Decarbonisation of fossil energy via methane pyrolysis using two reactor concepts: Fluid wall flow reactor and molten metal capillary reactor

The slug flow of methane and molten metal in a capillary enables one to extend the pyrolysis residence time and, if the molten metal forms a contiguous thin liquid film on the capillary wall, to avoid problems with carbon deposition and reverse reaction. The studies presented, using a 2 mm ID quartz glass capillary with molten tin and nitrogen and a superficial velocity of 0.092 m s−1, demonstrate that the use of molten metal in the capillary reactor is both controllable and feasible. Initial experiments with methane at 1100 °C and a superficial velocity of 0.122 m s−1 show that methane can be decomposed with an average conversion of 32% and without carbon depositions.