Monolithic honeycomb design applied to carbon materials for catalytic methane decomposition

• Carbon honeycomb monoliths are good catalysts for H2 production via CH4 decomposition.
• The carbon monoliths show relative high conversion and slow deactivation at 750 °C.
• Monoliths are more active than their respective powders under the same conditions.
• Extra porosity induced by preoxidation does not favor their catalytic performance.

As is well known, carbonaceous materials are good catalysts for methane decomposition, a promising alternative to methane reforming and water gas shift reactions, as the CO2-free production of hydrogen can be attained. Nevertheless, the continued absence of literature on the use of carbon-based honeycomb monoliths for this application is surprising, despite the monolithic honeycomb design offering obvious advantages compared with conventional packed beds. Therefore, in this work we have prepared integral carbon monoliths and tested them in catalytic CH4 decomposition. The reaction has been studied at different temperatures (750–900 °C) and the deactivation with time has been also monitored. Special attention was paid to the influence of the texture generated by different thermal treatments to which the monoliths are subjected after their preparation to eliminate the additives and activate the carbon. For this purpose a deep textural characterization has been carried out. Comparison with the same samples but in the form of powders was also performed.

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