Patent ID: 6967063

Claim:
A method for reforming a sulfur-containing carbonaceous fuel comprising, the steps of: providing a sulfur-containing carbonaceous fuel; adding sulfer to said sulfur-containing carbonaceous fuel, in an amount sufficient to maintain an equilibrium sulfer level on a surface of the catalyst composition, as hereafter defined; maintaining the concentration of sulfur in said sulfur-containing carbonaceous fuel to less than 1% by weight; then mixing said sulfur-containing carbonaceous fuel with steam and a gas selected from the group consisting of air and oxygen, to form a fuel/steam/oxidant mixture; and autothermal reforming said fuel/steam/oxidant mixture by contacting said fuel/steam/oxidant mixture in an autothermal reformer with catalyst composition comprising a three-part catalyst with a dehydrogenation portion, an oxidation portion and a hydrodesulfurization portion, resulting in formation of a hydrogen-containing gas stream; said hydrodesulfurization portion of said catalyst composition comprising a material selected from the group consisting of sulfates of rare earth metals, sulfides of rare earth metal, their substoichiometric metals, and mixtures thereof.