Patent ID: 8182558

Claim:
A device for generating hydrogen from reactive fluids including a liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon, oxygen and water comprising: a reaction chamber into which the reactive fluids are introduced to perform a reforming reaction, which produces hydrogen and carbon oxides, this reaction being carried out at high temperature, a first, approximately cylindrical zone surrounding the reaction chamber and in which circulates a mixture of the reactive fluids to be introduced into the reaction chamber, to the exclusion of the products of the reaction, this zone being separated from the reaction chamber in order to recover, at least in part, the heat lost by the reaction chamber, so as to preheat the mixture circulating in the first zone, the reagent or reagents being in direct contact with the walls of this first zone to carry out heat exchanges, a second, approximately cylindrical zone surrounding the first zone and in which circulates water to be preheated and vaporized, the water being in direct contact with the walls of this second zone, the separation between the first and second zones being such that the water circulating in the second zone recovers the heat lost by the first zone in order to preheat the water, and means for mixing water from the second zone with the hydrocarbon before introducing the mixture in the form of vapor into the first zone, the design being such that an inner surface of an outer wall of the device, is made up of an inner surface of an outer surface of the second zone, in contact with the water, is at a lower temperature than the temperature of the reaction chamber wherein the means for mixing water from the second zone with the hydrocarbon before introducing the mixture in the form of vapour into the first zone are located in a third zone located in a lower part of the reaction chamber, the means for mixing comprising an outer annular zone delimited by an inner and an outer wall, the water vapour coming from the second zone being introduced in the outer annular zone to be superheated at an upper part of the third zone, the superheating of the water vapour being obtained by contact of an outer exchange wall of the outer annular zone with the reforming gases, a tube for introducing the hydrocarbon, located inside the inner wall of the outer annular zone, this tube having at its upper end an injection nozzle which sprays the hydrocarbon in fine droplets, and a concave wall located at the upper part of the third zone allowing the droplets of hydrocarbon to vaporize by contact of said concave wall with these droplets, wherein the mixture of vaporized hydrocarbon and water circulates in the space between the tube and the inner wall of the annular zone to be introduced in the first zone.