3 ms·
Is there a way to turn CH4 into C + 2H2 and bury the C or use it for some industrial use that does not result in it being burned or emitted into the atmosphere?
by api 5y ago
Is there a way to turn CH4 into C + 2H2 and bury the C or use it for some industrial use that does not result in it being burned or emitted into the atmosphere? (Plastics? Some kind of building material additive? Roads?) If so it would be a way of getting some percentage of the energy from CH4 without releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.
I can't see hydrogen for cars and stuff due to lack of infrastructure, but if we got better and cheaper H2 fuel cells I could see a natural gas power plant that emits absolutely zero CO2. The loss of energy by converting to H2 and throwing away C would at least partly be compensated for by the high efficiency of fuel cells vs. heat engines.
- iamthemonster 5y agoYes, methane pyrolysis. You can search for "CSIRO Hazer Process" for an example. As I understand it, you bubble methane through a very high temperature liquid metal, and it pyrolysis the methane into hydrogen and graphite. I am not sure of the economics or the conversion rate of methane.