The present invention concerns a process for increasing the productivity of equilibrium-restricted reactions and for increasing the productivity of a target compound. This process comprises the steps of (a) providing a reaction mixture comprising reactants; (b) subjecting the reaction mixture to the equilibrium reaction in a reactor or sequence of reactors, to obtain a reactor outlet mixture comprising the target compound and at least one of the reactants; (c) regenerating the loaded sorbent obtained in step (e), by flushing the loaded sorbent with the reactor outlet mixture originating from step (b), to obtain regenerated sorbent and an effluent comprising desorbed product; (d) separating the effluent originating from step (c) into a product stream and a reactant stream; and (e) a sorption step, wherein (i) the reactant stream originating from step (d); and/or (ii) an intermediate reaction mixture, which is obtained at the outlet of a reactor not being the last reactor of the reactor sequence, prior to being subjected to the subsequent reactor of the reactor sequence, is contacted with a sorbent selective for one or more of the products of the equilibrium reaction, to obtain a loaded sorbent and a depleted mixture.

A process for performing the water gas shift reaction wherein raw synthesis gas is reacted in the presence of steam and at least one water gas shift catalyst to convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and to form hydrogen. The raw synthesis gas is initially passed through at least one unit for high-temperature CO conversion and subsequently, downstream thereof, passed through at least one unit for low-temperature CO conversion. After passing through the at least one unit for high-temperature CO conversion the synthesis gas stream is divided into at least two substreams. The first substream is passed through a first unit for low-temperature CO conversion and the second substream is passed through a second unit for low-temperature CO conversion, wherein both units for low-temperature CO conversion are arranged in parallel relative to one another.

Processes for converting a hydrocarbon-containing feed by pyrolysis and gasification/combustion. The hydrocarbon-containing feed and heated particles can be fed into a pyrolysis zone and contacted therein to effect pyrolysis of the hydrocarbons and produce a pyrolysis effluent. A gaseous stream rich in olefins and a particle stream rich in particles that include coke disposed thereon can be obtained from the pyrolysis effluent. A CO.sub.2-rich stream that includes, on a dry basis, CO.sub.2 at a concentration 90 vol %, based on the total volume of the CO.sub.2-rich stream, can be obtained from the gasification/combustion gas mixture.

System and process for producing steam in a steam-hydrocarbon reforming facility where oxygen is removed from demineralized water using a membrane degasifier. The membrane degasifier operates at a lower temperature compared to a deaerator, which is the conventional technology for removing oxygen.

A segregated steam system and process in a hydrogen production facility wherein boiler feed water is heated by indirect heat exchange with a reformate, the heated boiler feed water is used to heat water condensate formed from the reformate, the heated water condensate is passed to a first steam drum for producing steam for a reformer feed gas mixture, and a second portion of the heated boiler feed water is passed to a second steam drum for producing steam for export.

The present invention relates to a revamp method for increasing the front-end capacity of a plant comprising a reforming section, wherein a feed is reformed in at least one reforming step to a reformed stream comprising CH.sub.4, CO, CO.sub.2, H.sub.2 and H.sub.2O a shift section wherein the reformed stream is shifted in a shift reaction in at least a high temperature shift step,
said method comprising the steps of In the High temperature shift step exchanging an original Fe-based catalyst with a non-Fe-based catalyst Increasing the feed flow to the reforming section, and The HTS step is carried out at a reduced steam/dry-gas ratio (S/DG) compared to an original S/DG in the original HTS step with the original Fe-based catalyst.

