Reforming exchanger with integrated shift conversion

• US 9,126,172 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2015
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kellogg Brown & Root LLC (KBR Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Kellogg Brown & Root LLC (KBR Incorporated)
• Inventors: Singh, Shashi, Gursahani, Kamal, Burlingame, Robert, Weeks, Tim, Gosnell, Jim, Malhotra, Avinash
• Primary Examiner(s): HANDAL, KAITY V
• Application Number:
  US14/691,108
• Publication Number:
  US 20150224463A1
• Time in Patent Office: 141 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/30 Loose or shaped packing elements, e.g. Raschig rings or Berl saddles, for pouring into the apparatus for mass or heat transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00115 with heat exchange elements inside the bed of solid particles
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00132 Tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/0023 with some catalyst tubes being empty, e.g. dummy tubes or flow-adjusting rods
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00238 Adjusting the heat-exchange profile by adapting catalyst tubes or the distribution thereof, e.g. by using inserts in some of the tubes or adding external fins
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/065 Heating or cooling the reactor
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/30215 Toroid or ring
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/0278 Feeding reactive fluids for solid material B01J8/0015
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/0285 Heating or cooling the reactor for tubular reactors in furnaces B01J8/062
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/0484 the beds being placed next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/0496 Heating or cooling the reactor
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/06 in tube reactors; the solid particles being arranged in tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/065 Feeding reactive fluids
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/067 Heating or cooling the reactor B01J8/062 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0233 the reforming step being a steam reforming step
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0283 containing a CO-shift step, i.e. a water gas shift step
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/044 Selective oxidation of carbon monoxide
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0833 Heating by indirect heat exchange with hot fluids, other than combustion gases, product gases or non-combustive exothermic reaction product gases
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/82 Several process steps of C01B2203/02 - C01B2203/08 integrated into a single apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/38 using catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/382 : Multi-step processes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/48 : followed by reaction of water vapour with carbon monoxide
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/52 : using catalysts, e.g. selective catalysts

Abstract

Reforming exchangers for syngas production are provided. The reforming exchangers can have a shell-and-tube configuration and include a shift catalyst on the shell side of the exchanger to reduce a carbon monoxide concentration in a shell side product gas mixture. Processes for forming syngas using the reforming exchangers are also provided.

Claims

1. A process for the production of syngas in a reforming exchanger comprising an elongated shell having a first end and a second end, wherein the process comprises:

supplying a reactant feed gas to a tube side fluid inlet adjacent the second end of the reform ing exchanger;

supplying a hot gas feed to a shell side fluid inlet adjacent the first end of the reforming exchanger;

passing the reactant feed gas through a tube bundle comprising a plurality of tubes that contain a reforming catalyst, wherein the tubes have an inlet end secured to a tube sheet adjacent the second end of the reforming exchanger and an outlet end adjacent the shell side fluid inlet;

reforming the reactant feed gas in the tubes to form a reformed product gas;

discharging the reformed product gas from the tubes into the hot gas feed to form a gas mixture on the shell side of the reforming exchanger adjacent the shell side fluid inlet;

passing the gas mixture from the first end of the reforming exchanger to the second end of the reforming exchanger through a catalyst bed on the shell side of the reforming exchanger, wherein the catalyst bed comprises one or more shift catalysts for selectively converting carbon monoxide in the gas mixture to carbon dioxide, forming a reduced carbon monoxide product gas mixture wherein the shift catalyst bed is in contact with the tubes outer walls, and wherein the portion of the tubes concurrent with the shift catalyst bed is void of the reforming catalyst; and

recovering the reduced carbon monoxide product gas mixture from a shell side fluid outlet adjacent the second end of the reforming exchanger, wherein the shell side fluid outlet is fluidly isolated from the tube side fluid inlet by the tube sheet.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the flow path of the gas mixture from the first end of the reforming exchanger to the second end of the reforming exchanger on the shell side is longitudinal.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the tubes comprise catalyst-bearing monolithic structures disposed within the tubes for converting the reactant feed gas to the reformed product gas.

4. The process of claim 1, further comprising preheating the reactant feed gas in the tubes prior to reforming the reactant feed gas.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein the temperature of the reactant feed gas supplied to the tube side fluid inlet is from about 300°

C. to about 450°

C.

6. The process of claim 5, wherein the temperature of the reactant feed gas supplied to the tube side fluid inlet is from about 350°

C. to about 400°

C.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein the temperature of the reduced carbon monoxide product gas mixture from the shell side fluid outlet is from about 400°

C. to about 580°

C.

8. The process of claim 7, wherein the temperature of the reduced carbon monoxide product gas mixture from the shell side fluid outlet is from about 440°

C. to about 540°

C.