Method and article for producing hydrogen gas

1. A method comprising:

partially combusting a feed stream in a cyclical compression chamber in mechanical communication with a reciprocating piston or a rotary piston to form combustion products; and

reforming the combustion products to produce a gaseous composition comprising hydrogen.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feed stream comprises a mixture of air or oxygen and hydrocarbon, wherein a molar ratio of oxygen to hydrocarbon is about 0.05 to about 2.0.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the hydrocarbon is selected from a group consisting of alkenes, alkenes, alkynes, and a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing hydrocarbons.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the hydrocarbon is methane or natural gas.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a temperature of the feed stream prior to combustion is about 18 to about 800°C.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising utilizing heat from a byproduct to preheat the feed stream prior to introduction into the cyclical compression chamber.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising compressing the feed stream prior to combustion.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pressure within the cyclical compression chamber has a volumetric compression ratio of greater than or equal to about 3:1.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reforming occurs within a reforming section, and wherein the reforming section is downstream of and in fluid communication with the cyclical compression chamber.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein pre-heated steam or a pre-heated mixture of steam and hydrocarbon is introduced into the reforming section prior to reforming.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the reforming section contains a catalyst.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the catalyst is a metal, an oxide of a transition metal, an oxide of an alkali earth metal, an oxide of a main group element or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing catalysts.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising separating hydrogen from the gaseous composition comprising hydrogen.

14. A method for producing hydrogen comprising:

introducing a feed stream comprising natural gas and air or oxygen into a cyclical compression chamber;

compressing the feed stream in the cyclical compression chamber;

partially combusting the feed stream in the cyclical compression chamber to produce combustion products;

discharging the combustion products from the cyclical compression chamber into a reforming section; and

reforming the combustion products with steam in the reforming section to produce a gaseous composition comprising hydrogen.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the feed stream comprises a mixture of air or oxygen and methane, wherein a molar ratio of oxygen to methane is about 0.10to about 0.50.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein a temperature of the feed stream prior to combustion is about 18 to about 800°C.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the compression is conducted at a volumetric compression ratio of greater than or equal to about 3:1.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the ratio of added steam to carbon content in the hydrocarbons in the combustion products in the reforming section is about 1 to about 4.

19. The method of claim 14 , further comprising separating hydrogen from the gaseous composition.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the reforming section contains a catalyst.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the catalyst is a metal, an oxide of a transition metal, an oxide of an alkali earth metal, an oxide of a main group element or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing catalysts.