An H.sub.2-rich fuel gas stream can be advantageously produced by reforming a hydrocarbon/steam mixture in to produce a reformed stream, followed by cooling the reformed stream in a waste-heat recovery unit to produce a high-pressure steam stream, shifting the cooled reformed stream a first shifted stream, cooling the first shifted stream, shifting the cooled first shifted stream to produce a second shifted stream, cooling the second shifted stream, abating water from the cooled second shifted stream to obtain a crude gas mixture stream comprising H.sub.2 and CO.sub.2, and recovering a CO.sub.2 stream from the crude gas mixture stream. The H.sub.2-rich stream can be advantageously combusted to provide thermal energy needed for residential, office, and/or industrial applications including in the H.sub.2-rich fuel gas production process. The H.sub.2-rich fuel gas production process can be advantageously integrated with an olefins production plant comprising a steam cracker.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods useful for power production. In particular, a power production cycle utilizing CO.sub.2 as a working fluid may be configured for simultaneous hydrogen production. Beneficially, substantially all carbon arising from combustion in power production and hydrogen production is captured in the form of carbon dioxide. Further, produced hydrogen (optionally mixed with nitrogen received from an air separation unit) can be input as fuel in a gas turbine combined cycle unit for additional power production therein without any atmospheric CO.sub.2 discharge.

The system includes a methane reformer, a combined cycle power generator, and a switch. The reformer is configured to react methane with steam. The combined cycle power generator includes a steam turbine, a gas turbine, a power generator, and a water boiler. The steam turbine is configured to rotate in response to receiving steam. The gas turbine is configured to rotate in response to receiving a mixture of fuel and air. The power generator is configured to convert rotational energy from the steam turbine and the gas turbine into electricity. In a first position, the switch is configured to direct exhaust from the gas turbine to the reformer, thereby providing heat to the reformer. In a second position, the switch is configured to direct exhaust from the gas turbine to the water boiler, thereby providing heat to the water boiler to generate steam.

A syngas generator is disclosed as an exothermic gas generator that can accommodate high combustion temperatures of a natural gas/oxygen flame. The generator consists of four sections: a heavily insulated combustion chamber, a catalyst chamber, a spray chamber, and a heat exchanger. These four sections may be arranged in series and tightly bolted together to form a gas-tight system. Natural gas, oxygen and steam are supplied to a burner at the inlet end of the combustion chamber. This mixture is ignited and the resulting hot process gas is then fed into a catalyst bed where it reacts with the steam and is converted to carbon monoxide and hydrogen (syngas). The syngas is fed to a Fischer-Tropsch unit to create liquid fuel.

A high-pressure steam stream produced from the waste heat recovery system of a syngas producing unit may be superheated and then supplied to a steam turbine in a hydrocarbon production plant to produce an expanded steam stream and shaft power. A portion of the expanded stream can be fed into the reforming reactor in the syngas producing unit. The shaft power can be used to drive compressors and pumps in an olefins production plant. Considerable energy efficiency and capital investment savings can be realized by such steam integration compared to running the olefins production plant separately.

A process for producing a hydrogen-rich gas stream from a liquid hydrocarbon stream, the process comprising the steps of introducing the liquid hydrocarbon stream to a dual catalytic zone, the liquid hydrocarbon stream comprises liquid hydrocarbons selected from the group consisting of liquid petroleum gas (LPG), light naphtha, heavy naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and combinations of the same, the dual catalytic zone comprises: a combustion zone comprising a seven component catalyst, and a steam reforming zone, the steam reforming zone comprising a steam reforming catalyst; introducing steam to the dual catalytic zone, introducing an oxygen-rich gas to the dual catalytic zone; contacting the liquid hydrocarbon stream, steam, and oxygen-rich gas with the seven component catalyst to produce a combustion zone fluid; and contacting the combustion zone fluid with the steam reforming catalyst to produce the hydrogen-rich gas stream, wherein the hydrogen-rich gas stream comprises hydrogen.

Disclosed herein is a method of producing hydrogen, the method comprising: receiving a feed gas comprising hydrocarbons; performing one or more reforming processes on the feed gas so as to generate a reformed gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide; performing a water-gas-shift process on the reformed gas so as to generate a shifted gas comprising hydrogen and carbon dioxide; performing a hydrogen separation process and a carbon dioxide separation process on the shifted gas to thereby generate separate streams of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and a rest gas; and the method further comprises recycling at least part of the rest gas by feeding at least part of the rest gas back into one or more of the one or more reforming processes, the water-gas-shift process, the hydrogen separation process and the carbon dioxide separation process; wherein the portion of the rest gas that is recycled is at least 50%, preferably at least 80%, and more preferably at least 90%.

A reforming process comprising for production of a hydrogen-containing synthesis gas with a thermally integrated gas turbine engine wherein the hot exhaust gas of the gas turbine engine is the heat source for preheating one or more process streams of the reforming process.

Embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for cracking hydrocarbons into hydrogen gas and carbon using heating of a fluidized bed. The systems and methods utilize electrically conductive carbon or graphite particles as a fluidized bed material for heating hydrocarbon feedstock to at least a pyrolysis temperature. The electrically conductive carbon, graphite, or other particles may be heated by electrically powered sources that include induction heating, microwave heating, millimeter wave heating, joule heating and/or plasma heating. Combustion heating may also be employed in varying amounts with varying combinations of electrically powered heating sources.

The present invention describes a processes, systems, and catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide and water and electricity into low carbon or zero carbon high quality fuels and chemicals. In one aspect, the present invention provides an integrated process for the conversion of a feed stream comprising carbon dioxide to a product stream comprising hydrocarbons between 5 and 24 carbon atoms in length.