A system and method for producing hydrogen from hydrocarbon and steam, including a membrane reformer with multiple membrane reactors each having a tubular membrane. The bore of the tubular membrane is the permeate side for the hydrogen. The region external to the tubular membrane is the retentate side for carbon dioxide. A sweep gas flows through the bore to displace hydrogen in a direction countercurrent to flow of hydrocarbon and steam in the region external to the tubular membrane. The method includes discharging hydrogen as permeate with the sweep gas from the bore, and discharging carbon dioxide in the region external to the tubular membrane as retentate from the membrane reactor.

In a process for steam reforming of oxygenates, especially at low steam-to-carbon (S/C) ratios, a feed gas containing oxygenates, such as ethanol, is converted into syngas over a ternary carbide catalyst. Then the reformed gas is either transformed into desired chemicals or mixed into the feed stream to the reformer in a plant, such as an ammonia or methanol plant. The preferred ternary carbide is nickel zinc carbide.

Modified red mud catalyst compositions, methods for production, and methods of use in dry reforming, the composition comprising: red mud material produced from an alumina extraction process from bauxite ore; and nickel oxide, the nickel oxide present at between about 5 wt. % to about 40 wt. % of the modified red mud catalyst composition.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a molding comprising a mixed oxide comprising O, Mg, and Ni, the process comprising: —(i) mixing water, a Mg source, a Ni source, and an acid, to obtain a mixture; —(ii) subjecting the mixture obtained from (i) to a shaping process; —(iii) calcining the molding obtained from (ii) in a gas atmosphere having a temperature in the range of from 700 to 1400° C.; wherein the molar ratio of the acid used in (i) to Ni, calculated as elemental Ni, of the Ni source used in (i), acid:Ni, is equal to or higher than 0.001:1. Further, the present invention relates to a molding comprising a mixed oxide comprising O, Mg, and Ni, wherein the mixed oxide comprises a specific crystalline phase Ni.sub.xMg.sub.yO, wherein the sum of x and y is 1, and wherein y is greater than 0.52. The molding is used for reforming methane to a synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

A hydrocarbon is reacted with water in the presence of a catalyst to form hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is selectively allowed to pass through a hydrogen separation membrane to a permeate side of a reactor, while water and carbon-containing compounds remain in a retentate side of the reactor. An outlet stream is flowed from the retentate side to a heat exchanger. The outlet stream is cooled to form a cooled stream. The cooled stream is separated into a liquid phase and a vapor phase. The liquid phase is flowed to the heat exchanger and heated to form steam. The vapor phase is cooled to form condensed water and a first offgas stream. The first offgas stream is cooled to form condensed carbon dioxide and a second offgas stream. The steam and the second offgas stream are recycled to the reactor.

A system and method of producing hydrogen, including converting hydrocarbon to methane via steam and pre-reforming catalyst in a pre-reformer, converting the methane to hydrogen and carbon dioxide by steam reforming via a reforming catalyst in a membrane reformer, diffusing through hydrogen through a tubular membrane in the membrane reformer.

A process is proposed for producing synthesis gas with reduced steam export by catalytic steam reforming of a hydrocarbonaceous feed gas with steam in a multitude of reformer tubes in a burner-heated reformer furnace to form a steam reforming flue gas. This process includes a configuration of the reformer tubes as reformer tubes with internal heat exchange and the use of a structured catalyst. For amounts of export steam between 0 and 0.8 kg of export steam per m.sub.N.sup.3 of hydrogen produced, these features interact synergistically when particular steam reforming conditions are selected.

In one aspect, the disclosure relates to relates to CO.sub.2-free methods of co-producing hydrogen and solid forms of carbon via methane decomposition. The methods are efficient, self-sustaining, and environmentally sound. In a further aspect, the disclosure relates to recyclable and recoverable catalysts supported by solid forms of carbon and methods for recycling the catalysts. In some aspects, the disclosure relates to catalysts that do not require support by solid forms of carbon. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

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.

An apparatus for the production of hydrogen from a fuel source includes a combustor configured to receive a combustor fuel and convert the combustor fuel into a combustor heat; a reformer disposed annularly about the combustor, a removable structured catalyst support disposed within the gap and coated with a catalyst to induce combustor fuel combustion reactions that convert the combustor fuel to the combustor heat, and a combustor fuel injection aperture configured for mixing combustion fuel into the combustion catalyst. The combustor fuel injection aperture being disposed along a length of the combustion zone. The reformer and the combustor define a gap therebetween and the reformer is configured to receive the combustor heat.