Patent ID: 7985704

Claim:
A method of regenerating an absorbent comprising: preparing a reactor having opened opposite ends, one end of which being connected to a gas inlet portion for introducing a feedstock gas and steam and the other end being connected to a discharge portion of reforming reaction gas; filling the reactor with a reforming catalyst and an absorbent comprising lithium silicate for absorbing carbon dioxide; feeding the feedstock gas and the steam via the gas inlet portion to the interior of the reactor to allow a steam reforming reaction to take place; allowing the absorbent to absorb carbon dioxide generated with hydrogen at the steam reforming reaction; and releasing the carbon dioxide from the absorbent after the carbon dioxide absorption capacity of the absorbent is degraded; wherein temperature in an inside of the reactor is set to 625° C. or more at the release of the carbon dioxide, and an inert gas or a mixed inert gas containing not more than 5% by volume of carbon dioxide is employed as a treatment gas and fed via the discharge portion to the interior of the reactor in a manner that the direction of flow of the treatment gas is opposite to the feeding direction of the feedstock gas and the steam.