High-purity hydrogen (95%-99%) is required for hydrodesulfurization, hydrogenation, hydrocracking, and petrochemical processes. Hydrogen, produced as a by-product of refinery processes (principally hydrogen recovery from catalytic reformer product gases), often is not enough to meet the total refinery requirements, necessitating the manufacturing of additional hydrogen or obtaining supply from external sources.
In steam-methane reforming, desulfurized gases are mixed with superheated steam (1,100°-1,600° F) and reformed in tubes containing a nickel base catalyst. The reformed gas, which consists of steam, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, is cooled and passed through converters containing an iron catalyst where the carbon monoxide reacts with steam to form carbon dioxide and more hydrogen. The carbon dioxide is removed by amine washing. Any remaining carbon monoxide in the product stream is converted to methane.
Steam-naphtha reforming is a continuous process for the production of hydrogen from liquid hydrocarbons and is, in fact, similar to steam-methane reforming. A variety of naphthas in the gasoline boiling range may be employed, including fuel containing up to 35% aromatics. Following pretreatment to remove sulfur compounds, the feedstock is mixed with steam and taken to the reforming furnace (1,250°-1,500° F) where hydrogen is produced.