FUEL PROCESSING OF FEEDSTOCKS HAVING HIGH OLEFIN CONCENTRATIONS

摘要

A reformer system (11) having a hydrodesulfurizer (12) provides desulfurized natural gas feedstock to a catalytic steam reformer (16), the outflow of which is treated by a water gas shift reactor (20) and optionally a preferential CO oxidizer (58) to provide reformate gas (28, 28a) having high hydrogen and moderate carbon dioxide content. To avoid damage to the hydrodesulfurizer from overheating, any olefins in the non-desulfurized natural gas feedstock (35) are reacted (38) with hydrogen (28, 28a; 71) to convert them to alkanes (e.g., ethylene and propylene to ethane and propane) in a hydrogenator (38) cooled (46), below a temperature which would damage the hydrogenator, by evaporative cooling with pressurized hot water (42). Hydrogen for the desulfurizer and the olefin reaction may be provided as recycle reformate (28, 28a) or from a mini-CPO (67), or from other sources.