A process for the production of formaldehyde-stabilised urea is described comprising the steps of: (a) generating a synthesis gas; (b) subjecting the synthesis gas to one or more stages of water-gas shift in one or more water-gas shift reactors to form a shifted gas; (c) cooling the shifted gas to below the dew point and recovering condensate to form a dried shifted gas; (d) recovering carbon dioxide from the dried shifted gas in a carbon dioxide removal unit to form a carbon dioxide-depleted synthesis gas; (e) synthesising methanol from the carbon dioxide-depleted synthesis gas in a methanol synthesis unit and recovering the methanol and a methanol synthesis off-gas; (f) subjecting at least a portion of the recovered methanol to oxidation with air to form formaldehyde in a stabiliser production unit; (g) subjecting the methanol synthesis off-gas to methanation in a methanation reactor containing a methanation catalyst to form an ammonia synthesis gas; (h) synthesising ammonia from the ammonia synthesis gas in an ammonia production unit and recovering the ammonia; (i) reacting a portion of the ammonia and at least a portion of the recovered carbon dioxide stream in a urea production unit to form a urea stream; and (j) stabilising the urea by mixing the urea stream and a stabiliser prepared using the formaldehyde produced in the stabiliser production unit, wherein the carbon dioxide removal unit operates by means of absorption using a liquid absorbent and comprises an absorbent regeneration unit, wherein the process includes recovering a carbon dioxide-containing gas stream from the absorbent regeneration unit, compressing at least a portion of the recovered carbon dioxide-containing gas stream to form a compressed carbon dioxide-containing gas stream and passing the compressed carbon dioxide-containing gas stream to the methanol synthesis unit.

In a process for the production of ammonia synthesis gas from a hydrocarbon-containing feedstock, comprising steam reforming of the feedstock and treatment of the synthesis gas obtained, the shift of the synthesis gas comprises two shift steps, both including stable catalysts, whereby the formation of hazardous by-products is avoided or at least reduced to an acceptable low level. The two shift steps can both be HTS, or they can be one HTS and one LTS or one HTS and one MTS. The catalyst used in the HTS and the LTS steps is based on zinc oxide and zinc aluminum spinel, and the catalyst used in the MTS and the LTS steps can be based on copper.

A process for the production of formaldehyde-stabilised urea is described comprising the steps of: (a) generating a synthesis gas; (b) subjecting the synthesis gas to one or more stages of water-gas shift in one or more water-gas shift reactors to form a shifted gas; (c) cooling the shifted gas to below the dew point and recovering condensate to form a dried shifted gas; (d) recovering carbon dioxide from the dried shifted gas in a carbon dioxide removal unit to form a carbon dioxide-depleted synthesis gas; (e) synthesising methanol from the carbon dioxide-depleted synthesis gas in a methanol synthesis unit and recovering the methanol and a methanol synthesis off-gas; (f) subjecting at least a portion of the recovered methanol to oxidation with air to form formaldehyde in a stabiliser production unit; (g) subjecting the methanol synthesis off-gas to methanation in a methanation reactor containing a methanation catalyst to form an ammonia synthesis gas; (h) synthesising ammonia from the ammonia synthesis gas in an ammonia production unit and recovering the ammonia; (i) reacting a portion of the ammonia and at least a portion of the recovered carbon dioxide stream in a urea production unit to form a urea stream; and (j) stabilising the urea by mixing the urea stream and a stabiliser prepared using the formaldehyde produced in the stabiliser production unit, wherein the carbon dioxide removal unit operates by means of absorption using a liquid absorbent and comprises an absorbent regeneration unit, wherein the process includes recovering a carbon dioxide-containing gas stream from the absorbent regeneration unit, compressing at least a portion of the recovered carbon dioxide-containing gas stream to form a compressed carbon dioxide-containing gas stream and passing the compressed carbon dioxide-containing gas stream to the methanol synthesis unit.

Processes and catalysts for producing hydrogen by reforming methane are disclosed, which afford considerable flexibility in terms of the quality of the reformer feed. This can be attributed to the robustness of the noble metal-containing catalysts described herein for use in reforming, such that a number of components commonly present in methane-containing process streams can advantageously be maintained without conventional upgrading (pretreating) steps, thereby improving process economics. This also allows for the reforming of impure reformer feeds, even in relatively small quantities, which may be characterized as complex gas mixtures due to significant quantities of non-methane components. A representative reforming catalyst comprises 1 wt-% Pt and 1 wt-% Rh as noble metals, on a cerium oxide support.