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A steam methane reforming method in which a feed stream is treated in a reactor containing a catalyst that is capable of promoting both hydrogenation and partial oxidation reactions. The reactor is either operated in a catalytic hydrogenation mode to convert olefins into saturated hydrocarbons and/o

A steam methane reforming method in which a feed stream is treated in a reactor containing a catalyst that is capable of promoting both hydrogenation and partial oxidation reactions. The reactor is either operated in a catalytic hydrogenation mode to convert olefins into saturated hydrocarbons and/or to chemically reduce sulfur species to hydrogen sulfide or a catalytic oxidative mode utilizing oxygen and steam to prereform the feed and thus, increase the hydrogen content of a synthesis gas produced by a steam methane reformer. The method is applicable to the treatment of feed streams containing at least 15% by volume of hydrocarbons with two or more carbon atoms and/or 3% by volume of olefins, such as a refinery off-gas. In such case, the catalytic oxidative mode is conducted with a steam to carbon ratio of less than 0.5, an oxygen to carbon ratio of less than 0.25 and a reaction temperature of between about 500째 C. and about 860째 C. to limit the feed to the steam methane reformer to volumetric dry concentrations of less than about 0.5% for the olefins and less than about 10% for alkanes with two or more carbon atoms.

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What is claimed is: 1. A steam methane reforming method comprising: heating a feed stream comprising olefins and hydrogen to a temperature of no greater than about 600째 C.; contacting the hydrogen and the olefins within the feed stream with a catalyst capable of promoting both hydrogenation and par

