Patent ID: 9598290
Date: 2017-03-21
CPC Classifications: C01B,C01C,C07C

Claim:
1. A process for the production of urea, comprising the steps of (a) providing a hydrocarbon material; (b) subjecting the hydrocarbon material to catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) by reaction with an oxygen-containing gas stream in a CPO reactor so as to produce a synthesis gas comprising carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide; wherein said catalytic partial oxidation is a short contact time catalytic partial oxidation, conducted under a space velocity of 100,000 to 250,000 hr (c) subjecting the synthesis gas to a water gas shift reaction so as to react carbon monoxide with water to form a gas mixture comprising hydrogen and carbon dioxide; (d) recovering CO (e) purifying hydrogen from said gas mixture enriched in hydrogen using a pressure swing absorber, to yield a pure hydrogen stream and a purge gas stream; and (f) reacting the hydrogen of (e) with nitrogen under ammonia-forming conditions so as to produce ammonia; and (g) combining the ammonia produced in (f) with the recovered CO wherein air supplied to a single air separation unit provides the oxygen-containing gas stream used in the catalytic partial oxidation and the nitrogen used in the ammonia-forming reaction; and wherein the entire purge gas stream is recycled to the CPO reactor.