Direct decarbonization of methane by thermal plasma for the production of hydrogen and high value-added carbon black

Abstract In the prospect of a large scale deployment of Renewable Energy for electricity production, plasmas will definitively be a major option to get tuneable, high temperature enthalpy sources without direct CO 2 emissions. This paper focuses on the direct decomposition of methane for the simultaneous synthesis of hydrogen and high value-added carbon black. After a review of gas phase carbon particle nucleation and growth physico-chemical phenomena, a new original model for the plasma decomposition of methane is presented. The model solves a reactive turbulent flow in a 3D geometry. The nucleation is based on a detailed reaction mechanism and the particle growth is handled by a sectional method. This model opens the way towards a better understanding of carbon particles gas phase nucleation and growth and consequently to a fine control of high value-added carbon black grades.