Development, implementation, and application of a monodisperse model for carbon black formation in a pulsed methane pyrolysis (PMP) reactor

炭黑（CB）的全球产量为每年1500万吨（约170亿美元），是当今市场上体积和价值最大的纳米材料。目前的CB制造工艺存在低质量产量和过量排放的问题，平均每吨产品产生4吨CO2，这使得其在能源效率、可持续性和环境影响方面是不可取的。生产CB的另一种方法利用天然气（甲烷）的热解来生产绿色、无CO2排放的氢气和CB。绿色氢被认为是实现净零二氧化碳经济的关键。此外，加拿大拥有丰富的天然气资源，加拿大必须找到一种可行的方法来利用这些资源，逐步淘汰甲烷和其他化石燃料的直接燃烧。尽管甲烷热解方法显示出生产绿色氢和CB的潜力，但大多数都是昂贵的，需要催化剂材料或经由等离子体实现的非常高的温度，并且具有差的CB产率和质量。最近，Ekona Power Inc开发了脉冲甲烷热解（PMP）方法，与传统的氢气和CB制造方法相比，该方法可将二氧化碳排放量减少90%，同时保持经济可行性。然而，通过PMP生产的CB的产量和质量是不确定的。Ekona Power Inc、温莎大学和卡尔顿大学之间的研究伙伴关系的目标是提高PMP方法生产的CB的产量和质量。这将通过应用计算效率CB形成模型来实现，该模型可以量化产量和质量，并用于工艺设计和优化模拟。该项目对加拿大在应对全球变暖和气候变化的同时促进经济发展至关重要。

With a worldwide production volume of 15 million tons per year (~ $17B/year), Carbon Black (CB) is the largest nanomaterial by volume and value on the market today. Current CB manufacturing processes suffer from low mass yield and excessive emissions, generating 4 tons of CO2 per each ton of product on average, which makes it undesirable in terms of energy efficiency, sustainability, and environmental impacts. Another method to produce CB utilizes pyrolysis of natural gas (methane) to produce green, CO2-emission free, hydrogen and CB. Green hydrogen is thought to be key to achieving a net-zero CO2 economy. Additionally, Canada has rich natural gas resources, and Canada must find a viable method to leverage these resources with direct combustion of methane and other fossil fuels being phased out. Although methane pyrolysis methods display potential to produce green hydrogen and CB, most are expensive, requiring catalyst materials or very high temperatures achieved via a plasma, and suffer from poor CB yield and quality. Recently, Ekona Power Inc has developed the pulsed methane pyrolysis (PMP) method that reduces CO2 emissions by 90% compared to traditional methods for hydrogen and CB manufacturing while remaining economically viable. However, the yield and quality of CB produced via the PMP is uncertain. The goal of the research partnership between Ekona Power Inc, the University of Windsor, and Carleton University is to enhance the yield and quality of produced CB from the PMP method. This will be accomplished via application of computationally efficiency CB formation models that can quantify yield and quality and be used in process design and optimization simulations. The project is of paramount importance to Canada in its fight against global warming and climate change while bolstering its economy.