Chiyoda Corporation

Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd.

Inpex Corporation

Jx Nippon Oil Energy Corporation

Nippon Steel Engineering Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineering Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Zosen Corporation

Nippon Oil Corporation

Waseda University

Kenichi Kawazuishi

Fuyuki Yagi

Shuhei Wakamatsu

Yasumasa Morita

Yuichi Tanaka

Yoshimi Shiroto

Mitsunori Shimura

Tomoyuki Mikuriya

Shinya Hodoshima

Masato Tauchi

Masahiko Matsukata

Kenichi Mimura

Masayuki Iwamura

According to the present invention, in separating carbon dioxide by a membrane separation with a separation membrane system using an inorganic separation membrane from a mixed gas containing methane and carbon dioxide, and then by an acid gas removal process using an absorbent, by specifying the suitable range of the carbon dioxide mole fraction at the outlet on the carbon dioxide non-permeation side Xin the membrane separation, which corresponds to an ideal separation factor of the inorganic separation membrane, the proper distribution conditions become feasible. As a result, a method for separating carbon dioxide in which the decrease of the production amount by methane permeation in the membrane separation and the energy loss accompanying the decrease are suppressed, and further the energy consumption in an acid gas removal process using an absorbent, which is a post-process, can be suppressed, is provided.

Method for separating carbon dioxide

A method and a device for condensing a water-soluble organic matter, which can collect a highly concentrated water-soluble organic matter, save energy, and reduce cost of the device by reducing a membrane area. According to the present invention, the permeability ratio of a vapor-permeation separation membrane disposed at least immediately before a final outlet on a non-permeation side in the separation membrane device is lower than those of the other vapor-permeation separation membranes while a hybrid process combining distillation by the distillation column with membrane separation by the separation membrane devices including a plurality of vapor-permeation separation membranes is used and energy saving performance is maintained. Therefore, a highly concentrated and condensed component of a water-soluble organic matter is obtained. In addition, it is possible to reduce a membrane area of the vapor-permeation separation membranes in the whole separation membrane devices and to provide a technology leading to cost reduction.

Method for condensing water-soluble organic matter and device for condensing water-soluble organic matter

There is provided a hydrocarbon distillation separation apparatus for fractionally distilling hydrocarbon compounds discharged from a Fisher-Tropsch synthesis reactor synthesizing hydrocarbon compounds, comprising a heavy hydrocarbon fractionator configured to fractionally distil liquid heavy components of the hydrocarbon compounds discharged from the reactor into a first middle distillate and a wax fraction, a light hydrocarbon fractionator configured to fractionally distil gaseous light components of the hydrocarbon compounds discharged from the reactor into a second middle distillate and a light gas fraction, a light hydrocarbon separator configured to separate hydrocarbon compounds equivalent to naphtha from the light gas fraction; and a mixing section configured to mix the first and second middle distillates, and the hydrocarbon compounds equivalent to naphtha separated from the light gas fraction by the light hydrocarbon separator.

Hydrocarbon compound distillation separation apparatus

A synthesis gas production apparatus (reformer) to be used for a synthesis gas production step in a GTL (gas-to-liquid) process is prevented from being contaminated by metal components. A method of suppressing metal contamination of a synthesis gas production apparatus operating for a GTL process that includes a synthesis gas production step of producing synthesis gas by causing natural gas and gas containing steam and/or carbon dioxide to react with each other for reforming in a synthesis gas production apparatus in which, at the time of separating and collecting a carbon dioxide contained in the synthesis gas produced in the synthesis gas production step and recycling the separated and collected carbon dioxide as source gas for the reforming reaction in the synthesis gas production step, a nickel concentration in the recycled carbon dioxide is not higher than 0.05 ppmv.

Method of suppressing metal contamination of synthesis gas production apparatus

It is avoided that the sulfur compounds originating from the castable is mixed into produced synthesis gas, the mixed sulfur compounds are separated and collected with carbon dioxide, the collected carbon dioxide is recycled as raw material gas and then the sulfur compounds is directly supplied to the reformer to consequently degrade the reforming catalyst in the reformer by sulfur poisoning. The carbon dioxide separated and collected in the carbon dioxide removal step is introduced into the desulfurization apparatus of the desulfurization step or the sulfur compounds adsorption apparatus before being recycled to the reformer to remove the sulfur compounds.

Method for producing synthesis gas

There is provided a method for upgrading hydrocarbon compounds, in which hydrocarbon compounds synthesized in a Fisher-Tropsch synthesis reaction are fractionally distillated, and the fractionally distillated hydrocarbon compounds are hydrotreated to produce liquid fuel products. The method includes fractionally distilling heavy hydrocarbon compounds synthesized in the Fisher-Tropsch synthesis reaction as a liquid into a first middle distillate and a wax fraction, and fractionally distilling light hydrocarbon compounds synthesized in the Fisher-Tropsch synthesis reaction as a gas into a second middle distillate and a light gas fraction.

