Molten-Salt Methane Pyrolysis

Optimization Through in-situ

Carbon Characterization and

Reactor DesignFabrication & demonstration of a high

temperature, high pressure molten salt

methane pyrolysis reactor.

Total project cost: $2.3M

Length 24 mo.

Binary Chloride Salts as

Catalysts for Methane to

Hydrogen and Graphitic Powder

Total project cost: $1.2M

Length 24 mo.

Production and continuous removal of graphitic

powder from a molten salt methane pyrolysis

reactor.

Eric McFarland, C-ZeroAdditional team members in attendance: Zach Jones, Fadl Saadi

The Team

1

Zach Jones

President & CEO

Prof. Eric McFarland

Board Chair, CTOSam Shaner, Ph.D.

Director of EngineeringFadl Saadi, Ph.D.

Director of Operations

Andrew Caldwell, Ph.D.

Senior ScientistBrett Parkinson, Ph.D.

Senior Engineer

Ryan Patrick

EngineerJoshua Rodriguez

Engineer

Howard Fong, Ph.D.

Chief Technical Strategist

Arnie Smith

Exec. Director of Process Engineering

Prof. Ches Upham

Advisor

Prof. Mark Anderson

Advisor

Prof. Mike GordonUCSB

Prof. Roya MaboudianUCB

Collaborators

Prof. Horia MetiuUCSB

Prof. Raphaele ClementUCSB

Lab Facilities and Capabilities

2January 25, 2021

Microscopy, Spectroscopy,

Elemental AnalysisCNC Plasma &

TIG Welding

Process Modeling Design & Modeling

Objectives for ARPA-E Project

‣ Demonstrate in-situ spectroscopic measurements of carbon formation under

methane pyrolysis reaction conditions.

‣ Design and construct a 10 liter methane pyrolysis molten salt reactor with:

– ≥ 70% CH4 conversion

– ≥ 90% H2 selectivity

– ≥ 5 mol H2/ m3 s

– ≤ 2.5% wt salt in carbon product

– High Pressure (≥ 5 bar)

3January 25, 2021

Year 1 Year 2

Begin Project G/NG: Demonstration

of 10 liter reactor at

atmospheric pressure

Final Goal:

Demonstration of 10 liter

reactor at high pressure

Objectives for H2@Scale Project

4January 25, 2021

Year 1 Year 2

Begin Project G/NG: Demonstration of

carbon removal system

at atmospheric pressure

Final Goal: Demonstration

of carbon removal system

at high pressure

‣ Demonstration of stable, active, binary chloride melt system:

– ≥ 90% H2 selectivity

– Graphitic carbon product that has properties favorable for battery anodes and

additives

‣ Design and construct a carbon removal system capable of:

– High Temperature (1000 C)

– Continuous carbon removal (≥ 24 hours)

– High Pressure (≥ 10 bar)

Identification of Novel, High-Activity Binary Chloride Salts

5January 25, 2021

◼ A computational survey of catalytic binary and ternary molten chloride salt systems was done to guide melt composition selection.

◼ Novel binary melt systems exhibiting very high CH4 conversion rates identified and experimentally verified

KCl

NaCl

CompositionTemperature Range (°C)

Activation energy, Ea

(kJ/mol)

Pre-exponential factor, k0 (s-1)

50-50 mol.% Melt A-B

700 - 900 168 ± 5 3.4 × 106

50-50 mol.% Melt A-C

700 - 980 190 ± 5 4.0 × 107

67-33 mol.% Melt A-C

700 - 1000 172 ± 4 4.7 × 106

Diagnostic Tool for Measuring Gas Holdup

6January 25, 2021

5

10

15

20

25

5 10 15 20 25

Ho

ldu

p (

rule

r) [%

]

Holdup (Diagnostic Tool) [%]

◼ Identified need for measuring gas holdup in metal reactors

◼ Designed a diagnostic tool based on changes in hydrostatic pressure.

◼ Corroborated accuracy of diagnostic tool using molten salt test stands with 4” column diameters to measure the gas holdup

Design, Fabrication and Testing of High Pressure Reactors

7January 25, 2021

◼ Internally heated metal reactor fabricated in order to test systems at high pressure

◼ 1” dia fused quartz crucible with molten salt

◼ Vacuum/purge and pressurization with Ar gas

◼ Reactor was operated at 100-200 mL/min CH4

flow at 17.7 bar (256 psig) and 1050-1100 C.

◼ The reactor functions as intended; wall temperature remains low enough under forced air cooling (<200 C) to allow for safe operation at >1100 C, 20 bar.

Challenges and Potential Technical Partnerships

‣ Disruptions due to COVID were inevitable but largely minimized by ensuring strict

lab hygiene and proactively purchasing supplies to avert any supply chain

disruptions

‣ Biggest challenge to date has been the analysis and characterization of carbon

products

– Newly acquired spectroscopic tools (including SEM/EDS) have allowed us to

perform rapid carbon characterization

– Looking for technical partnerships with entities that have expertise in carbon

characterization and analysis

‣ Another challenge is identifying suitable materials of construction (MOC)

– Designing rapid MOC testing of several different potential materials.

8January 25, 2021

T2M

‣ C-Zero is working on the design and commercialization of its methane pyrolysis technology

‣ C-Zero plans to complete the full design of the commercial reactor by 2022

‣ Current T2M goal is engaging with potential customers to better understand their needs and requirements and identifying the optimal first market. We are interested in talking to:

– Operators of natural gas turbines (combined and simple) for electricity production

– Refinery operators (especially in California)

– Current hydrogen generators

– Existing customers of hydrogen and natural gas

9January 25, 2021