Patent ID: 8502007

Claim:
A process for the production of a methane-enriched gaseous product, comprising the steps of: (a) gasifying a carbonaceous material in a gasifying reactor, in the presence of steam and an alkali metal gasification catalyst, to produce a gaseous product stream and an alkali metal-containing solid char product, wherein the gaseous product stream comprises methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen; (b) withdrawing the alkali metal-containing solid char product from the gasifying reactor; (c) introducing a gaseous mixture comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide into a reaction zone containing at least a portion of the alkali metal-containing solid char product as a methanation catalyst, (d) reacting at least a portion of the hydrogen with at least a portion of the carbon monoxide in the reaction zone, under suitable temperature and pressure, in the presence of the alkali metal-containing solid char product to produce a methane-enriched gaseous product, and (e) recovering a methane-enriched gaseous product from the reaction zone.