Patent ID: 8142756

Claim:
A method of producing a hydrogen-rich product stream using a catalyst consisting of a metal substituted hexaaluminate for reforming hydrocarbon fuels, comprising: contacting a feed stream and said catalyst in a catalyst zone under a temperature condition sufficient for at least one reforming reaction, where the at least one reforming reaction is steam reforming, autothermal reforming, or partial oxidation, and where the feed stream is comprised of hydrocarbons and an oxygen-containing oxidant gas, and where the feed stream has an O 2 to C ratio less than the stoichiometric amount of oxygen necessary to oxidize all the carbon in the feed stream to CO 2 , and where the metal substituted hexaaluminate is a hexaaluminate having the composition AB y Al 12-y O 19-δ where, A occupies the A-site of the metal substituted hexaaluminate and A is comprised of a primary A component, where the primary A component is an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, or a lanthanide metal, and where A may be further comprised of an A-site dopant, where the A-site dopant is an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, or a lanthanide metal, where the primary A component and the A-site dopant are different elements, and where the molar quantity of the A-site dopant in the AB y Al 12-y O 19-δ composition is less than or equal to the molar quantity of the primary A component in the AB y Al 12-y O 19-δ composition, B occupies the B-site of the metal substituted hexaaluminate and B is comprised of a primary B component and a B-site dopant, where the primary B component is Co, Fe, Rh, Ni, Ru, Cu, Pt, Os, Pd, Re, Ti, or Ag, and where the B-site dopant is Fe, Ir, Rh, Ni, Ru, Cu, Pt, Os, Pd, Cr, Re, V, Ti, or Ag, where 0<y≦3 and where the primary B component and the B-site dopant are different elements, and where the molar quantity of the B-site dopant in the AB y Al 12-y O 19-δ composition is greater than zero and less than or equal to the molar quantity of the primary B component in the AB y Al 12-y O 19-δ composition, and where if Ni is the primary B component or the B-site dopant, Ni is present in a concentration greater than 2.3 weight percent of the metal substituted hexaaluminate and less than 4.4 weight percent of the metal substituted hexaaluminate, δ is a number rendering the composition charge neutral; and withdrawing the hydrogen-rich product stream from the catalyst zone, where a majority of hydrogen in the hydrogen-rich product stream exists as H 2 , thereby producing the hydrogen-rich product stream using the metal substituted hexaaluminate as said catalyst for reforming hydrocarbon fuels.