Methane conversion rate in natural gas hydrogen production
Thread Content
Our company operates hydrogen production facilities using natural gas plus steam reforming; normally, the natural gas consumption per unit of product is calculated by dividing the product output by (feed gas + fuel gas). The designed natural gas conversion rate is approximately 75%. My understanding is that increasing the inlet and outlet temperatures of the feed material helps to raise the conversion rate, thereby reducing the natural gas consumption per unit of output. However, when the actual methane conversion rate is high, the natural gas consumption per unit volume actually increases. Is there an optimal conversion rate at which the natural gas consumption per unit volume is lowest? Does consumption increase above this value?
This is related to the process: by not using fuel gas and instead employing two-stage natural gas conversion, the conversion efficiency can be increased. The conversion gas produced through stage 1 steam reforming is sent to stage 2 where pure oxygen is added for autothermal conversion; the high-temperature gas resulting from this autothermal conversion is then used as a high-temperature heat source in stage 1. In this way, the natural gas consumption per ton of methanol can be reduced to around 840.