Metallgesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft

Hans J Renner

Heinz Jockel

Friedrich W Moller

Hagen Krumm

Gerd Siebert

A process of producing a town-gas-grade fuel gas having a calorific value below 18,000 kJ/standard m.sup.3 (4,300 kcal/standard m.sup.3) by a catalytic reaction of methanol and water vapor under a pressure of 10 to 50 bars is disclosed wherein 80 to 95 percent of the mixed feedstock (methanol and water vapor) is fed in a water vapor to methanol weight ratio of 0.5 to 1.5 to a first reaction zone where it is maintained at a temperature of 300.degree. to 700.degree. C. in contact with a nickel catalyst containing 25 to 50 weight percent nickel, the remainder of the mixed feedstock being mixed with the effluent gas from the first reaction zone and together passed to a second reaction zone at a temperature of 200.degree. to 400.degree. C. and therein contacted with a copper catalyst containing 40 to 70 percent by weight copper.

Process of producing town gas from methanol

A reducing gas containing essentially carbon monoxide and hydrogen and only small amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane is produced by reacting a normally liquid, volatile hydrocarbon with water vapor in two stages under superatmospheric pressure in the presence of nickel-containing catalysts. The improvement of the invention involves adding from 0.02 to 0.1 standard cubic meter of hydrogen per kilogram hydrocarbon to the hydrocarbons to be gasified, subjecting the resulting mixture to a hydrogenation desulfurization and, after adding up to 1.6 kilogram water vapor per kilogram hydrocarbon, reacting said mixture in a one-part first gasification stage at temperatures of 350.degree.-550.degree. C. in the presence of a catalyst containing from 35-70% by weight nickel on a magnesium-containing support thereby producing a high-methane gas which is reacted further in a second stage at temperatures above 850.degree. C. in contact with an indirectly heated heat resistant nickel catalyst.

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Munich, Georgia

Hans J Renner