Methane pyrolysis against the background of selected hydrogen production methods

Methane pyrolysis is an alternative to steam reforming method of converting methane (natural gas) to hydrogen. The biggest difference between these technologies is the lack of carbon dioxide emissions in the case of methane pyrolysis, which, taking into account the need to sequester this dangerous greenhouse gas in steam reforming technology, makes methane pyrolysis a highly competitive method, and interest in it among fuel concerns, chemical and petrochemical industries is constantly increasing. This article presents a comparison of selected, prospective and important methods of hydrogen production using the method of methane (natural gas) pyrolysis. Methods such as steam reforming, water electrolysis, biomass pyrolysis, photofermentation and hard coal gasification were used for comparison. On the basis of selected available literature sources, the hydrogen production costs by methods were analyzed, including not only the raw materials price, the cost of energy, water consumption, but also fees for greenhouse gas emissions and the cost of additional raw materials and processes. The advantages and disadvantages of selected methods of hydrogen production are also briefly outlined. Econologic analysis of selected hydrogen production technologies is presented. The presented results of economic and econologic analyses showed a high competitive advantage of methane pyrolysis, among others, over steam reforming and water electrolysis. The positive assessment of the process of thermal decomposition of methane (natural gas) is confirmed by the growing interest in this technology among large concerns. The article presents an overview of the progress of selected significant investment projects aimed at the construction of industrial methane decomposition installations. The type of pyrolysis method used by each of the companies carrying out the investment in this area was described. Currently, according to the authors' knowledge, none of the installations produces hydrogen by pyrolysis of methane on an industrial scale, the most advanced progress is made by BASF, Hypro, Hazar and Gazprom.