H2 Production from Still Gases on Structured Catalysts for Refineries

In this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project, Nexceris, LLC proposes to develop new engineered catalysts for steam reforming (STR) and water gas shift (WGS) to convert still gases to hydrogen for refineries. Deep desulfurization for ultra-low-sulfur fuels in refineries has led to more need in hydrogen supply. Meanwhile, refineries produce still gases by distillation, cracking, reforming and other processes. The main components of the still gases are methane and ethane. Although some still gases contain hydrogen and small amounts of ethylene and C3+ hydrocarbons, they are valuable components and can be recovered economically with minimal treatment. The still gases are typically consumed as refinery fuel or used as petrochemical feedstock. In order to increase H2 supply and minimize natural gas delivery cost, Nexceris proposes to convert the still gases to hydrogen on novel structured catalysts. The structured catalysts can improve heat and mass transfer, reduce pressure drop and increase catalyst robustness. Also, through unique material synthesis approaches, Nexceris will produce catalysts with excellent characteristics to improve intrinsic activities and stabilities. By tailoring the substrate/catalyst interface with a coating technology, we will seek to increase catalyst loading and adhesion on the substrates. Together, we anticipate catalyst activities will be increased significantly on Nexceris’ advanced catalysts when they are applied to fixed-bed reactors as compared to conventional STR and WGS catalysts, improving H2 productivity and shrinking reactor size. Apparently this will reduce capital cost and energy inputs for hydrogen production from still gases. In the Phase I effort, powder catalysts will be synthesized, characterized, washcoated on small substrates, and tested for the STR and WGS reactions. Correlations between catalyst properties and activities will be established. In the Phase II project, the most promising catalysts will be scaled up and washcoated on large substrates for demonstration. Key Words: steam reforming, water gas shift, still gases, refinery gases, natural gas, methane, ethane, syngas, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and catalyst.