Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Harry A Marshall

James M Eakman

Theodore Kalina

Stuart S Goldstein

William J Calvin

Methanol is produced by gasifying a carbonaceous feed material with steam in the presence of a carbon-alkali metal catalyst and added hydrogen and carbon monoxide at a temperature between about 1000.degree. F. and about 1500.degree. F. and at a pressure in excess of about 100 psia to produce a raw product gas comprising methane, steam, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide; withdrawing the raw product gas from the gasifier and treating it for the removal of steam, particulates, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide to produce a treated gas containing primarily carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane; separating the treated gas into a methane-rich gas stream and a gas stream containing primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen; passing the methane-rich gas stream to a steam reforming furnace wherein a portion of the methane is reacted with steam to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide which is then passed from the steam reforming furnace into the gasifier; passing the gas stream containing primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen to a methanol synthesis reactor where the carbon monoxide is reacted with the hydrogen in the presence of a methanol synthesis catalyst to form methanol; recovering methanol product from the effluent exiting the methanol synthesis reactor thereby leaving a gas comprised of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide; and recycling at least a portion of this gas to the separation step of the process.

Production of methanol via catalytic coal gasification

Methanol is produced by gasifying a carbonaceous feed material with steam in the presence of a carbon-alkali metal catalyst and added hydrogen and carbon monoxide at a temperature between about 1000.degree. F. and about 1500.degree. F. and at a pressure in excess of about 100 psia to produce a raw product gas comprising methane, steam, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide; withdrawing the raw product gas from the gasifier and treating it for the removal of steam, particulates, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide to produce a treated gas containing primarily carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane; separating the treated gas into a methane-rich gas stream and a gas stream containing primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen; passing the gas stream containing primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen to a methanol synthesis reactor where the carbon monoxide is reacted with the hydrogen in the presence of a methanol synthesis catalyst to form methanol; recovering methanol product from the effluent exiting the methanol synthesis reactor thereby leaving a gas comprised of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide; and passing a portion of this gas to a steam reforming furnace wherein at least a portion of the methane is reacted with steam to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide which is then passed from the steam reforming furnace into the gasifier. Preferably, at least a portion of the methane-rich gas produced in the separation step is used as fuel for the steam reforming furnace.

A process for the separation of carbon dioxide and other acid gas components, in a compound distillation column, from a gaseous mixture comprised of one or more hydrocarbons, inclusive of methane, and hydrogen. The compound distillation column is sectioned (or zoned), one section of which is operated at higher pressure than another, and hence in a relative sense is referred to as a high pressure section while the other is referred to as a low pressure section. A product, principally methane, is removed from the high pressure section while a product of principally acid gases is removed from the low pressure section. By maintaining the sections at different pressure, the separations are more efficiently made and phase separation of products in the low pressure section is easily maintained.

Separation of carbon dioxide and other acid gas components from

A high purity chemical synthesis gas is produced by reacting steam with a carbonaceous feed material in the presence of a carbon-alkali metal catalyst and substantially equilibrium quantities of added hydrogen and carbon monoxide at a temperature between about 1000.degree. F. and about 1500.degree. F. and a pressure in excess of about 100 psia to produce a raw product gas consisting essentially of equilibrium quantities, at reaction temperature and pressure, of methane, steam, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen; withdrawing the raw product gas from the gasifier and treating it for the removal of steam and acid gases to produce a treated gas containing primarily carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane; recovering carbon monoxide and hydrogen from the treated gas as a chemical synthesis product gas; mixing the remainder of the treated gas consisting essentially of methane with steam; passing the resultant mixture into a steam reforming furnace where the methane reacts with the steam to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen; and passing the effluent from the reforming furnace into the gasifier.

Process for the production of a chemical synthesis gas from coal

A process for the separation of carbon dioxide and, optionally, other acid gas components in a distillation column, operated at high pressure and low temperature, from a gaseous mixture comprising one or more hydrocarbons, including particularly methane, and hydrogen. In its preferred aspects, the feed is predominantly methane, suitably from about 30 to about 85 mole percent and preferably from about 50 to about 80 mole percent methane. The concentration of hydrogen in the gaseous mixture will be sufficient to provide from about 6 to about 34 mole percent, preferably from about 15 to about 25 mole percent hydrogen in the rectification portion of the distillation column. The separation can be effected in a single column usually having from about 20 to about 30 theoretical distillation stages and the feed can be one constituted ab initio within the desired ranges of composition, or modified by addition of components just prior to or at the time of distillation.

Subdivided carbonaceous feed solids containing volatilizable hydrocarbons are hydrogasified by heating the solids to at least minimum hydrogasification temperature while in dilute phase suspension in a gas containing molecular hydrogen and in contact with subdivided hot solids having a temperature greater than minimum hydrogasification temperature. The feed and hot solids are passed with the hydrogen-containing gas through a transfer line hydrogasification zone having a length which, for the velocity of the solids passage therethrough, limits the residence of the solids therein to the time necessary for devolatilization of the carbonaceous feed solids and for conversion of a predetermined minor proportion of the carbon of the feed solids to methane. Suitably from about one to about 50 mol percent of the carbon in the carbonaceous feed solids is converted to methane. Preferably the hydrogen-containing gas is a synthesis gas produced in a fluidized bed steam gasification reaction zone into which carbonaceous solids from the transfer line hydrogasification zone are charged after the separation therefrom of product gases containing methane.

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Madison, NJ, United States of America

Harry A Marshall