Billingham UK, where Mike Spencer spent his entire industrial career, has long been associated with the use of steam reforming for the production of synthesis gas required for the manufacture of some important chemicals, particularly ammonia and methanol. This paper describes the steam reforming process and presents some of the history of the development of tubular reforming. The catalysts, technology and industrial operation of plants are briefly reviewed. Newer technologies, such as adiabatic reforming, autothermal reforming (ATR) and gas heated reforming (GHR) that aim to increase efficiency of and reduce the environmental impact of conventional steam reforming processes are presented.

迈克·斯宾塞 (Mike Spencer) 的整个工业生涯都在英国比灵汉 (Billingham UK) 度过，长期以来一直与使用蒸汽重整生产合成气有关，这些合成气是制造某些重要化学品（尤其是氨和甲醇）所需的。本文描述了蒸汽重整过程，并介绍了管式重整的一些发展历史。简要回顾了工厂的催化剂、技术和工业操作。新技术，如绝热重整、自热重整 (ATR) 和气体加热重整 (GHR)，旨在提高传统蒸汽重整工艺的效率并减少其对环境的影响。