Patent ID: 7695708

Claim:
A method for generating hydrogen in a production facility comprising: (a) forming a reformer feed gas mixture from a steam-containing gas, a sulfur-depleted reformer feedstock, and a separate steam-containing recycle gas mixture; (b) introducing the reformer feed gas mixture into a plurality of catalyst-containing reformer tubes of a catalytic steam reformer to form a reformed gas mixture comprising hydrogen; (c) combusting a fuel external to the plurality of catalyst-containing reformer tubes to supply energy for reforming the reformer feed gas mixture; (d) passing the reformed gas mixture or a portion of the reformed gas mixture from the plurality of catalyst-containing reformer tubes into a boiler to form a boiler effluent from the reformed gas mixture or the portion of the reformed gas mixture and to generate steam from a liquid water-containing feed; and (e) forming the separate steam-containing recycle gas mixture from a first portion of the boiler effluent, the separate steam-containing recycle gas mixture containing steam from the reformer effluent.