What is claimed is: 1. A steam methane reforming method comprising: heating a feed stream comprising olefins and hydrogen to a temperature of no greater than about 600째 C.; contacting the hydrogen and the olefins within the feed stream with a catalyst capable of promoting both hydrogenation and partial oxidation reactions and catalytically reacting said hydrogen with the olefins without adding oxygen to produce an intermediate product stream containing saturated hydrocarbons formed from hydrogenation of the olefins, the heating of the feed stream being sufficient and/or the olefins being present within the feed stream at a sufficient concentration that the intermediate product stream is produced at a temperature of greater than about 400째 C.; and reacting a reformer feed stream formed at least in part by the intermediate product stream and a steam stream in a steam methane reformer to obtain a synthesis gas product stream having more moles of hydrogen than that of the feed stream and also containing carbon monoxide, water and carbon dioxide; the catalytic reaction of the hydrogen and the olefins being conducted within a reactor containing the catalyst at a space velocity of greater than about 10,000 hr-1 and with a sufficient amount of hydrogen such that the reformer feed stream has an olefin content of less than about 0.5% of olefins by volume on a dry basis. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the feed stream also comprises sulfur compounds; the hydrogen also reacts with the sulfur compounds during the catalytic reaction such that the intermediate product stream also contains hydrogen sulfide formed from the hydrogenation of the sulfur compounds; the intermediate product stream is cooled and treated to remove the hydrogen sulfide such that the intermediate product stream contains no more than about 0.1 ppm hydrogen sulfide after having been treated; and the reformer feed stream is formed at least in part by the intermediate product stream after having been treated. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the olefins are present within the feed stream in an amount no less than about 3% by volume on a dry basis. 4. A steam methane reforming method comprising: heating a feed stream comprising no less than about 15% by volume on a dry basis of hydrocarbons with at least two carbon atoms and/or at least about 3% by volume of olefins to a temperature of no greater than about 600째 C.; contacting the hydrocarbons and/or the olefins contained within the feed stream, and also, oxygen and steam with a catalyst capable of promoting both hydrogenation and partial oxidation reactions and catalytically reacting and hydrocarbons and/or olefins, steam and oxygen at an oxygen to carbon ratio of less than about 0.25 and at a steam to carbon ratio of less than about 0.5 to produce an intermediate product stream; and reacting a reformer feed stream, formed at least in part by the intermediate product stream and a steam stream, in a steam methane reformer to obtain a synthesis gas product stream having more moles of hydrogen than that of the intermediate product stream and also containing carbon monoxide, water and carbon dioxide; the catalytic reaction being conducted within a reactor containing the catalyst at a space velocity greater than about 10,000 hr-1, with a sufficient amount of oxygen that the intermediate product stream is produced at a temperature of between about 500째 C. and about 860째 C. and with the oxygen to carbon and steam to carbon ration being selected that the reformer feed stream has a hydrocarbon content consisting of methane, less than about 0.5% of olefins by volume on a dry basis, less than about 10% of alkanes with two or more carbon atoms by volume on a dry basis, no more than about 1% by volume on a dry basis of hydrocarbons other than alkanes and olefins and a remaining content comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and water vapor. 5. A steam methane reforming method comprising: heating a feed stream comprising hydrocarbons, sulfur compounds and hydrogen to a temperature of no greater than about 600째 C.; producing an intermediate product stream by catalytically reacting said hydrogen with the hydrocarbons and the sulfur compounds without oxygen so that the intermediate product stream contains saturated hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulfide formed from hydrogenation of the hydrocarbons and the sulfur compounds, respectively, the heating of the feed stream and/or the hydrogenation of the hydrocarbons being sufficient to produce the intermediate product stream at a temperature of greater than about 400째 C. or alternatively, catalytically reacting oxygen, steam and the hydrocarbons, the hydrogen and the sulfur compounds contained within the feed stream so that the intermediate product stream contains additional hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced by reaction of the oxygen, steam and hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulfide produced by conversion of the sulfur compounds, the oxygen being present in a sufficient amount that the intermediate produced stream is produced at a temperature of between about 500째 C. and about 860째 C. and at steam to carbon and oxygen to carbon ratios being selected to control an amount of moles of the additional hydrogen produced and at less than about 0.5 and less than about 0.25, respectively; the catalytic reactions of the hydrogen, hydrocarbons and the sulfur compounds or alternatively, of the oxygen, steam, hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds, being conducted through contact with a catalyst capable of promoting both hydrogenation and partial oxidation reactions within a reactor that is the same for both of the catalytic reactions, and the catalytic reactions being conducted at a space velocity greater than about 10,000 hr-1; cooling said intermediate product stream; treating said intermediate product stream by removal of the hydrogen sulfide and such that the intermediate product stream contains no more than about .1 ppm hydrogen sulfide after having been treated; and reacting a reformer feed stream, formed at least in part by the intermediate product stream and a steam stream in a steam methane reformer to obtain a synthesis gas product stream having more moles of hydrogen than that of the feed stream and the intermediate product stream and also containing carbon monoxide, water and carbon dioxide. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein: the feed stream contains no less than about 15% by volume on a dry basis of hydrocarbons with at least two carbon atoms and/or at least about 3% by volume of olefins; during the catalytic reaction of the hydrogen, the hydrocarbons and the sulfur compounds, the hydrogen also reacts with any of the olefins present within the feed stream to also produce saturated hydrocarbons and there exists sufficient hydrogen to obtain an olefin content within the reformer feed stream that is less than about 0.5% by volume on a dry basis; the catalytic reaction of the oxygen, steam, hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds, is conducted with oxygen to carbon and steam to carbon ratio selected so that a hydrocarbon content consisting of methane, less than about 0.5% of olefins by volume on a dry basis, less than about 10% of alkanes with two or more carbon atoms on a dry basis and no more than about 1% by volume on a dry basis of hydrocarbons other than alkanes and olefins is obtained within the reformer feed stream. 7. The method of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein during both of the catalytic reactions, the steam methane reformer is operated at a firing rate that remains substantially unchanged so that the additional hydrogen produced during the catalytic reaction of the oxygen, steam, hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds increases the moles of hydrogen within the synthesis gas product stream over that produced when the hydrogen, hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds are catalytically reacted without adding oxygen. 8. The method of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein during the catalytic reaction of the oxygen, steam, hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds, the steam methane reformer is operated at a lower firing rate than during the catalytic reaction of the hydrogen, hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds. 9. The method of claim 1 or claim 5 or claim 6, further comprising introducing steam into the reactor during the catalytic hydrogenation mode of operation to engage in reforming reactions with the hydrocarbons and thereby to form yet additional hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the intermediate product stream. 10. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 4 or claim 6, wherein: hydrogen is added to a natural gas stream and the natural gas stream is treated by hydrogenating the sulfur compounds contained therein into hydrogen sulfide and by removing the hydrogen sulfide so that the natural gas stream contains less than about 0.1 ppm by volume on a dry basis of hydrogen sulfide after having been treated; and the reformer feed stream is formed in part by combining the natural gas stream with the intermediate product stream. 11. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 4 or claim 6 wherein the feed stream further comprises natural gas. 12. The method of claim 4 or claim 6, wherein said feed stream is an FCC off-gas, a coker off-gas, or a sweet refinery gas. 13. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 4 or claim 5 or claim 6, wherein said feed stream is compressed to a pressure of between about 5 psi and about 100 psi above operating pressure of the steam methane reformer. 14. The method of claim 1 or claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the feed stream has a sulfur content of less than about 50 ppm. 15. The method of claim 1 or claim 4 or claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the catalyst is a Group VIII metal catalyst supported on a metallic monolith. 16. The method of claim 1 or claim 4 or claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the intermediate product stream is treated by being contacted with a zinc oxide or copper oxide sorbent.