Process Description

The feedstock (natural gas, for example) is desulphurised, mixed with steam and converted to synthesis gas in the reformer over nickel catalysts at 20 to 50 bar pressure and temperatures of 800 °C to 950 °C. The Uhde steam reformer is a top-fired reformer which has tubes made of centrifugally-cast alloy steel and a proprietary "cold" outlet manifold system to enhance reliability.

Subsequent high-pressure steam generation and superheating permit maximum process heat exploitation to achieve an optimised energy-efficient process.The carbon monoxide shift takes place in a single-stage adiabatic high-temperature reactor. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is a well-established purification step to obtain high-purity hydrogen (99.9 % and higher).

The Uhde reformer design with the unique proprietary cold outlet manifold system permits the implementation of very large reformers for hydrogen capacities of up to 250,000 Nm3/h. In this case, the reformer has several tube rows with up to 54 tubes per row. The largest reformer based on Uhde technology consists of 960 tubes.

Typical consumption figures (feed and fuel) range between 150 and 175 GJ per metric ton of hydrogen produced, depending on the individual plant concept.