Methane pyrolysis for low-carbon hydrogen production: A comparative techno-economic analysis

Methane pyrolysis involves the thermal decomposition of methane to produce hydrogen gas and solid carbon. The potential for low cost and low carbon intensity has spurred an interest in pyrolysis using natural gas as an alternative to steam methane reforming; however, the technoeconomic performance of commercial scale natural gas pyrolysis is unclear. This research analyzes a natural gas pyrolysis facility producing 50 tonnes of H 2 per day for three process configurations exploring carbon mitigation strategies like carbon capture and storage and electric heating. A tubular plug flow reactor model is used to estimate the reactor volume as a function of kinetic parameters and operating conditions. A techno-economic assessment shows that the levelized cost of hydrogen ranges between 2.31-4.28 USD/kg H 2 with corresponding emission intensity varying from 4.14-0.12 kg CO 2 /kg H 2 . The impacts of parametric uncertainty are examined with a sensitivity study for each process configuration.