Patent ID: 7736403

Claim:
A process for humidifying syngas comprising: (a) reacting a carbonaceous material with oxygen, water, or carbon dioxide to produce a raw syngas stream comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide; (b) combining said raw syngas stream of step (a) with a diluent to produce a diluted syngas stream comprising about 10 to about 60 moles of said diluent per 100 moles of said raw syngas stream; (c) passing said diluted syngas stream of step (b) to a radiant heat exchanger to produce a cooled syngas stream; and (d) contacting said cooled syngas stream of step (c) with liquid water to produce a humidified syngas stream; wherein the amount of said diluent combined with said raw syngas stream in step (b) is chosen to give an H 2 O:CO molar ratio of about 1:1 to about 3:1 in said humidified syngas stream of step (d) and said H 2 O:CO molar ratio varies in response to a downstream syngas requirement.