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Experimental and numerical investigation of shock wave-based methane pyrolysis for clean H\(_2\) production

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Abstract

Shock wave reforming, or the use of shock waves to achieve the necessary high-temperature conditions for thermal cracking, has recently gained commercial interest as a new approach to clean hydrogen (H\(_2\)) generation. Presented here is an analysis of the chemical kinetic and gasdynamic processes driving the shock wave reforming process, as applied to methane (CH\(_4\)) reforming. Reflected shock experiments were conducted for high-fuel-loading conditions of 11.5–35.5% CH\(_4\) in Ar for 1790–2410 K and 1.6–4 atm. These experiments were used to assess the performance of five chemical kinetic models. Chemical kinetic simulations were then carried out to investigate the thermal pyrolysis of 100% CH\(_4\) across a wide range of temperature and pressure conditions (1400–2600 K, 1–30 atm). The impact of temperature, pressure, and reactor assumptions on H\(_2\) conversion yields was explored, and conditions yielding optimal H\(_2\) production were identified. Next, the gasdynamic processes needed to achieve the target temperature and pressure conditions for optimal H\(_2\) production were investigated, including analysis of requisite shock strengths and potential driver gases. The chemical kinetic and gasdynamic analyses presented here reveal a number of challenges associated with the shock wave reforming approach, but simultaneously reveal opportunities for further research and innovation.

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The data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Material files. The experimental results plotted within the paper are tabulated in Supplementary Material.

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Acknowledgements

This work was sponsored in part by Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) and the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF), via New Wave Hydrogen, Inc. (NWH\(_2\)), the Precourt Institute for Energy (Stanford University), and the Stanford University Hydrogen Initiative. Any opinions, findings, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ERA, NGIF, NWH\(_2\), the Precourt Institute for Energy, or Stanford University. These funding sources were not involved in study design, data interpretation, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors would additionally like to acknowledge and thank Luke Zaczek and Alka Panda for their assistance in setting up and conducting the experiments described in Sect. 2 of the paper.

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 452 Escondido Road, Stanford, 94305, CA, USA

    A. M. Ferris, P. Biswas, R. Choudhary & R. K. Hanson

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This paper is based on work that was presented at the 29th International Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems (ICDERS), Siheung, Korea, July 23–28, 2023.

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Ferris, A.M., Biswas, P., Choudhary, R. et al. Experimental and numerical investigation of shock wave-based methane pyrolysis for clean H\(_2\) production. Shock Waves (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00193-024-01159-4

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