 more elements

A process of steam reforming, the process comprising:

forming an oxidant, the oxidant having between 20 mole percent (mol %) oxygen (O2) and 40 mol % O2, between 20 mol % carbon dioxide (CO2) and 80 mol % CO2, and between 0 mol % nitrogen (N2) and 25 mol % N2;
combusting fuel with the oxidant in a combustion device of a steam reformer apparatus to create flue gas and heat at least one reactant stream to output at least one reformate stream;
sending a mixing device portion of the flue gas to a mixing device to mix the mixing device portion of flue gas with oxygen from at least one source of oxygen to form the oxidant;
and
at least one of:
(a) passing at least a portion of the flue gas toward the mixing device and/or a carbon capture system via at least one booster positioned downstream of the combustion device;
and/or
(b) pre-heating the oxidant before the oxidant is fed to a combustion chamber of the combustion device of the steam reformer apparatus for combustion of the fuel, the pre-heating of the oxidant comprising one or more of:
(i) pre-heating the oxidant via boiler feed water passed through an oxidant pre-heater to pre-heat the oxidant, and/or
(ii) pre-heating the oxidant via passing the oxidant through at least one oxidant pre-heating heat exchanger conduit positioned in a convection section of the combustion device to pre-heat the oxidant via heat exchange with flue gas within the combustion device before the oxidant is fed to the combustion chamber for combustion of fuel.

7 more elements

A steam reformer apparatus comprising:

a combustion device configured to combust a fuel with an oxidant in a combustion chamber of the combustion device to form flue gas and heat at least one reactant stream passed through the combustion device to form at least one reformate stream for production of hydrogen;
a mixing device positioned to receive a mixing device portion of the flue gas from the combustion device to mix with oxygen from at least one source of oxygen to form the oxidant such that the oxidant comprises between 20 mole percent (mol %) oxygen (O2) and 40 mol % O2, between 20 mol % carbon dioxide (CO2) and 80 mol % CO2, and between 0 mol % nitrogen (N2) and 25 mol % N2;
an oxidant pre-heater positioned between the mixing device and the combustion chamber of the combustion device to pre-heat the oxidant before the oxidant is fed to the combustion chamber, the oxidant pre-heater positioned to receive a heating medium comprising boiler feed water for heating the oxidant to pre-heat the oxidant;
at least one oxidant pre-heating heat exchanger conduit positioned in a convection section of the combustion device to receive the oxidant from the mixing device and pre-heat the oxidant therein before the oxidant is fed to the combustion chamber of the combustion device for combustion of the fuel and formation of the flue gas;
a boiler feed water cooling device positioned to receive boiler feed water output from the oxidant pre-heater to cool the boiler feed water for cooling the boiler feed water to a temperature within a pre-selected boiler feed water temperature range;
a carbon capture system positioned to receive a carbon capture portion of the flue gas from the combustion device to recover CO2 and form at least one CO2 product stream, the carbon capture system comprising at least one particulate removal device positioned upstream of a feed compressions system and a membrane unit positioned downstream of the feed compression system, the membrane unit positioned to output a permeate stream and a retentate stream, the membrane unit positioned to output the permeate stream to the mixing device as an oxidant forming feed stream to feed to the mixing device to form the oxidant;
a first booster positioned downstream of the combustion device to help drive a flow of the flue gas to the mixing device and/or the carbon capture system;
a hydrogen production system positioned to receive the at least one reformate stream to form at least one hydrogen-rich product stream, the hydrogen production system having a carbon capture unit positioned upstream of a hydrogen recovery unit, the hydrogen recovery unit configured to form the at least one hydrogen-rich product stream;
the carbon capture unit of the hydrogen production system configured to recover CO2 from the at least one reformate stream received by the hydrogen production system and output at least one CO2 recovery stream;
wherein the carbon capture unit of the hydrogen production system is positioned and configured to output the at least one CO2 recovery stream so that one or more of:
a portion of the at least one CO2 recovery stream is feedable to the mixing device to form the oxidant,
a portion of the at least one CO2 recovery stream is feedable to a compression system to form a CO2 product stream, and/or
a portion of the at least one CO2 recovery stream is feedable to a tail gas stream outputtable from the hydrogen recovery unit for being mixed therewith and fed to the combustion chamber of the combustion device.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.