Enhancing methane cracking through variable-frequency microwave heating: Improved energy efficiency and carbon nanotube formation

Haolin Liu, Wei Liao, Mengyuan Wen, Jurong Ren, Shule Wang, Xianzhi Meng, Lingming Xiong, Yanghao Jin, Jia Wang and Jianchun Jiang

Energy, 2025, vol. 334, issue C

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of microwave frequency on methane cracking using an α-Fe. A COMSOL Multiphysics simulation model was developed to examine the impact of microwave frequency on the electromagnetic field and temperature distribution within the reactor. The optimal frequency of 5700 MHz in our cavity increases the energy efficiency to 66.1 %. Methane cracking experiments confirmed the simulation results, with a methane conversion rate of 98.3 % and high hydrogen selectivity under the identified conditions. Additionally, the spent α-Fe catalyst demonstrated potential for producing high-quality carbon nanotubes with uniform morphology. These findings underscore the benefits of variable-frequency microwave heating in enhancing reaction efficiency and product value, presenting a promising approach for sustainable hydrogen production and CNT synthesis.

Keywords: Microwave frequency; Simulation; Methane cracking; Carbon nanotubes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225032761
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:334:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225032761

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.137634

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().