Characterization of nanofibrous carbon produced at pilot-scale in a fluidized bed reactor by methane decomposition

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) production in the range of hundreds of grams per day has been achieved in a fluidized bed reactor (FBR) by methane decomposition using a nickel based catalyst. The characterization of the carbon produced at different operating conditions (temperature, space velocity and the ratio of gas flow velocity, uo, to the minimum fluidization velocity, umf) has been accomplished by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption, temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It has been concluded that the structural and textural properties of the CNFs obtained in the FBR are analogous to the ones obtained in a fixed bed reactor at a production scale two orders of magnitude lower. Thus, FBR can be envisaged as a promising reaction configuration for the catalytic decomposition of methane (CDM), allowing the production of high quantities of CNFs with desirable structural and textural properties.