Patent ID: 7718159

Claim:
A process for the production of a synthesis gas (B) by steam reforming a hydrocarbon feedstock (A) in a steam reforming reactor, called reactor-exchanger (R 1 ), and for the co-production of electrical energy, in which the input of calories required for steam reforming is obtained by in situ combustion inside the reactor-exchanger (R 1 ) of a first flux of hydrogen ( 5 ) with a flux of air ( 1 ), the flux of hydrogen ( 5 ) coming from steam reforming reactor-exchanger effluents (B) after separation of any CO2 and H2O contained in said effluents (B), said flux of air ( 1 ) necessary for said in-situ combustion being compressed to a pressure of between 0.4 to 4 MPa absolute by a compressor (C 1 ), and wherein effluent of combustion ( 6 ) that results from said combustion is divided into at least two portions: a first portion ( 7 ) which is recycled ( 11 ) to the input of said reactor-exchanger (R 1 ) so as to dilute the steam reforming hydrogen flux ( 5 ) and to limit the oxygen content in the reactor-exchanger (R 1 ) to a value less than 10 mol %, a second portion ( 12 ) which is introduced into a post combustion chamber (CC 1 ), said chamber (CC 1 ) also receiving a second flux of hydrogen ( 19 ) from steam reforming reactor-exchanger effluent (B), and a portion of compressed air ( 4 ) coming from the flux of air ( 1 ), a resulting flow ( 13 ) of combustion between fluxes ( 12 ), ( 4 ) and ( 19 ) in the post combustion chamber (CC 1 ) being expanded in a turbine (TD 1 ) so as to provide in part the energy necessary for the compression (C 1 ) and that drives an alternator (AT 1 ) that provides the co-production of electrical energy.