Steam reforming of natural gas over a Ni-based catalyst will at low steam/carbon ratio result in by-production of carbon. However, if the catalyst is exposed to sulfur in low concentration, the sulfur will block portion of the active sites on the catalyst, but still leave smaller sites open. These sites will be large enough for the steam reforming to take place, but too small for the carbon to form. It will thus be possible to safely operate at conditions that would otherwise not be possible, i.e at very low steam/carbon ratio and/or high CO2 in the feed. This process was developed under Jens Rostrup-Nielsen’s guidance in the early 1980’ies. The process was named SPARG (Sulfur Passivated Reforming). The process was successfully demonstrated in the Haldor Topsoe full-size pilot facilities in Pasadena, Texas, and subsequently commercially operated at the Sterling Plant in Texas City, Texas. The paper will discuss the early days of the SPARG technology and the operating experience from the Sterling Plant. I worked closely with Jens during the pilot demonstration of SPARG as well as during the commercialization of the technology.

Sulfur passivated reforming for production of syngas with low H2/CO ratio

249th National Meeting (2015)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.