PRODUCTION METHOD FOR HIGH PURITY HYDROGEN FROM HEAVY HYDROCARBON FUEL AND ITS APPARATUS

• Main Authors: UEMIYA NARIYUKI, SHIMIZU TADAAKI, MOROGA KATSUMI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 11.09.2002
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMISTRY; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; ELECTRICITY; INORGANIC CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY; NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY; SEPARATION; TRANSPORTING

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a production method and an apparatus therefor which manufacture high purity hydrogen easily and certainly from a heavy hydrocarbon fuel. SOLUTION: A first stage steam reforming part 1 carries out a steam reforming reaction by adding steam to a desulfurized heavy hydrocarbon fuel with a first reforming catalyst 2, and the generated gas which is generated in the first stage steam reforming part 1 comes to an equilibrium state with a shift reaction and a methanation reaction having a second reforming catalyst 6 and a hydrogen selective permeable membrane 7, and in this state, only hydrogen is extracted from the reaction field, and a second stage reforming part 5 depresses a hydrogen partial pressure by adding steam to the side of this extracted hydrogen, and a vapor-liquid separator 10 removes the steam added to the extracted hydrogen by cooling. The high purity hydrogen can be manufactured from the heavy hydrocarbon fuel by the second stage reforming, easily and on a large scale, and it is easily used for fuel cells, or the like.