Improved processes and systems are disclosed for producing renewable hydrogen suitable for reducing metal ores, as well as for producing activated carbon. Some variations provide a process comprising: pyrolyzing biomass to generate a biogenic reagent comprising carbon and a pyrolysis off-gas; converting the pyrolysis off-gas to additional reducing gas and/or heat; reacting at least some of the biogenic reagent with a reactant to generate a reducing gas; and chemically reducing a metal oxide in the presence of the reducing gas. Some variations provide a process for producing renewable hydrogen by biomass pyrolysis to generate a biogenic reagent, conversion of the biogenic reagent to a reducing gas, and separation and recovery of hydrogen from the reducing gas. A reducing-gas composition for reducing a metal oxide is provided, comprising renewable hydrogen according to a hydrogen-isotope analysis. Reacted biogenic reagent may also be recovered as an activated carbon product. Many variations are disclosed.

The invention relates to a furnace for performing an endothermic process, the furnace including a plurality of process tubes containing a catalyst for converting a gaseous feed, wherein the process tubes are arranged in rows within the furnace, each row of process tubes thereby defining a process tube row, a plurality of inner burners arranged in rows, each row of inner burners being arranged between and parallel to process tube rows, thereby defining an inner burner row, and a plurality of outer burners arranged in rows, each row of outer burners being arranged between and parallel to a process tube row and a furnace wall, thereby defining an outer burner row. A number of burners of an outer burner row is smaller than a number of burners of an inner burner row. The invention also relates to a process for operating a furnace for performing an endothermic process.

An integrated process for the production of a useful liquid hydrocarbon product comprises: feeding a gasification zone with an oxygen-containing feed and a first carbonaceous feedstock comprising waste materials and/or biomass, gasifying the first carbonaceous feedstock in the gasification zone to produce first synthesis gas, partially oxidising the first synthesis gas in a partial oxidation zone to generate partially oxidised synthesis gas, combining at least a portion of the first synthesis gas and/or the partially oxidised synthesis gas and at least a portion of electrolysis hydrogen obtained from an electrolyser in an amount to achieve the desired hydrogen to carbon monoxide molar ratio of from about 1.5:1 to about 2.5:1, and to generate a blended synthesis gas, wherein the electrolyser operates using green electricity; and subjecting at least a portion of the blended synthesis gas to a conversion process effective to produce the liquid hydrocarbon product.

In the liquid phase reforming (LPR) of oxygenated C,H-containing compounds such as alcohols, various strategies are disclosed for managing byproduct CO.sub.2. Important processing options include those in which electrolyte, consumed in capturing or precipitating the CO.sub.2 generated from LPR, is regenerated or not regenerated, with carbon emissions potentially being avoided in the latter case. With regeneration, different chemistries are possible, such as in the case of a regeneration cycle utilizing hydroxide anions to precipitate a solid, carbonate form of CO.sub.2 that is generated from reforming. Alternatively, a reaction and regeneration system may use carbonate anions to “capture” CO.sub.2 and thereby maintain it as aqueous, solubilized bicarbonate form.

Hydrogen generation assemblies, hydrogen purification devices, and their components are disclosed. In some embodiments, the devices may include a permeate frame with a membrane support structure having first and second membrane support plates that are free from perforations and that include a plurality of microgrooves configured to provide flow channels for at least part of the permeate stream. In some embodiments, the assemblies may include a return conduit fluidly connecting a buffer tank and a reformate conduit, a return valve assembly configured to manage flow in the return conduit, and a control assembly configured to operate a fuel processing assembly between run and standby modes based, at least in part, on detected pressure in the buffer tank and configured to direct the return valve assembly to allow product hydrogen stream to flow from the buffer tank to the reformate conduit when the fuel processing assembly is in the standby mode.

A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, an evaporator for evaporating a mixture of methanol and water to be forwarded through a catalytic reformer for producing portions of free hydrogen. The fuel cell stack being composed of a number of proton exchange membrane fuel cells each featuring electrodes in form of an anode and a cathode for delivering an electric current. The liquid fuel using a. pre-evaporator, which. partly evaporates the fuel, followed by a. nozzle, which atomizes the fuel into a fine mist, before being passed to the final evaporation zone. This configuration ensures that liquid fuel for producing thermal, neat is converted into a form that facilitates a burner to achieve a quick heating up of the fuel, cell system into production mode.

In a fuel cell system for a submarine, hydrogen gas having a reduced carbon monoxide content while the hydrogen gas passes through a purification unit using a selective oxidation reaction can be supplied as a raw material to a fuel cell, so that electrode activity deterioration which may be caused by carbon monoxide can be prevented. In addition, the fuel cell system for a submarine can be miniaturized and weight-reduced and allows gas unreacted in a fuel cell stack to be burnt and recycled to supply heat to a reforming unit, thereby minimizing the amount of discharge gas.

Hydrogen generation assemblies and methods of generating hydrogen are disclosed. In some embodiments, the method may include receiving a feed stream in a fuel processing assembly of the hydrogen generation assembly; and generating a product hydrogen stream in the fuel processing assembly from the received feed stream. Generating a product hydrogen stream may, in some embodiments, include generating an output stream in a hydrogen generating region from the received feed stream, and generating the product hydrogen stream in a purification region from the output stream. The method may additionally include receiving the generated product hydrogen stream in a buffer tank of the hydrogen generation assembly; and detecting pressure in the buffer tank via a tank sensor assembly. The method may further include stopping generation of the product hydrogen stream in the fuel processing assembly when the detected pressure in the buffer tank is above a predetermined maximum pressure.

Disclosed is a reforming system using an off gas as a cooling medium, which includes: a compressor configured to compress a feed gas; a cooling system a heat exchanger connected to the compressor and configured to cool the feed gas, the temperature of which has been raised in a compression process, by a cooling medium including cooling water; a reformer configured to generate a synthesis gas including hydrogen by reacting the feed gas, which passed through the heat exchanger, with water; a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit configured to separate hydrogen from the synthesis gas generated by the reformer and discharge the off gas; and an off gas line configured to feed the off gas discharged from the PSA unit to the heat exchanger such that the heat exchanger utilizes the off gas as the cooling medium.

Presented are processes for the beneficial conversion of CO.sub.2 and other environmentally destructive compounds to their constituent parts by the application of thermal plasma containing activated species whereby the interaction of the plasma with the compounds and reactions of CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 generate more environmentally friendly compounds comprising in part oxygen and hydrogen. The thermal plasma may be vibro-shear plasma generated by the superheating of either steam, gas or a combination of both.