Produção de Hidrogênio e Negro de Carbono a partir da Degradação de Metano por Plasma Térmico

Methane gas ( CH 4 ) is the main inducer of the so called greenhouse gases effect . Recent scientific research aims to minimize the accumulation of this gas in the atmosphere and to develop processes capable of producing stable materials with added value. T hermal plasma technology is a promising alternative to these applications, since it allows obtaining H 2 and solid carbon from CH 4 , without the parallel formation of byproducts such as CO 2 and NO x . In this work , CH 4 was degraded by thermal plasma in order to produce hydrogen ( H 2 ) and carbon black . The degradation efficiency of CH 4 , selectivity for H 2 production as well as the characterization of carbon black were studied. The best results were obtained in the CH 4 flow rate of 5 L min -1 the degradation percentage and the selectivity for H 2 production reached 98.8 % and 48.4 %, respectively . At flow rates of less than 5 L min -1 the selectivity for H 2 production increases and reaches 91.9 %. The carbon black has obtained amorphous with hydrophobic characteristics and can be marketed to be used in composite material, and can also be activated chemically and/or physically and used as adsorbent material.