Patent ID: 7727419
Filing Date: 2010-06-01
Classification: B01J,C01B,Y02P

Abstract:
1. A process for producing H 2 and CO, comprising: introducing a hydrocarbon fuel and either an aqueous solution of H wherein said rich mixture is produced upstream from a catalytic zone comprising a reforming catalyst and an oxidation catalyst; wherein said rich mixture flows through said catalytic zone; wherein a portion of the hydrocarbon fuel in the rich mixture is oxidized on the oxidation catalyst and essentially all of the remaining hydrocarbon fuel is reformed on the reforming catalyst, thereby producing H at least once every ten minutes the rich mixture is converted to a lean mixture for a short period of time by steps comprising temporarily decreasing or stopping the hydrocarbon fuel introduction, thereby forming lean-rich cycles; wherein the short periods of lean mixture production are functional to help maintain catalyst activity but are sufficiently short that a temperature of the catalytic zone remains between about 500 and about 850° C. throughout the lean-rich cycles and the lean periods are about 20% or less of the lean-rich cycle time.