Microwave pyrolysis of natural gas for the production of turquoise hydrogen

世界正在寻求运输和工业过程的脱碳，氢已被确定为一种能源载体，在需要化学燃料的应用中，它比电力具有关键优势。氢气在许多工业过程中起着至关重要的作用，全球每年生产70 Mt氢气。目前，氢气主要是通过天然气的蒸汽重整来制造的，这会导致二氧化碳排放。随着需求预计将大幅增加，迫切需要开发新的低成本和低碳制氢技术。提出了一种替代技术，该技术使用有效的微波能量在没有氧气和水的情况下加热甲烷（热解），以产生氢气和固体碳，而没有直接的CO2排放。该技术具有高度可扩展性和模块化，可以在任何有天然气和电力的地方安装装置，并且不需要使用H2和CO2管道基础设施。该项目将涉及一项广泛的实验室规模研究，旨在开发拟议的微波热解工艺成功扩大规模和商业化所需的基本知识，并为试点工厂提供关键的设计规格。研究将在反应器、微波系统和辅助单元操作设计领域进行;过程分析和建模，以最大限度地提高氢气产量和能源效率;固体碳作为微波感受器和催化剂的作用;碳产品的特性及其市场潜力评估。最后，将完成技术经济分析（TEA）和生命周期评估（LCA），以确定微波热解制氢的成本和环境影响。预计通过拟议的微波技术生产氢气可以使全球二氧化碳排放量减少0.5 Bt/年。该技术将在试点测试后商业化，并将从加拿大丰富的自然资源中生产清洁和高价值的产品，从而创造就业机会，投资，税收和特许权使用费，以确保未来的经济和社会繁荣。

The world is looking to decarbonize transportation and industrial processes, and hydrogen has been identified as an energy carrier with key benefits over electricity in applications where a chemical fuel is desired. Hydrogen plays a vital role in many industrial processes with 70 Mt/yr of hydrogen produced worldwide. At present, hydrogen is primarily made by the steam reforming of natural gas, which results in CO2 emissions. With demand expected to increase dramatically, there is an urgent need to develop new low-cost and low-carbon technologies for hydrogen production. An alternative technology is proposed that uses efficient microwave energy to heat methane in the absence of oxygen and water (pyrolysis) to generate hydrogen and solid carbon with no direct CO2 emissions. The technology is highly scalable and modular, units can be installed anywhere there is natural gas and electricity, and access to H2 and CO2 pipeline infrastructure is not required. The project will involve an extensive bench-scale study designed to develop fundamental knowledge required for successful scale-up and commercialization of the proposed microwave pyrolysis process, and to provide critical design specifications for a pilot plant. Research will be conducted in the areas of reactor, microwave system, and ancillary unit operation design; process analysis and modelling to maximize hydrogen yield and energy efficiency; the role of solid carbon as microwave susceptor and catalyst; and the properties of the carbon product and evaluation of its market potential. Finally, technoeconomic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) will be completed to determine the cost and environmental impact of producing hydrogen by microwave pyrolysis. It is anticipated that the production of hydrogen by the proposed microwave technology could reduce global CO2 emissions by 0.5 Bt/yr. The technology will be commercialized following pilot testing, and will produce a clean and high-value product from Canada's abundant natural resources, resulting in the creation of jobs, investments, tax revenue, and royalties to ensure economic and social prosperity well into the future.