Appeal No. 1998-2002
Application 08/690,016
directed
to an apparatus for removing gaseous impurities from a
hydrogen gas stream. Claim 33 is illustrative and reads as
follows:
33. An apparatus for the removal of gaseous impurities
from an impure hydrogen gas stream contaminated with carbon
monoxide, and with one or more additional impurities selected
from the group consisting of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen,
water, methane, and mixtures thereof, to produce thereby a
purified gas stream; said apparatus comprising:
A. a first reaction zone containing elemental nickel
and nickel-carbonyl supported on a carrier selected from the
group consisting of silicate, titanium silicate and silica;
B. means for maintaining said first reaction zone under
nickel-carbonyl forming conditions to convert thereby
substantially all the carbon monoxide to nickel carbonyl,
thereby producing an effluent stream from the first reaction
zone which effluent stream is a partially purified hydrogen
gas stream;
C. a second reaction zone containing Ti Ni;
2
D. means for conveying the partially purified hydrogen
gas stream from the first reaction zone to the second reaction
zone; and
E. means for maintaining the second reaction zone under
methane reacting conditions to produce a purified hydrogen gas
stream.
patentability of claims 41 and 58 is not an issue in this
appeal.
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