Recent Clean Hydrogen Production Technologies

Hydrogen (H2) is often considered as a promising alternative energy carrier and clean fuel. Hence, many efforts are directed in developing efficient, economical, and green approaches for H2 production. The conventional techniques for H2 production are dry reforming of methane (DRM), steam reforming of methane (SRM), and partial oxidation of methane (POM). Nonetheless, the production of carbon oxides as a by-product has limited their practical applications. Thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of methane over nickel-based catalysts has gained sufficient interest in producing H2 because it is a green technique in which methane is decomposed into elemental carbon and H2 in a single step. However, its practical applications are limited by high reaction temperature and rapid catalytic deactivation. Different types of catalysts including metallic, bimetallic, and trimetallic having different supports and promoters are being employed to lower the reaction temperature and to overcome the catalyst deactivation. The modification of catalysts by impregnating metal additives and co-feeding of CH4 are supposed to be the key factors that can bring a new revolution in this field.