Patent ID: 8184763
Filing Date: 2012-05-22
Classification: C01B,C10G,C10J,C10K,C10L,G21D,Y02E,Y02P

Abstract:
1. A system for producing at least one hydrocarbon fuel from a carbonaceous material, the system comprising: a nuclear power plant; an hydrocarbon fuel manufacturing plant, for manufacturing said at least one hydrocarbon fuel, comprising at least an electrolyzer unit for producing a first hydrogen stream from water and electric power provided by the nuclear power plant, and an hydrocarbon fuel synthesis unit for producing a product stream containing the at least one hydrocarbon fuel from at least said carbonaceous material and hydrogen, the nuclear power plant supplying power to a power distribution grid to which electric power consumers other than said hydrocarbon manufacturing plant are electrically connected, the grid being electrically connected to the nuclear power plant and said other electric power consumers having a total variable power consumption; a buffer storage of at least one given hydrocarbon fuel; a reforming unit for converting said at least one given hydrocarbon fuel to a second hydrogen stream containing at least hydrogen, and means to feed said at least one given hydrocarbon fuel to said reforming unit at a controlled feed flow rate; means to feed the hydrocarbon fuel synthesis unit with the first hydrogen stream at a first controlled flow rate and with the second hydrogen stream at a second controlled flow rate; and means to control the first and second controlled flow rate as a function of a current electrical power delivered by the nuclear power plant and the current power consumption of the electric power consumers, programmed to increase the second controlled flow rate when the first controlled flow rate is decreased because the electric power received by the electrolyzer unit is reduced.