Patent ID: 7294157

Claim:
A carbon monoxide converter comprising shift catalyst beds arranged in tandem for conducting a shift reaction for converting CO and H 2 O to H 2 and CO 2 , wherein said shift catalyst beds are arranged in a gas flow direction such that they are shorter on the upstream side, on which a gas containing CO and H 2 O is introduced, and longer on the downstream side, on which a gas containing the produced H 2 and CO 2 is discharged, wherein a heat exchanger is disposed upstream of each shift catalyst bed, and wherein the temperatures of said shift catalyst beds are controlled during the shift reaction and a gas containing CO 2 and H 2 O discharged from the carbon monoxide converter is introduced into a carbon-monoxide-oxidizing unit, and wherein temperature sensors are disposed at the inlets of said shift catalyst beds as well as therein, respectively, and CO concentration sensors are disposed at the outlets of said shift catalyst beds, and further a unit for controlling the flow rates of cooling water and the reformed gas in the heat exchangers based on data from said temperature sensors and said CO concentration sensors is provided.