On-Site Production Of Hydrogen From Hydrocarbon Fuels With Minimal Greenhouse Gas Emissions

An efficient and economical process for the on-site (decentralized) production of hydrogen with minimal CO2 emissions was developed. H2 concentration in the effluent gas gradually decreased, which could be explained in terms of carbon catalyst deactivation due to the deposition of catalytically inactive form of carbon and the reduction in catalytic surface area. The catalytic activity of carbons produced from different hydrocarbons followed the order naphthalene \u3e benzene \u3e ethylene \u3e propane \u3e methane. Thus, carbon produced from methane was least catalytically active in methane decomposition reaction. On the other hand, the enhanced catalytic activity of carbon particles produced from ethylene and other unsaturated and aromatic hydrocarbons could potentially be used for the accelerating methane decomposition process (via in-situ generation of catalytically active carbon species). The technical feasibility of TCD of methane with the production of CO/CO2-free hydrogen-rich gas and carbon by product was discussed