Hydrogen production through chemical looping using NiO/NiAl2O4 as oxygen carrier

A new autothermal route to produce hydrogen from natural gas via chemical looping technology was investigated. Tests were conducted in a micro-fixed bed reactor loaded with 200 mg of NiO/NiAl2O4 as oxygen carrier. Methane reacts with a nickel oxide in the absence of molecular oxygen at 800 degrees C for a period of time as high as 10 min. The NiO is subsequently contacted with a synthetic air stream (21% O-2 in argon) to reconstitute the surface and combust carbon deposited on the surface. Methane conversion nears completion but to minimize combustion of the hydrogen produced, the oxidation state of the carrier was maintained below 30% (where 100% represents a fully oxidized surface). Co-feeding water together with methane resulted in stable hydrogen production. Although the carbon deposition increased with time during the reduction cycle, the production rate of hydrogen remained virtually constant. A new concept is also presented where hydrogen is obtained from methane with inherent CO2 capture in an energy neutral 3-reactors CFB process. This process combines a methane combustion step where oxygen is provided via an oxygen carrier, a steam methane reforming step catalyzed by the reduced oxygen carrier and an oxidizing step where the O-carrier is reconstituted to its original state. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.