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Using natural gas and sustainable biogas as feed, high-temperature pyrolysis represents a potential technology for large-scale hydrogen production and simultaneous carbon capture. Further utilization of solid carbon accruing during the process (i. e., in battery industry or for metallurgy) increases the process's economic chances. This study demonstrated the feasibility of gas-phase methane pyrolysis for hydrogen production and carbon capture in an electrically heated high-temperature reactor operated between 1200 and 1600 °C under industrially relevant conditions. While hydrogen addition controlled methane conversion and suppressed the formation of undesired byproducts, an increasing residence time decreased the amount of byproducts and benefited high hydrogen yields. A temperature of 1400 °C ensured almost full methane conversion, moderate byproduct formation, and high hydrogen yield. A reaction flow analysis of the gas-phase kinetics revealed acetylene, ethylene, and benzene as the main intermediate products and precursors of carbon formation.

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The Front Cover shows an electrically heated high‐temperature reactor that produces gaseous hydrogen and solid carbon by pyrolysis of methane that originates from natural gas or biogas. Pyrolytic methane decomposition is an industrially feasible process that allows large‐scale hydrogen production and simultaneous carbon capture without any direct carbon dioxide emissions, hereby contributing to a transformation of the chemical industry towards more sustainability. More information can be found in the Research Article by P. Lott et al.

In 2014 DLR started research activities focused on premixed monopropellants consisting of nitrous oxide and hydrocarbons. Those propellants offer promising characteristics as they are non-toxic, deliver a high I sp consist of components with low cost and could simplify a propulsion system due to self-pressurized operation. Initially DLR chose a mixture of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and ethene (C 2 H 4 ). In the course of the project, a mixture of nitrous oxide and ethane (C 2 H 6 ) was included to the research activities. The activities are part of DLR's Future Fuels project and divided into five main parts: 1) investigations of the combustion behavior of the propellant in a rocket combustor, 2) testing and developing of flame arresters, 3) development and reduction of reaction mechanisms, 4) numerical simulations of the combustion process and 5) basic miscibility investigations. The emphasis within the project is on the first three tasks, while the last two tasks are used to widen the knowledge about the Head Facilities Group, Propellants Department, AIAA Member.