Catalytic Hydrogen Production from Methane: A Review on Recent Progress and Prospect

Abstract

Natural gas (Methane) is currently the primary source of catalytic hydrogen production, accounting for three quarters of the annual global dedicated hydrogen production (about 70 M tons). Steam–methane reforming (SMR) is the currently used industrial process for hydrogen production. However, the SMR process suffers with insufficient catalytic activity, low long-term stability, and excessive energy input, mostly due to the handling of large amount of CO2 coproduced. With the demand for anticipated hydrogen production to reach 122.5 M tons in 2024, novel and upgraded catalytic processes are desired for more effective utilization of precious natural resources. In this review, we summarized the major descriptors of catalyst and reaction engineering of the SMR process and compared the SMR process with its derivative technologies, such as dry reforming with CO2 (DRM), partial oxidation with O2, autothermal reforming with H2O and O2. Finally, we discussed the new progresses of methane conversion: direct decomposition to hydrogen and solid carbon and selective oxidation in mild conditions to hydrogen containing liquid organics (i.e., methanol, formic acid, and acetic acid), which serve as alternative hydrogen carriers. We hope this review will help to achieve a whole picture of catalytic hydrogen production from methane.

Lead-Free Metal Halide Perovskites for Hydrogen Evolution from Aqueous Solutions

“…Hydrogen (H 2 ) have been envisaged as one of the most promising energy vectors, due to its high energy content, the highest among any common fuel by weight [ 3 ] but also because it can be consumed to produce energy releasing only water as reaction outputs [ 4 ]. At present, H 2 production relies on fossil fuels and it is mostly based on methane steam reforming [ 3 , 5 ]. Alternatively, it can be produced via electrolysis and the electricity used to drive such process can come from photovoltaic (PV) devices or wind turbines, reducing the reliance on fossil fuels.…”

Low-Temperature Methane Partial Oxidation over Pd Supported on CeO2: Effect of the Preparation Method and Precursors

“…Converting methane to syngas represents a well-known method for natural gas valorization and upgrade into valuable chemicals as well as a route for the production of hydrogen for energy applications [1][2][3][4][5]. This can be accomplished by catalytic partial oxidation (POM), CH 4 + 1 2 O 2 → CO + 2H 2 (∆H 298 = −36 kJ mol −1 ), with carbon soot, CO 2 and H 2 O being the main by-products.…”

Manufacturing and Processing of Carbon Nanotubes for H2 Storage

“…It is known that compare to other metals, nickel is the most effective catalyst where it shows high catalytic activity at a lower temperature. In terms of carbon capacity, nickel is more active than iron at similar reaction conditions [34][35][36][37][38][39]. Our results show from Figure 6, high yield of 54 % Carbon nanotubes are obtained with the mixture of Fe/Ni and Co/Ni as catalysts compared to Fe/Co which gives a yield of 42.3 %.…”