Front Cover: Hydrogen Production and Carbon Capture by Gas‐Phase Methane Pyrolysis: A Feasibility Study (ChemSusChem 6/2023)

Abstract

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.

Pyrolysis of biogas for carbon capture and carbon dioxide-free production of hydrogen

“…These findings are consistent with previously postulated hydrocarbon decomposition mechanisms, where the aforementioned species act as intermediates for the formation of solid carbon. 14,19,37,38,57 Complementary to the CO 2 conversion data shown in Fig. 3c, only minor amounts of unconverted CO 2 are found in the effluent gas stream when using biogas as a feed (Fig.…”

“…In this context, hydrogen (H 2 ) is considered as one of the most important and promising energy carriers for the decarbonization of key technologies and hereby allows achievement of the climate targets. [2][3][4][5][6] Hence, large-scale sustainable H 2 production processes are key on the way towards a modern hydrogen economy. In this regard, the pyrolysis of methane (CH 4 ) is a H 2 production route that requires significantly less energy than water electrolysis and, compared to state-of-the-art steam reforming, does not exhibit any direct carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions.…”

“…It consists of a large number of elementary reactions that involve the coupling of CH 4 molecules to ethane and the subsequent step-wise dehydrogenation to ethylene and acetylene. [14][15][16][17] Further coupling of acetylene molecules results in the formation of benzene, which serves as an intermediate for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The latter can agglomerate to ultimately form elemental carbon in the form of soot and graphite.…”

“…[41][42][43] Herein, biomass or biowaste has also been considered as a feedstock. 44,45 However, even though some studies on the production of syngas or hydrogen from biomass or biogas have been conducted in the past, 6,[46][47][48][49][50][51] the usage of biogas under reaction conditions of thermocatalytic pyrolysis of methane remains mostly unexplored. When the current political tensions in the energy market and fluctuating availability of resources are taken into account, flexible operation of methane pyrolysis with varying feed gas streams becomes a valuable asset to reliably meet the increasing demand for H 2 at all times.…”

Photodriven Methane Conversion on Transition Metal Oxide Catalyst: Recent Progress and Prospects

“…[86][87][88] However, carbon deposition can occur on the catalyst surface through two processes: pyrolysis (CH 4 →2H 2 +C) and the Boudouard reaction (2CO→CO 2 +C), both leading to the catalyst deactivation. [89][90][91][92] It is worth noting that the Boudouard reaction becomes thermodynamically favorable at temperatures below 700 °C, while the pyrolysis reaction is more favorable at higher temperatures [93][94][95] CH 4…”