Everything about Syngas totally explained
Syngas (from
synthesis
gas) is the name given to a gas mixture that contains varying amounts of
carbon monoxide and
hydrogen generated by the
gasification of a carbon-containing fuel to a gaseous product with a heating value. Examples include
steam reforming of
natural gas or liquid hydrocarbons to produce
hydrogen, the
gasification of coal and in some types of
waste-to-energy gasification facilities. The name comes from their use as intermediates in creating synthetic natural gas (SNG) and for producing
ammonia or
methanol. Syngas is also used as an intermediate in producing
synthetic petroleum for use as a
fuel or
lubricant via
Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and previously the
Mobil methanol to gasoline process.
Syngas consists primarily of
carbon monoxide,
carbon dioxide and
hydrogen, and has less than half the energy density of natural gas. Syngas is combustible and often used as a fuel source or as an intermediate for the production of other chemicals.
Production
Syngas for use as a fuel is most often produced by gasification of coal or municipal waste mainly by the following paths:
» C +
H2O →
CO +
H2
C +
O2 →
CO2 » CO2 +
C → 2
CO
When used as an intermediate in the large-scale, industrial synthesis of hydrogen and ammonia, it's also produced from
natural gas (via the steam reforming reaction) as follows:
» CH4 +
H2O →
CO + 3
H2
The syngas produced in large waste-to-energy gasification facilities is used as fuel to generate electricity.
Coal gasification processes are reasonably efficient and were used for many years to manufacture
illuminating gas (coal gas) for
gas lighting, before
electric lighting became widely available.
Purification
When syngas contains a significant amount of
nitrogen, the
nitrogen must be removed. Cryogenic processing has great difficulty in recovering pure
carbon monoxide when relatively large volumes of
nitrogen are present due to
carbon monoxide and
nitrogen having very similar boiling points which are -191.5 °C and -195.79 °C respectively. Certain process technology selectively removes
carbon monoxide by
complexation/
decomplexation of
carbon monoxide with cuprous aluminum chloride (CuAlCl
4), dissolved in an organic liquid such as
toluene. The purified
carbon monoxide can have a purity greater than 99%, which makes it a good feedstock for the chemical industry. The reject gas from the system can contain
carbon dioxide,
nitrogen,
methane,
ethane and
hydrogen. The reject gas can be further processed on a
pressure swing absorption system to remove
hydrogen and the hydrogen and
carbon dioxide can be recombined in the proper ratio for
methanol production,
Fischer-Tropsch diesel etc. However, the total energy efficiency isn't very high, if the gas is used to make fuel, meaning that the purification processes are very energy intensive.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Syngas'.
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