Production of Fine Carbon Nanoparticles and Hydrogen-Rich Gas From Laser-Thermal Cracking of Methane Using Regenerable Iron Based Catalyst

Carbon nanotubes, having remarkable material properties, hold tremendous potential applications. Among the synthesis methods, cracking of natural gas (methane) is one of the effective ways, which also produces hydrogen without any 2 CO emission. The reaction energy in conventional methods is usually supplied by burning some feedstock, which results in low thermal efficiency. A new approach, direct laser irradiation, will give an environmentally clean and efficient process to produce carbon nanoparticles.

Some exploratory studies on catalytic laser-thermal cracking of methane were carried out at UTSI. Regenerable iron-based ( 2 3 Fe / Al O ) catalyst made by soaking-drying technique was employed for the cracking reaction of methane. TGA and electric furnace set-up were also used to evaluate the catalyst. A TEA 2 CO -laser was employed as a heat source in the laser-based experiments, where different reactor modes, like fluidized- bed, basket and fixed bed reactor, were tried. The experiments on catalyst regeneration were also carried out. Three cycles of cracking/regeneration were tried. The black carbon in final catalyst residues was examined by optical microscope, SEM and X-ray diffraction analyses.

It was shown that the laser-based cracking approach could eventually be utilized for the production of carbon nanoparticles and hydrogen- rich gas. However, more additional experiments are needed to find optimal conditions and reactor configurations for cracking reaction and production of carbon nanoparticles.