Patent attributes
A method of producing a hydrogen product stream in which a steam stream is reacted with a hydrocarbon containing stream within a steam methane reformer. The resulting product stream is subjected to a water gas shift reaction and then to pressure swing adsorption to produce the hydrogen product stream. The hydrocarbon stream is alternatively formed from a first type of feed stream made up of natural gas, refinery off-gas, naphtha or synthetic natural gas or combinations thereof and a second type that is additionally made up of a hydrogen and carbon monoxide containing gas. During use of both of the types of feed streams, the flow rate of the steam stream is not substantially changed and reformer exit temperatures of both the reactant and the flue gas side are held essentially constant.
