UTILIZATION OF MEMBRANES AND EXPANDER/COMPRESSORS IN GASIFICATION

摘要

The invention is a process to recover a high pressure hydrogen rich gas stream from synthesis gas. The synthesis gas is separated into a hydrogen-enriched permeate and a hydrogen-depleted non-permeate by use of a membrane. The permeate experiences a substantial pressure drop of between about 500 psi (23.9 KPa) to 700 psi (33.5 kPa) as it passes through the membrane. The pressure of the non-permeate gas is unchanged by the membrane. The non-permeate gas pressure is reduced to between about 200 psi (9.58 kPa) and about 500 psi (23.0 kPa) for use in a combustion turbine. The hydrogen-rich permeate is compressed to between about 800 psi (38.3 kPa) and 3000 psi (143.6 kPa) for use in subsequent operations, i.e., for use in hydrotreating of crude oil. The non-permeate gas is expanded in a manner to provide energy which is used to compress the permeate gas.