Experimental study on Finding stable catalytic methane decomposition for hydrogen production

Abstract

This study attempts to find active and stable catalysts for H2 production from catalytic methane decomposition (CMD). Experimental results show that metal-based (Ni, Fe, and Ni–Fe alloy) and carbon-based (biochar and activated carbon) catalysts are gradually deactivated due to carbon deposition during the CMD reaction. Although the CMD performance can be enhanced using bimetallic catalysts supported by either metal oxide (Al2O3) or activated carbon, deactivation due to carbon deposition is still inevitable. It was also found the carbon-based carbon catalyst has lower activity as compared with the metal-based catalysts. When using commercially available nickel foams with pore per inch (PPI) higher than 90 as the catalysts, stable H2 production can be obtained. The reasons for obtaining the stable CMD are attributed to high surface area and catalyst active sites, better heat transfer characteristics, and enhanced Ni dispersion of Ni. For the reaction temperature of 900 °C and the nickel foam with a PPI of 110, the stable methane conversion of 90% can be obtained without COx production.