An iron ore-based catalyst for producing hydrogen and metallurgical carbon via catalytic methane pyrolysis for decarbonisation of the steel industry
Experiments to investigate the catalytic pyrolysis of methane using an iron ore-based catalyst were carried out to optimize catalytic activity and examine the purity of the carbon produced from the process for the first time. Ball milling of the iron ore at 300 rpm for varying times – from 30 to 330 minutes – was studied to determine the effect of milling time on methane conversion. Optimal milling for 270 minutes led to a five-fold increase in methane conversion from ca. 1% to 5%. Further grinding resulted in a decline of methane conversion to 4% shown by SEM to correspond to an increase in particle size caused by agglomeration. Data from Raman and Mössbauer spectroscopy and H2 temperature programmed reduction indicated a change in phase from magnetite to maghemite and hematite (at the particle surface) as the grinding time increased. Analysis of the carbon produced as a byproduct of the reaction indicated a highly pure material with the potential to be used as an additive for steel production.
Funding
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult
MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ERDF A way of making Europe” grant RTI2018-095303-B-C51
Comunidad de Madrid and “ERDF A way of making Europe” grant S2018-NMT-4321
History
School
- Science
- Loughborough Business School
Department
- Chemistry
- Economics
Published in
International Journal of Hydrogen EnergyVolume
48Issue
57Pages
21765-21777Publisher
ElsevierVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Rights holder
© The AuthorsPublisher statement
This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Elsevier under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Acceptance date
2023-03-04Publication date
2023-03-24Copyright date
2023ISSN
0360-3199eISSN
1879-3487Publisher version
Language
- en