A novel CO2 utilization technology for the synergistic co-production of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and syngas
Mohamed S. Challiwala, Hanif A. Choudhury, Dingdi Wang, Mahmoud M. El‐Halwagi, Eric Weitz, Nimir O. Elbashir
Abstract
Abstract Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a well-known process in which CH 4 and CO 2 catalytically react to produce syngas. Solid carbon is a well-known byproduct of the DRM but is undesirable as it leads to catalyst deactivation. However, converting CO 2 and CH 4 into solid carbon serves as a promising carbon capture and sequestration technique that has been demonstrated in this study by two patented processes. In the first process, known as CARGEN technology (CARbon GENerator), a novel concept of two reactors in series is developed that separately convert the greenhouse gases (GHGs) into multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and syngas. CARGEN enables at least a 50% reduction in energy requirement with at least 65% CO 2 conversion compared to the DRM process. The second process presents an alternative pathway for the regeneration/reactivation of the spent DRM/CARGEN catalyst using CO 2 . Provided herein is the first report on an experimental demonstration of a 'switching' technology in which CO 2 is utilized in both the operation and the regeneration cycles and thus, finally contributing to the overall goal of CO 2 fixation. The following studies support all the results in this work: physisorption, chemisorption, XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, TGA, ICP, and Raman analysis.