Method for upgrading hydrocarbon compounds and a hydrocarbon compound distillation separation apparatus

A situation where sulfur compounds originating from a castable are mixed into synthesis gas produced by way of a reforming reaction and the mixed sulfur compounds are separated and collected with carbon dioxide and further fed into a reformer to thereby degrade the reforming catalyst of the reformer by sulfur poisoning is avoided. Purge gas that is steam or steam-containing gas is made to flow into the piping to be used for a synthesis gas production apparatus and dried out to remove the sulfur compounds contained in the castable prior to the start-up of operation of the synthesis gas production apparatus, in order to prevent the sulfur compounds from being released by hot synthesis gas.

Method for removing sulfur compounds in castable

In a so-called GTL process for producing liquid hydrocarbons containing fuel oil by producing synthesis gas from natural gas, subsequently producing Fischer-Tropsch oil from the obtained synthesis gas by way of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and upgrading the produced Fischer-Tropsch oil, the synthesis gas produced from a synthesis gas production step is partly branched at a stage prior to getting to a Fischer-Tropsch oil production step and high-purity hydrogen is separated and produced from the synthesis gas entering the branch line. All the separated high-purity hydrogen is supplied to an upgrading reaction step and consumed as hydrogen for an upgrading reaction. Additionally, the synthesis gas entering the branch line is subjected to a water gas shift reaction to raise the hydrogen concentration before the step of separating and producing high-purity hydrogen and the residual gas left after the separation may be circulated to the synthesis gas production step as raw material for producing synthesis gas.

Production method of liquid hydrocarbons from natural gas

In a GTL process of producing various kinds of hydrocarbon oils from natural gas, provided is improved heat efficiency in the case of using a steam reforming process or a carbon dioxide reforming process in the reforming. The process includes producing a synthesis gas by converting the natural gas and at least one of steam and carbon dioxide into a synthesis gas through a tubular reformer filled with a reforming catalyst, producing Fischer-Tropsch oil by subjecting the produced synthesis gas to a Fischer-Tropsch reaction, and upgrading in which the Fischer-Tropsch oil is subjected to hydrotreatment and distillation to produce various kinds of hydrocarbon oils, in which excess heat generated in the synthesis gas production is recovered, and the recovered heat is used as heat for at least one of hydrotreatment and distillation in the upgrading.

Method for efficient use of heat from tubular reformer

An operation method of a synthesis gas reformer of a GTL (gas to liquids) plant is provided with: setting an operation condition of the synthesis gas reformer; determining control target values of a flow rate of the light hydrocarbon gas, the steam, and the CO, and an amount of heat needed for the synthesis gas reformer; controlling operation load of the synthesis gas reformer; setting a furnace efficiency of the synthesis gas reformer; calculating a combustion load of a burner of the synthesis gas reformer; calculating a lower heating value of the fuel gas based on a composition measurement of the fuel gas of the burner; determining a control target value of the pressure of the fuel gas; calculating a deviation between the control target value of the pressure of the fuel gas and a measured value of the pressure of the fuel gas; and controlling the temperature of the synthesis gas at the outlet of the synthesis gas reformer by adjusting a pressure control valve provided at an inlet of the burner to compensate for the deviation.

Operation method of synthesis gas reformer in GTL plant

In a so-called GTL process of producing synthesis gas from natural gas, producing Fischer-Tropsch oil by way of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of the obtained synthesis gas and producing liquid hydrocarbons containing fuel oil by upgrading, the synthesis gas produced from the synthesis gas production step is partly branched off prior to getting to the Fischer-Tropsch oil production step and the synthesis gas entering the branch line is subjected to a water gas shift reaction to raise the hydrogen concentration thereof. Subsequently, high-purity hydrogen is isolated from the synthesis gas and the residual gas left after the isolation is circulated to the synthesis gas production step and used as raw material for synthesis gas production. As a result, a significant improvement can be achieved in terms of raw material consumption per product of the entire process.

A process for the production of a liquid hydrocarbon oil from a gas feed containing a lower hydrocarbon and CO , wherein the gas feed is mixed with H O to obtain a mixed gas having specific CO , H O and lower hydrocarbon contents. The mixed gas is contacted with a Rh, Ru/MgO catalyst having a specific surface area of 5 m /g or less to produce a synthesis gas with a carbon conversion efficiency Cf of at least 50%. The thus obtained synthesis gas having a H /CO molar ratio of 1.5-2.5 is reacted in the presence of a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst to obtain a liquid hydrocarbon oil, while the synthesis gas having a H /CO molar ratio of 0.5-1.5 is reacted in the presence of one or more catalysts having methanol synthesizing, dehydrating and CO shift reaction activities to obtain dimethyl ether.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Kenichi Kawazuishi