Highly-dispersed nickel metal fog in-situ generated in molten salt for efficient hydrogen production via methane pyrolysis

Highly efficient methane pyrolysis is achieved at 580 °C in a molten salt nickel metal fog system. • The catalytic performance at 580 °C maintained stable over 60 h. • Apparent activation energy is minimized to 97.6   kJ·mol −1 in the process. Methane pyrolysis has become a research hotspot in recent years due to its ability to produce hydrogen and valuable carbon byproducts with minimal direct CO 2 emissions. This study constructs a molten salt nickel metal fog catalytic system in a bubble-cap reactor for methane pyrolysis. The ionic liquid environment formed by molten carbonates dissolves nickel powder to form nanoscale active clusters, improving the dispersibility of the catalyst greatly. Meanwhile, the bubble-cap reactor disperses methane bubbles, further enhancing the contact efficiency between methane bubbles and nickel metal fog. Experimental results show that this system achieves 88.3% methane conversion at 580 °C and maintains catalytic activity for over 60 h under continuous operation. The formation of Ni metal fog improves both catalytic efficiency and economic viability, presenting a promising strategy for methane pyrolysis technology. Download: Download high-res image (158KB) Download: Download full-size image