Production of hydrogen by methane catalytic decomposition over Ni–Cu–Fe/Al2O3 catalyst

Catalysts with high nickel concentrations 75%Ni–12%Cu/Al2O3, 70%Ni–10%Cu–10%Fe/Al2O3 were prepared by mechanochemical activation and their catalytic properties were studied in methane decomposition. It was shown that modification of the 75%Ni–12%Cu/Al2O3 catalyst with iron made it possible to increase optimal operating temperatures to 700–750 °C while maintaining excellent catalyst stability. The formation of finely dispersed Ni–Cu–Fe alloy particles makes the catalysts stable and capable of operating at 700–750 °C in methane decomposition to hydrogen and carbon nanofibers. The yield of carbon nanofibers on the modified 70%Ni–10%Cu–10%Fe/Al2O3 catalyst at 700–750 °C was 150–160 g/g. The developed hydrogen production method is also efficient when natural gas is used as the feedstock. An installation with a rotating reactor was developed for production of hydrogen and carbon nanofibers from natural gas. It was shown that the 70%Ni–10%Cu–10%Fe/Al2O3 catalyst could operate in this installation for a prolonged period of time. The hydrogen concentration at the reactor outlet exceeded 70 mol%.