Patent ID: 8563185

Claim:
A process for the production of hydrogen and carbon dioxide from a hydrocarbonaceous feedstock, comprising: a) supplying a gaseous hydrocarbonaceous feedstock and steam to a reaction zone comprising a bed of steam reforming catalyst and catalytically reforming the hydrocarbonaceous feedstock to produce a reformed gas comprising hydrogen and carbon dioxide in said reaction zone; b) supplying a molecular oxygen-comprising gas to the permeate side of a first hydrogen separation membrane which is present within the bed of steam reforming catalyst; c) contacting a part of the hydrogen of the reformed gas with the first hydrogen separation membrane, allowing the hydrogen to permeate through the first hydrogen separation membrane and combusting the thus-permeated hydrogen with the molecular oxygen at a permeate side of the first hydrogen separation membrane to produce heat necessary for catalytic reforming the hydrocarbonaceous feedstock, wherein the produced heat is transferred to the reaction zone through the hydrogen separation membrane; d) contacting the remainder of the hydrogen of the reformed gas with a second hydrogen separation membrane, which is separate from the first hydrogen separation membrane and which is also present within the bed of steam reforming catalyst, and allowing the hydrogen to permeate through the second hydrogen separation membrane to obtain a first effluent comprising a substantially pure stream of hydrogen; and e) removing a stream rich in carbon dioxide from the reaction zone as a second effluent.