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US 2026/0168119 A1Published application
Electrolyzer Loop Augmentation for Chemical Production Line with Carbon Monoxide Tail Gas
AssigneeDioxycle
InventorsSarah Lamaison, Paul S Wallace, Jonathan Maistrello
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for valorization of carbon monoxide tail gas streams for chemical production lines. A disclosed system includes a chemical production line with a separator to remove a product gas from a tail gas that includes carbon monoxide, separators to remove a second product gas from the tail gas, and electrolyzer systems to convert carbon monoxide in the tail gas to other useful chemicals including the second product gas. The electrolyzer products are recycled back to one or more separation stages.
Claims32
A chemical production system comprising:
- a chemical production line with an output comprising a first product gas and carbon monoxide;
- a first separator configured to separate the output into a volume of first product gas and a tail gas comprising a volume of carbon monoxide;
- a second separator configured to separate a volume of a second product gas from the tail gas;
- a carbon monoxide electrolyzer configured to receive at least a portion of the tail gas and convert at least a portion of the volume of carbon monoxide contained therein into a second volume of the second product gas;
- and
- a recycle conduit configured to return gaseous products of the carbon monoxide electrolyzer to the second separator.
3 more elements
A method of operating a chemical production line, comprising:
- producing a first product gas and a tail gas containing a volume of carbon monoxide;
- separating a first volume of the first product gas from the tail gas containing the volume of carbon monoxide in a first separator;
- separating a first volume of a second product gas from the tail gas in a second separator;
- electrolyzing, in a carbon monoxide electrolyzer, at least a portion of the tail gas to convert at least a portion of the volume of carbon monoxide into an electrolyzer product gas having a second volume of the second product gas;
- and
- recycling at least a portion of the electrolyzer product gas to the second separator.
3 more elements
A blue hydrogen production system comprising:
- a reforming reactor, selected from an autothermal reformer, a partial-oxidation reactor, and a steam-methane reformer, that produces a reforming reactor output comprising a first volume of carbon monoxide and a first volume of hydrogen;
- a catalytic water-gas-shift reactor configured to produce, from the reforming reactor output, a shifted output stream comprising a second volume of carbon monoxide, a second volume of hydrogen, and a volume of carbon dioxide;
- a first separator configured to separate the shifted output stream into a volume of hydrogen and a tail gas stream comprising the second volume of carbon monoxide, the first separator selected from a pressure swing adsorber, a membrane separator, and a cryogenic separator;
- a carbon-monoxide electrolyzer configured to receive at least a portion of the tail gas stream and to produce an electrolyzer product gas stream comprising a second product gas from at least a portion of the second volume of carbon monoxide;
- and
- a second separator comprising a cryogenic separation system, the cryogenic separation system configured to separate each of the tail gas stream and the electrolyzer product gas stream into one or more of (i) a hydrogen stream, (ii) a carbon-monoxide stream, (iii) a nitrogen-rich purge stream, and (iv) a stream containing a volume of the second product gas.
3 more elements
A methanol production system comprising:
- a reforming reactor, selected from an autothermal reformer, a partial-oxidation reactor, and a steam-methane reformer, that receives a hydrocarbon as an input and produces a reforming reactor output comprising carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen;
- a methanol synthesis reactor configured to produce, from the reforming reactor output, an output stream comprising methanol and residual carbon monoxide;
- a first separator configured to separate the output stream into a volume of methanol and a tail gas stream comprising a volume of the residual carbon monoxide, the first separator selected from a pressure swing adsorber, a membrane separator, and a cryogenic separator;
- a carbon monoxide electrolyzer configured to receive at least a portion of the tail gas stream and to produce an electrolyzer product gas stream comprising a second product gas from at least a portion of the volume of the residual carbon monoxide;
- and
- a second separator comprising a cryogenic separation system, the cryogenic separation system configured to separate each of the tail gas stream and the electrolyzer product gas stream into one or more of (i) a hydrogen stream, (ii) a carbon-monoxide stream, (iii) a nitrogen-rich purge stream, and (iv) a stream containing a volume of the second product gas.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.