Catalyst development for thermocatalytic decomposition of methane to hydrogen

The paper presents the results of the investigation into the development of a robust catalyst for hydrogen production by thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of methane. In this paper, we present the results of the development and utilization of an iron-based catalyst for TCD. The effect of catalyst preparation methodology on the activity and robustness of the catalysts is reported. The catalyst was synthesized from magnetite by reduction in the presence of a reducing gas (methane or hydrogen) using a fixed-bed flow reactor at atmospheric pressures and temperatures ranging from 800 to 900 °C. Reduction under methane was found to synthesize a catalyst with the desired properties and smallest preparation time (2 h). The main advantages of these catalysts identified were: their ability to completely decompose methane (as compared to a maximum of 81% by other catalysts) and to maintain high reactivity for a long period of time (more than 75 h). The catalyst was characterized by SEM, TEM, BET, XRD and particle size analysis. TPR was employed to evaluate the activity of the catalysts, to investigate the various mechanisms of methane decomposition reaction for the catalysts and estimate the kinetic parameters by topochemical model postulated by Avrami–Erofeyev. The estimated kinetic parameters from the analysis of this data are presented. Carbon nanofibers were formed as a co-product of the methane decomposition reactions.