Patent ID: 7871961

Claim:
A catalytic partial oxidation process for the production of hydrogen or syngas from hydrocarbons, wherein said process comprises contacting a hydrocarbon feed gas and an oxygen source with a catalyst for a predetermined contact time, wherein said catalyst consists essentially of rhenium, platinum and a refractory oxide support and a rhenium to platinum atomic ratio is about 4:1, wherein the support has a surface area of about 0.5 m 2 /g to about 4.7 m 2 /g, wherein the rhenium and platinum are in direct contact with the refractory oxide support, said refractory oxide support is selected from the group consisting of alumina, rare earth promoted alumina, and alkaline earth modified alumina, wherein said catalyst is packed in a fixed bed and is-preheated to a temperature of from about 100° C. to a temperature of about 800° C. and wherein said feed gas is preheated to temperature of from about 100° C. to a temperature of about 800° C. and is then introduced into the reactor at a standard gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of between about 1,000 hr −1 and about 2,000,000 hr −1 and while maintaining a pressure of about 1 atmosphere to about 300 atmospheres.