(397g) Techno-Economic Feasibility Analysis of Liquid Metal-Based Methane Pyrolysis Process

Efforts are being made to move forward from fossil fuels to renewable energy, coping with climate change. Hydrogen produced from renewable energy can be used without generating greenhouse gases. Hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming (SMR), oil/naphtha reforming, coal gasification, water electrolysis, and methane pyrolysis. Non-oxidative methane pyrolysis is a CO₂-free H₂ production technology that produces solid carbon instead of CO₂. The reaction of methane decomposition is an endothermic high-temperature process that requires heat. The heat is generally supplied using coal, natural gas, and solar heat. Molten-metal (MM) based CH₄ pyrolysis has advantages over solid catalytic reactors because catalyst deactivation by coke is prevented. The downstream processing of MM-based CH₄ pyrolysis is simpler than SMR because H₂ and solid carbon are produced.

In this study, process modeling for MM-based methane pyrolysis with different heating sources and carbon separation were presented to evaluate the energy, CO₂ emissions, and economics. Economic indicators such as total capital investment (TCI), total production cost (TPC), return on investment (ROI), and payback period (PBP) were also assessed.