Conocophillips Company

Phillips 66 Company

Ralph T Goodwin, Iii

Barbara A Belt

Rafael Luis Espinoza

Sergio R Mohedas

Stephen R Landis

Mariella L Raven

Sara Irina Kopponen

Kristi A Fjare

Beatrice C Ortego

Vincent H Melquist

James Dale Ortego, Jr

Oluwaseyi A Odueyungbo

Todd H Harkins

Blaine Edwin Beck

Kindra Snow-McGregor

Brian J Levitt

Richard J Wissbaum

Frank B Walter

Processes for making hydrogen and optionally carbon monoxide and their integrations in a Carbon-to-Liquids plant are disclosed. A first syngas produced by a first syngas generator is converted in a hydrocarbon synthesis process to hydrocarbon products, oxygenates and product water comprising dissolved oxygenates. The first syngas generator may use partial oxidation, reforming, gasifying, or pyrolysis of any solid, liquid or gaseous carbonaceous feedstock. The product water may be treated, for example by distillation and/or by stripping, to form an oxygenates-rich stream which comprises a reforming reactant and oxygenates originating from the product water. Oxygenates from the oxygenates-rich stream fed to a second syngas generator are converted under reforming conditions to form at least hydrogen. The hydrogen formed by reforming may be supplied to one or more units using hydrogen within a Carbon-to-Liquids plant.

Conversion of produced oxygenates to hydrogen or synthesis gas in a carbon-to-liquids process

Embodiments of the invention relate to processes and apparatus for the washing and recovery of metal-containing catalyst solids in a form suitable for reclamation. More specifically, a catalyst recovery process comprises removing an organic residue with a washing medium from a metal-containing catalyst solids, recovering washed solids, and treating the washed solids under oxidative conditions to form non-reactive solids. The treatment oxidative conditions may be effective to convert the metal(s) into an oxide form and/or may facilitate the removal of remaining organic residue from the washed solids. The treatment of the washed solids may comprise calcination. In some embodiments, the metal-containing catalyst solids may be recovered from a slurry stream, and the process further comprises passing the slurry stream though a separation unit to obtain a catalyst-enriched retentate slurry. In some embodiments, the organic residue comprises a hydrocarbon wax, and the solid catalyst is a hydrocarbon synthesis particulate catalyst.

Catalyst recover from a slurry

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for separating liquid products and catalyst particles from a slurry used in a Fischer-Tropsch reactor system. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are characterized by a separation system that uses a sedimentation chamber, which contains at least one inclined channel that enhances the settling of particles within the slurry. The enhanced settling separates the slurry into a catalyst-rich bottom stream and a catalyst-lean overhead stream. The catalyst-rich bottom product stream is preferably recycled to the reactor, while the catalyst-lean overhead stream can be further processed by a secondary separation system to produce valuable synthetic fuels. The inclined channel may be provided by a structure selected from the group consisting of tube, pipe, conduit, sheets, trays, walls, plates, and combinations thereof.

Systems and methods for catalyst/hydrocarbon product separation

The present invention provides a process for managing hydrogen in a hydrocarbon gas to liquid plant. The process includes passing a syngas feed stream produced by a partial oxidation reactor to a Fischer-Tropsch reactor, thereby converting the syngas to hydrocarbon liquids. The hydrogen management process further includes passing a second hydrogen rich stream produced by an auxiliary source to a hydrogen user such as an FT water stripper, an FT catalyst regeneration unit, and an FT product upgrading unit. The auxiliary source could be a process for converting hydrocarbons to syngas, a process for converting hydrocarbons to olefins, a process for converting hydrocarbons to aromatics, a process for catalytically dehydrogenating hydrocarbons, a process for catalytically cracking hydrocarbons, a process for refining petroleum, and a process for converting hydrocarbons to carbon filaments.

Hydrogen use in a GTL plant

The present invention provides a process for managing hydrogen in a hydrocarbon gas to liquid plant. The process includes feeding a syngas stream produced by a partial oxidation reactor to a Fischer-Tropsch reactor, thereby converting the syngas to hydrocarbon liquids. It also includes passing a substantially oxygen-free feed stream comprising hydrocarbon gas and water to a steam reformer, thereby producing a hydrogen-rich stream. The H/CO ratio in the syngas feed stream can be adjusted to a desired value by introducing a first portion of the hydrogen-rich stream to the syngas feed stream. A second portion of the hydrogen-rich stream can be passed to one or more hydrogen users, e.g., a catalyst regeneration unit, in the GTL plant.

Managing hydrogen in a gas to liquid plant

The present invention provides a process for controlling the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide in feed streams to reactors that convert syngas to hydrocarbon liquids. The process includes primary syngas production process for converting hydrocarbon gas to syngas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The process further includes introducing a hydrogen rich stream, a carbon monoxide rich stream, or both produced by an auxiliary source to a feed stream being passed to a reactor for converting the syngas to hydrocarbon liquid, thereby adjusting the H/CO ratio in the feed stream. Examples of reactors that may be used to convert syngas to hydrocarbon liquids are FT reactors staged in series and oxygenate producing reactors staged in series.

Managing hydrogen and carbon monoxide in a gas to liquid plant to control the H2/CO ratio in the Fischer-Tropsch reactor feed

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Ponca City, OK, United States of America

Ralph T Goodwin, Iii