Patent ID: 8529865

Claim:
A process for producing synthetic hydrocarbons and further producing hydrogen and optionally CO in a carbon-to-liquids system comprising two syngas generators operated in parallel, the process comprising: (a) converting a carbonaceous feedstream in a first syngas generator to form a first synthesis gas stream comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen; (b) feeding said first synthesis gas stream or a portion thereof to a hydrocarbon synthesis reactor comprising a hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst, under conversion promoting conditions sufficient to produce synthetic hydrocarbons, product water, and oxygenates, thereby generating a hydrocarbon product stream and a process water stream, said hydrocarbon product stream comprising at least a portion of said synthetic hydrocarbons, said process water stream comprising at least a portion of the produced oxygenates dissolved in at least a portion of product water, and said hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst is selected from a group 9 or 10 element; (c) treating said process water stream to form an oxygenates-rich stream, said oxygenates-rich stream comprising a reforming reactant and oxygenates originating from said hydrocarbon synthesis product water, wherein said treating to form said oxygenates-rich stream comprises passing said process water stream through a distillation unit to form an oxygenates overhead stream and stripping said oxygenates overhead stream with a stripping fluid comprising said reforming reactant; and (d) passing said oxygenates-rich stream in a reforming zone in a second syngas generator under steam reforming promoting conditions with a steam reforming catalyst sufficient for the conversion of said oxygenates and said reforming reactant to form at least hydrogen and optionally carbon monoxide, wherein the steam reforming catalyst comprises rhodium, iridium, osmium, cerium, lanthanum, or mixtures thereof, and to generate a second synthesis gas stream comprising said formed hydrogen and optionally said formed carbon monoxide.