Patent ID: 8894967

Claim:
A thermally integrated process for the production of hydrogen by reforming water and a hydrocarbon feedstock to produce a synthesis gas, comprising: (a) mixing a stream of air and/or water, said stream having a temperature less by at least 200° C. than combustion temperature inside a burner, with effluent that is obtained from said burner, reducing the temperature of the effluent that is obtained from said burner to less than 725° C., (b) using the mixture of effluent and air and/or water that is obtained from (a) in a first heat exchanger, superheating at least one of a water vapor stream and a hydrocarbon feedstock stream in gaseous form, injecting said stream that is thus superheated by indirect heat exchange directly into a reforming reactor where it is used as a fuel, and said mixture of effluent and air and/or water from (a) exits from the first heat exchanger, (c) employing the mixture exiting said first heat exchanger in (b) in a second heat exchanger to totally evaporate a stream of liquid water and/or hydrocarbon feedstock when the latter is liquid.