Experimental and Simulation Study on Coproduction of Hydrogen and Carbon Nanomaterials by Catalytic Decomposition of Methane-Hydrogen Mixtures

Abstract

Among all hydrocarbons, the methane molecule contains the highest amount of hydrogen with respect to carbon. Therefore, the catalytic decomposition of methane is considered as an efficient approach to produce hydrogen along with nanostructured carbon product. On the other hand, the presence of hydrogen in the composition of the initial gas mixture is required for the stable operation of the catalyst. In present work, the experiments on the catalytic decomposition of methane–hydrogen mixture were performed in a flow-through quartz reactor equipped with McBain balances under atmospheric pressure. The catalyst NiO-CuO/Al2O3 was prepared by the mechanochemical activation technique. The maximum carbon yield of 34.9 g/gcat was obtained after 2 h of experiment at 610 °C. An excess of hydrogen in the reaction mixture provided the long-term activity of the nickel–copper catalyst. The durability tests ongoing for 6 h within a temperature range of 525–600 °C showed no noticeable deactivation of the catalyst. Two kinetic models, D1a and M1a, were proposed for the studied decomposition of the methane–hydrogen mixture over the nickel–copper catalyst. The kinetic constants for these models were determined by means of mathematical modelling.

Distributional Trends in the Generation and End-Use Sector of Low-Carbon Hydrogen Plants

“…In [21], the authors investigated state-of-the-art electrocatalysts, and [22] analysed the use of hybrid structures for increasingly efficient water electrolysis, combining both morphological features and electrochemical properties, whereas various researchers have studied other cutting-edge catalysts [23][24][25][26][27]. Numerous advances in blue hydrogen plants have also been made, including pyrolysis of plastic [28] and catalytic decomposition of methane [29] and other hydrocarbons [30]. Finally, numerous articles have examined different means for transportation and storage of hydrogen, an essential component of its widespread use [31][32][33][34].…”

Synthesis of Ni-Cu-CNF Composite Materials via Carbon Erosion of Ni-Cu Bulk Alloys Prepared by Mechanochemical Alloying

“…However, due to the high temperatures required for the decomposition of hydrocarbons, the process is complicated by the sintering of metal particles and coking (deposition of non-structured carbon). Ultimately, it leads to the deactivation of the catalyst and a significant loss in process efficiency [48][49][50]. Therefore, the development of new approaches to the synthesis of active and stable Ni-Cu catalysts remains an actual problem.…”

Room-Temperature NO2 Gas Sensors Based on Granulated Carbon Nanofiber Material

“…One of the novel applications of the granulated CNF material for gas sensors was not yet investigated. The low cost and high yield of the CNFs' formation over high-percentage nickel-containing catalysts are high enough compared to MWCNTs and SWCNTs, and determine no significant need in the purification of a sample creating the advantage of CVD CO x -free catalytic decomposition of methane and C 1 -C 4 hydrocarbons for further scale-up [41,42]. Therefore, it is important to study the possibility to create the films for detection of NO 2 at room temperature, which are based on the granulated CNF material.…”