Molten metal capillary reactor for the high-temperature pyrolysis of methane

Abstract

In this work, the further development of the molten metal capillary reactor in slug-flow regime is presented. The preliminary results from the high-temperature pyrolysis of methane at 1300 °C and 9 Nml/min are presented with a calculated conversion of 80%, and, a mean residence time of 1.36 s. Due to carbon deposition, difficult gas separation and unstable slug-flow, it was deemed necessary to redesign the system. For that, several alloys were tested looking for improved wettability and more favorable hydrodynamics. The modified experimental set-up is described, which led to improvements in gas separation, but not enough stability in the slug-flow. Finally, the current experimental set-up is introduced. There, a characterization of the hydrodynamics is performed using a low temperature alloy of gallium, indium and tin, GaInSn, and, a stable regular slug-flow is established for various gas and liquid flows. The presence of a film in the slug-flow remains subject to question and the conclusions on the direction of the project are drawn towards an alternative reactor system or further hydrodynamic studies.