Patent ID: 6509000
Filing Date: 2003-01-21
Classification: C01B,Y02E

Abstract:
A process for the continuous production of hydrogen from methane and/or natural gas and/or methane-rich hydrocarbons and steam at temperature at or below 650Â° C., using a solid catalyst comprising group VIII metal oxide(s) in two parallel reactors, which comprises:i) reducing the solid catalyst in both the reactors by contacting the catalyst with a gaseous feed comprising a reducing agent at a concentration in the range of from about 1 mole % to about 100 mole %, at a gas hourly space velocity in the range of from 100 cm3gâˆ’1hâˆ’1 to 100,000 cm3gâˆ’1hâˆ’1 at a temperature in the range of from 350Â° C. to 650Â° C. and at a pressure of at least about 1.0 atm for a time period in the range of from 0.1 h to 100 h, ii) contacting a first gaseous feed comprising methane and/or natural gas and/or methane rich hydrocarbons, at a gas hourly space velocity in the range from about 50 cm3gâˆ’1hâˆ’1 to about 50,000 cm3gâˆ’1hâˆ’1 with the solid catalyst reduced in step-i in a first parallel reactor, at a temperature in the range from 300Â° C. to 650Â° C. and at a pressure of about at least 1 atmosphere, and simultaneously contacting a second gaseous feed comprising steam, with the solid catalyst reduced in step-i in a second parallel reactor, at the same gas hourly space velocity, temperature and pressure as that employed in the first reactor, while regularly switching over the first gaseous feed and the second gaseous feed, between the two parallel reactors at an interval of time in the range from about 0.1 min to about 100 min, to obtain a mixed product stream comprising hydrogen from the two reactors.