Process Modelling and System Dynamic

Project 3
Synthesis Gas Production

Arranged by:
Muhammad Husaini Zaidan (18/428877/TK/47379)
Farros Ainulhaq Ibrahim (18/431240/TK/47833)

Department of Chemical Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
Universitas Gadjah Mada
2021
Synthesis Gas Production Steady State
Simulation
Process Description
The production of synthesis gas is an important part of the overall process of synthesizing
ammonia. The conversion of natural gas into the feed for the ammonia plant is modelled using
three conversion reactions and an equilibrium reaction. To facilitate the production of
ammonia, the molar ratio of hydrogen to nitrogen in the synthesis gas is controlled near 3:1.
This ratio represents the stoichiometric amounts of the reactants in the ammonia process.
In a typical synthesis gas process, four reactors are needed. This model requires five reactors
since the conversion and equilibrium reactions cannot be placed in the same reaction set and
thus cannot be placed in the same reactor. The Combustor is separated into a conversion reactor
and an equilibrium reactor.
Desulfurized natural gas is the source of hydrogen in this example, which is reformed in a
conversion reactor (Reformer) when combined with steam. Air is added to the second reactor
at a controlled flow rate such that the desired ratio of H2:N2 in the synthesis gas is attained.
The oxygen from the air is consumed in an exothermic combustion reaction while the inert
nitrogen passes through the system. The addition of steam serves the dual purpose of
maintaining the reactor temperature and ensuring that the excess methane from the natural gas
stream is consumed. In the last two reactors, the water-gas shift equilibrium reaction takes place
as the temperature of the stream is successfully lowered.
The reactions taking place in this process are as follows:
Conversion reaction
CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2
CH4 + 2H2O → CO2 + 4H2
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
Equilibrium reaction
CO + H2O → CO2 + H2

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Design and Specification
a. Flowsheet

b. Setup
i. Components

ii. Fluid Package

For this simulation, Peng-Robinson model is used.

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 iii. Reactions
As was previously mentioned, this process involves 4 different reactions. Each of these
reactions will be defined in the Simulation Basis Manager.

Rxn-1: CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2 (Conversion 40%)

Rxn-2: CH4 + 2H2O → CO2 + 4H2 (Conversion 30%)
Rxn-3: CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O (Conversion 100%)
Rxn-4: CO + H2O → CO2 + H2 (Equilibrium)
Reformer Rxn Set: Rxn-1. Rxn-2
Combustor Rxn Set: Rxn-1, Rxn-2, Rxn-3
Shift Rxn Set: Rxn-4

Steady State Simulation

a. Stream
4 streams will be defined for this process, the conditions and compositions of the streams
are as follows

b. Set Operations
Set operations will be used to define the pressure of Reformer Steam, Air, and Comb. Steam
to have the same value as Natural Gas pressure.
1. SET-1
Target object: Reformer Steam
Target variable: Pressure
Source object: Natural Gas
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 2. SET-2
Target object: Air
Target variable: Pressure
Source object: Natural Gas
3. SET-3
Target object: Comb. Steam
Target variable: Pressure
Source object: Natural Gas
c. Reformer
A conversion reactor in which most of the methane is reacted with steam to produce
hydrogen carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. The overall conversion of the two
reactions is 70%. Rxn-1, which produces carbon monoxide and hydrogen, has a conversion
of 40%, while Rxn-2 has a conversion rate of 30%. These reactions are endothermic; thus,
heat must be supplied to maintain the reactor temperature at 1700oF.

d. Combustor
The Combustor is the second conversion reactor. The feed streams for the Combustor
include the Reformer product, Air stream, and Comb. Steam. The air stream will be the
source of the nitrogen for the required H2:N2 ratio in the synthesis gas product.

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e. Shift Reactors
There are three shift reactors, which are all equilibrium reactors in which water-gas shift
reaction occurs. In the Combustor Shift reactor, the equilibrium shift reaction occurs
together with the reactions in the Combustor. But a separate reactor must be used in the
model because equilibrium and conversion reactions cannot be combined within a single
reaction set. The specifications for each Shift Reactor are as follows.

f. Adjust Operations
1. Steam flow rate
Adjusted object: Comb. Steam
Adjusted variable: Molar Flow
Target object: Combustor Shift
Target variable: Vessel Temp.
Spec. Target Value: 1700oF
2. Air flow rate
For this adjust operations, a spreadsheet is needed. The H2:N2 Ratio would be
controlled, so the H2:N2 Ratio is calculated in a spreadsheet (SSRatio) to be used as a
target variable in the Adjust operation.
Adjusted variable: Air Molar Flow
Target variable: SSRatio, B4: H2:N2 Ratio
Spec. Target Value: 3.05

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Results
a. Energy Streams

b. Material Streams Tab

c. Compositions Tab

It is observed that the plant successfully produced 1627 lb mole/hr of synthesis gas with a
H2/N2 ratio of 3:1, with a total energy requirement of 3.729x107 Btu/hr. This synthesis gas
needs to be further processed before it could be used to synthesize ammonia. The CO2
content in the gas needs to be reduced, before finally going to a methanator to completely
remove all CO and CO2 content as it is poisonous to the catalyst in the ammonia converter.

Adjustment Simulations
a. Shift Reactor Temperature Adjustments
In this adjustment, shift reactor temperature is adjusted to the values obtained from
Chemical Industry Processes Class Material. In the class material, shift conversion is
carried out in 2 steps, using HTS and LTS, with the HTS temperature set at 750oF and LTS
temperature set at 430oF. The energy stream and Synthesis Gas product specifications are
as follows:

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 It is observed that with these specifications, air and combustor steam molar flow
increases, CO content decreases, and the H2 and N2 content slightly increases.
The decrease of CO could be explained by the reaction kinetics. The CO shift reaction
is an exothermic reaction. Thus, an increase in temperature could shift the reaction in favour
of CO formation. By lowering the second shift conversion temperature, CO content could
be further minimized. The decrease of CO is favourable, because both CO2 and CO could
cause catalyst poisoning in following processes. But in most plant, CO2 would be removed
using absorber/stripper. So, the CO content should be kept at minimum. With this
adjustment, it gives a good CO/CO2 composition for the CO2 absorption process.
The total energy stream is observed to increase. Possible cause for this is because the
combustor reactor is set with a very high value, so the duty needed to cool down the feed
for the reactor to operate at the specified temperature is relatively high. A second
adjustment is carried out to see the impact of lowering the combustor temperature to
increase the overall energy efficiency of the plant.

b. Combustor Temperature Adjustments

In this adjustment, combustor temperature is lowered to 1500oF and 1300oF. This
simulation is run to observe the effect of attempting to increase the overall energy
efficiency whilst keeping a good synthesis gas production. The energy stream and
Synthesis Gas product specifications are as follows:

It is observed that with these specifications, the total energy stream is reduced, without a
significant decrease in H2 and N2 production. CO content also decreases, but on the
expense of an increase in combustor steam requirement.