Breakthrough achieved in natural gas hydrogen production technology by the Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Breakthrough in natural gas hydrogen production technology by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Author/Source: Sinochem News Network. Date: 2023-03-31. Clicks: 44. Recently, the team led by Academician Jin Hongguang from the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences achieved hydrogen production from natural gas under mild conditions of 400°C. The researchers innovatively proposed a new thermodynamic approach titled \"Enhancement of low- and medium-temperature thermal energy quality through coupled ordered separation of thermochemical multi-products,\" achieving breakthroughs in reducing reaction temperatures, improving methane conversion and selectivity, capturing carbon dioxide with low energy consumption, and minimizing the size of the equipment. By systematically separating the hydrogen and carbon dioxide products, they reduced the temperature required for the natural gas to hydrogen conversion process from the traditional 800°C to 1000°C to below 400°C, enabling the direct conversion of over 99% of methane into high-purity hydrogen and high-purity carbon dioxide. The project also achieved complete synergy between hydrogen production based on fossil fuels and decarbonization, resulting in a 20%~40% reduction in energy consumption for both hydrogen production and decarbonization. By integrating commercial medium-temperature tank-type concentration technology, the researchers achieved solar-powered hydrogen production from natural gas along with carbon removal, thereby further reducing the carbon footprint of hydrogen production from fossil fuels. This demonstrates the feasibility of combining fossil fuels and renewable energy sources to achieve sustainable hydrogen utilization. It is understood that the research team has completed over 6,000 stable cycle experiments, verifying the reliability of this method and initially demonstrating the broad prospects for its practical application. Currently, they are working to commercialize these research findings, and a prototype capable of producing 100 kilograms of hydrogen per day is under development. Traditional hydrogen production technologies, including hydrogen production via industrial natural gas reforming and coal gasification, are currently the main sources of hydrogen energy. Under the backdrop of the \"dual carbon\" strategy and the low-carbon transformation of energy, the common challenges it faces include high reaction temperatures, high energy consumption, and high carbon dioxide emissions. Finding ways to overcome the aforementioned \"three highs\" issues is of great significance for the sustainable development of hydrogen energy and the transformation of the energy structure.