The road to clean hydrogen is paved with sand-sized carbon particles
Hydrogen has huge potential as a clean energy source that can replace chemical fuels like diesel, gasoline and natural gas. However, the traditional way of making hydrogen — steam methane reforming — is very CO2 intensive. Methane pyrolysis is on the rise as a new method of producing hydrogen without generating CO2 emissions. In methane pyrolysis, natural gas is heated up in the absence of oxygen, breaking apart the hydrocarbon molecules to produce hydrogen gas (H2) and solid carbon (C).
There are many ways to carry out methane pyrolysis, and while they all produce a similar hydrogen gas product, their solid carbon products can vary significantly. In other words, not all carbon is equal in the world of methane pyrolysis.
So, what’s the difference and why does it matter? To help answer this question, Aurora Hydrogen released a white paper comparing the most common carbon materials produced by methane pyrolysis, their market applications and how Aurora’s versatile, sand-sized carbon particle stacks up. To access the full white paper, click here.
Many methane pyrolysis methods produce carbon black, which is similar in size to airborne smoke particles – less than 1 micron. Other pyrolysis methods produce more specialized types of carbon, like graphitic carbon, by forming the particles on catalytic surfaces. Whether carbon black or a more specialized type of carbon, these nanomaterials are extremely difficult to handle and transport. Because they are smaller than dust particles, they easily become airborne and can pose significant health and safety risks if proper handling procedures aren’t followed.
Aurora’s novel and patented method of microwave-based methane pyrolysis produces a unique, versatile carbon particle. Aurora uses microwave energy to heat carbon particles directly and split methane apart on the surface of these hot carbon particles. New carbon then deposits on existing carbon particles in the reactor, eventually resulting in sand-sized particles that are 100-1,000 times larger than carbon black. These particles can be handled just like sand — loaded and transported using the same equipment and vehicles that move aggregate products around the world every day.
Although Aurora’s carbon is unique among methane pyrolysis processes, it is a generic carbon product that has a variety of prospective applications. Its larger size makes it suitable for high-volume market applications, including steelmaking and mineral sand for concrete, asphalt, road base, construction fill and other earthworks. Additionally, the elemental purity of Aurora’s carbon makes it an ideal feedstock for higher-value carbon materials, like synthetic graphite and graphene.
When compared to Aurora’s carbon, other carbon products have narrower applications. For instance, the markets for specialty carbon products like graphene are valuable on a per-tonne basis but are very small today – $200-$400 million per year. And while the global carbon black market is larger than specialty markets, it is not large enough to meet the expected supply from the global hydrogen market. In fact, the world’s annual demand for carbon black could be met by the conversion of just 5% of existing hydrogen production to methane pyrolysis.
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As clean hydrogen production via methane pyrolysis grows, the resulting carbon products and their market applications will be increasingly important. Any organization exploring a methane pyrolysis technology should evaluate its carbon product, as it can influence opportunities, costs and risks associated with hydrogen production.
Between our highly efficient method of hydrogen production and our unique, low-risk carbon product, Aurora is well positioned to deliver the lowest cost clean hydrogen to the world’s hardest to decarbonize sectors.