Patent ID: 8057734

Claim:
Apparatus useful for producing metal comprising (A) a blast furnace for producing fully reduced base metal and offgas comprising carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from carbonaceous matter and an oxide of said base metal; (B) a carbon dioxide removal system, coupled to said blast furnace to receive at least a portion of said offgas from said blast furnace, for removing carbon dioxide from said offgas and producing carbon dioxide-depleted offgas; and (C) a hydrogen production system, coupled to said carbon dioxide removal system to receive at least a portion of said carbon dioxide-depleted offgas from said carbon dioxide removal system, for producing hydrogen by contacting carbon dioxide-depleted offgas with a reactor metal oxide in which the reactor metal is at a first oxidation state, to produce reactor metal or a reactor metal oxide in which the oxidation state of the reactor metal has been reduced to a second lower oxidation state by reaction of oxygen from the reactor metal oxide with carbon monoxide in the carbon dioxide-depleted offgas to produce a carbon dioxide-augmented stream, and subsequently contacting said reactor metal or reactor metal oxide at said second oxidation state with steam to produce a hydrogen-containing stream separate from said carbon dioxide-augmented stream and oxidize said reactor metal or reactor metal oxide to said first oxidation state.