Produção de Hidrogênio e Negro de Carbono a partir da Degradação de Metano por Plasma Térmico Hydrogen and Carbon Black Production from the Degradation of Methane by Thermal Plasma

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. Thermal 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.