Molten-Salt Methane Pyrolysis Binary Chloride Salts as Catalysts … · 2021. 1. 28. ·...
Transcript of Molten-Salt Methane Pyrolysis Binary Chloride Salts as Catalysts … · 2021. 1. 28. ·...
Molten-Salt Methane Pyrolysis
Optimization Through in-situ
Carbon Characterization and
Reactor DesignFabrication & demonstration of a high
temperature, high pressure molten salt
methane pyrolysis reactor.
Total project cost: $2.3M
Length 24 mo.
Binary Chloride Salts as
Catalysts for Methane to
Hydrogen and Graphitic Powder
Total project cost: $1.2M
Length 24 mo.
Production and continuous removal of graphitic
powder from a molten salt methane pyrolysis
reactor.
Eric McFarland, C-ZeroAdditional team members in attendance: Zach Jones, Fadl Saadi
The Team
1
Zach Jones
President & CEO
Prof. Eric McFarland
Board Chair, CTOSam Shaner, Ph.D.
Director of EngineeringFadl Saadi, Ph.D.
Director of Operations
Andrew Caldwell, Ph.D.
Senior ScientistBrett Parkinson, Ph.D.
Senior Engineer
Ryan Patrick
EngineerJoshua Rodriguez
Engineer
Howard Fong, Ph.D.
Chief Technical Strategist
Arnie Smith
Exec. Director of Process Engineering
Prof. Ches Upham
Advisor
Prof. Mark Anderson
Advisor
Prof. Mike GordonUCSB
Prof. Roya MaboudianUCB
Collaborators
Prof. Horia MetiuUCSB
Prof. Raphaele ClementUCSB
Lab Facilities and Capabilities
2January 25, 2021
Microscopy, Spectroscopy,
Elemental AnalysisCNC Plasma &
TIG Welding
Process Modeling Design & Modeling
Objectives for ARPA-E Project
‣ Demonstrate in-situ spectroscopic measurements of carbon formation under
methane pyrolysis reaction conditions.
‣ Design and construct a 10 liter methane pyrolysis molten salt reactor with:
– ≥ 70% CH4 conversion
– ≥ 90% H2 selectivity
– ≥ 5 mol H2/ m3 s
– ≤ 2.5% wt salt in carbon product
– High Pressure (≥ 5 bar)
3January 25, 2021
Year 1 Year 2
Begin Project G/NG: Demonstration
of 10 liter reactor at
atmospheric pressure
Final Goal:
Demonstration of 10 liter
reactor at high pressure
Objectives for H2@Scale Project
4January 25, 2021
Year 1 Year 2
Begin Project G/NG: Demonstration of
carbon removal system
at atmospheric pressure
Final Goal: Demonstration
of carbon removal system
at high pressure
‣ Demonstration of stable, active, binary chloride melt system:
– ≥ 90% H2 selectivity
– Graphitic carbon product that has properties favorable for battery anodes and
additives
‣ Design and construct a carbon removal system capable of:
– High Temperature (1000 C)
– Continuous carbon removal (≥ 24 hours)
– High Pressure (≥ 10 bar)
Identification of Novel, High-Activity Binary Chloride Salts
5January 25, 2021
◼ A computational survey of catalytic binary and ternary molten chloride salt systems was done to guide melt composition selection.
◼ Novel binary melt systems exhibiting very high CH4 conversion rates identified and experimentally verified
KCl
NaCl
CompositionTemperature Range (°C)
Activation energy, Ea
(kJ/mol)
Pre-exponential factor, k0 (s-1)
50-50 mol.% Melt A-B
700 - 900 168 ± 5 3.4 × 106
50-50 mol.% Melt A-C
700 - 980 190 ± 5 4.0 × 107
67-33 mol.% Melt A-C
700 - 1000 172 ± 4 4.7 × 106
Diagnostic Tool for Measuring Gas Holdup
6January 25, 2021
5
10
15
20
25
5 10 15 20 25
Ho
ldu
p (
rule
r) [%
]
Holdup (Diagnostic Tool) [%]
◼ Identified need for measuring gas holdup in metal reactors
◼ Designed a diagnostic tool based on changes in hydrostatic pressure.
◼ Corroborated accuracy of diagnostic tool using molten salt test stands with 4” column diameters to measure the gas holdup
Design, Fabrication and Testing of High Pressure Reactors
7January 25, 2021
◼ Internally heated metal reactor fabricated in order to test systems at high pressure
◼ 1” dia fused quartz crucible with molten salt
◼ Vacuum/purge and pressurization with Ar gas
◼ Reactor was operated at 100-200 mL/min CH4
flow at 17.7 bar (256 psig) and 1050-1100 C.
◼ The reactor functions as intended; wall temperature remains low enough under forced air cooling (<200 C) to allow for safe operation at >1100 C, 20 bar.
Challenges and Potential Technical Partnerships
‣ Disruptions due to COVID were inevitable but largely minimized by ensuring strict
lab hygiene and proactively purchasing supplies to avert any supply chain
disruptions
‣ Biggest challenge to date has been the analysis and characterization of carbon
products
– Newly acquired spectroscopic tools (including SEM/EDS) have allowed us to
perform rapid carbon characterization
– Looking for technical partnerships with entities that have expertise in carbon
characterization and analysis
‣ Another challenge is identifying suitable materials of construction (MOC)
– Designing rapid MOC testing of several different potential materials.
8January 25, 2021
T2M
‣ C-Zero is working on the design and commercialization of its methane pyrolysis technology
‣ C-Zero plans to complete the full design of the commercial reactor by 2022
‣ Current T2M goal is engaging with potential customers to better understand their needs and requirements and identifying the optimal first market. We are interested in talking to:
– Operators of natural gas turbines (combined and simple) for electricity production
– Refinery operators (especially in California)
– Current hydrogen generators
– Existing customers of hydrogen and natural gas
9January 25, 2021