A reforming device (10) according to the present invention has a compressor (11), a first heat exchanger (12), a desulfurization device (13), a reformer (14), a raw material gas branching line (L11) that extracts a compressed natural gas (21) from a downstream side of the desulfurization device (13) with respect to the flow direction of the natural gas (21) and supplies the natural gas (21) to the reformer (14), and a flue gas discharging line (L12) that discharges a flue gas (22) generated in the reformer (14), wherein the first heat exchanger (12) is provided in the flue gas discharging line (L12), and the flue gas (22) is used as a heating medium of the compressed natural gas (21).

A steam reformer generates reformed gas by a steam-reforming reaction of hydrocarbon gas such as natural gas. A methanol synthesis column and a gasoline synthesis column synthesize gasoline from the reformed gas via methanol and produce a liquid fuel. A superheater superheats a part of low-pressure steam that has been heat-recovered from the reformed gas with a part of middle-pressure steam that has been heat-recovered by the methanol synthesis column or the gasoline synthesis column, and the steam thereby brought into an unsaturated state is supplied to a low-pressure steam turbine.

A method and system for producing a synthesis gas in an oxygen transport membrane based reforming system that utilizes a combined feed stream having a steam to carbon ratio between about 1.6 and 3.0 and a temperature between about 500 C. and 750 C. The combined feed stream is comprised a pre-reformed hydrocarbon feed, superheated steam, and a reaction product stream created by the reaction of a hydrogen containing stream reacted with the permeated oxygen at the permeate side of the oxygen transport membrane elements and wherein the oxygen transport membrane based reforming system and associated synthesis production process equipment are substantially free of carbon formation and metal dusting corrosion.

The invention relates to methods and apparatus of measuring real time temperature conditions within a reformer. The data is then used for process control optimization, overheat protection, and improved creep damage and fatigue life prediction.

Method of operating a catalytic steam-hydrocarbon reformer where the steam flow rate at which carbon forms on the inner wall of a catalyst-containing reformer tube is determined, and the steam flow rate to the catalytic steam-hydrocarbon reformer is controlled responsive to the determined steam flow rate at which carbon forms on the inner wall of the catalyst-containing reformer tube.

An apparatus includes a furnace having at least one bayonet reforming tube. The furnace is adapted to receive a gas including a hydrocarbon and at least one of steam and carbon dioxide via the bayonet reforming tube, heat and catalytically react the gas to form syngas at a first temperature, cool the syngas to a second temperature lower than the first temperature, and eject the syngas from the tube. The furnace has a first effluent stream including flue gas and a second effluent stream including syngas. The apparatus also includes a first heat recovery section adapted to transfer heat from the first effluent stream to a first heat load including one of air, water, and steam, and a second heat recovery section adapted to transfer heat from the second effluent stream to a second heat load.

Process for the production of synthesis gas by catalytic steam reforming of a hydrocarbon containing feedstock in parallel in an autothermal steam reformer and heat exchange reformer, the heat for the steam reforming reactions in the heat exchange reformer being provided by indirect heat exchange with the combined effluent of the heat exchange reformer and a portion of the autothermal steam reformer.

A method of improving an endothermic process in a furnace utilizing steps a) calibrating the simplified physical model of step c3) by measuring one or more tube temperature for at least a tube impacted by the throttling of a burner in standard and in throttled state, b) acquiring information on a tube temperature for the tubes present in the furnace with all the burners present in the furnace under standard non-throttled conditions, c) getting a map of burners to throttle including c1) choosing at least one parameter representative of the performances of the furnace with a target of improvement, c2) choosing at least one or more power ratio for the burner throttling, c3) utilizing the information of step b) and a simplified physical model of the impact of throttling a burner on the tube temperature, c4) getting a map of burners to throttle, step d) throttling the burners.

A syngas reforming exchanger reactor design is described. The reforming exchanger has a head, a shell, and a tubesheet secured a tube bundle. The tubesheet is bolted to the shell, after which the head is bolted to the shell. A seal is configured between the tubesheet and components of the shell. Another seal is configured between components of the head and the tubesheet. In the reformer exchanger design, those seals are maintained under bolted pressure via the bolting of both the tubesheet and the head to the shell. This design improves the integrity of sealing, thereby preventing escape of hot reformed gases from the reformer exchanger reactor during operation.

The invention relates to a method for decreasing the spread of the tube temperatures between tubes in a process involving the heating of at least one fluid in a furnace that comprises at least one radiation chamber with radiant walls, at least one essentially vertical row of tubes inside of which circulate the at least one fluid to be heated, and being equipped with burners that heat the tubes, where the method comprises the steps of: determining, for each of the tubes the skin temperature of the tube, selecting the 50% tubes having the lowest temperatures determined, the process being stopped, realizing on each tube selected an operation that decreases the flow of the fluid distributed to said tube while keeping the total flow rate of the fluid unchanged.