Improvements in and relating to the production of fuel gas

摘要

In a process for producing a fuel gas from a gaseous or normally liquid hydrocarbon the raw material in admixture with air and steam, preheated to a temperature between 400 DEG and 450 DEG C., is divided into two streams, one stream being passed through a tube 32 extending through a vessel 1 to produce a partially cracked gas while the other stream is passed through and completely cracked in the annular zone in the vessel 1 surrounding the tube 32, the two streams being subsequently mixed in controlled proportions to give a gas of the desired town gas. A temperature between 800 DEG and 950 DEG C. is maintained within the vessel 1 and both zones in the vessel 1 are packed with a catalyst, the packing in the tube 32 being less dense than in the outer zone. A portion of the mixed gas may be re-cycled to be mixed with the starting material and the partially cracked gas or the mixed gas may be subjected to a catalytic hydrogenation at a temperature between 60 DEG and 300 DEG C. to reduce the olefin content of the gas.