826. GORIN, M. H., AND ABRAMS. A. J. (Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc.). Synthesis Gas. United States Patent 2,485,875. Oct. 25, 1949. Chem. Abs., vol. 44. 1950. p. 1677.

Patent Abstracts

Synthesis gas consisting of H₂and CO is manufactured from natural gas, steam, and CO₂ in a 5-stage process, comprising: (1) Bringing the natural gas, steam, and CO₂ obtained in the manner described subsequently into countercurrent contact with hot, liquefied Sn or Pb under nonflooding conditions in a reaction zone packed with a porous, refractory solid at temperature high enough to react with formation of H₂ and CO: (2) separating the H₂ and CO from the metallic vapor contained in the gaseous effluent from step (1) by scrubbing the effluent with liquefied metal in a separate vessel; 3 (3) circulating part of the liquid metal from step (1) to a vessel containing CaCO₃ to cool the metal, to condition it for pumping to a metal preheating step, and to decompose the CaCO₃ to CaO and CO₂; (4) circulating the remainder of the liquid metal from step (1) through a plurality of a refractory-packed heat exchangers in countercurrent flow to separate streams of natural gas and steam to preheat these gases before introducing them as feed to step (1): and (5) passing the preheated streams of natural gas and steam from step (4) and CO₂ from step (3) to the reaction zone of step (1). The process may be carried out in 1, 2, or 3 stages, as desired.