ThermoCatalytic Decomposition of methane (TCD) offers an interesting route to convert natural gas into hydrogen and functional carbon. In this study the reaction kinetics of TCD is studied for a nickel supported catalyst using a special fluidized bed reactor. The effect of operating conditions such as temperature, concentrations of methane and hydrogen and space velocity (SV) was studied on a commercial nickel catalyst on a silica support. The performance of the catalyst was evaluated in terms of three parameters: maximum reaction rate, lifetime and carbon yield. Values up to and in excess of 70g_C/gcat and 12h (at 550 °C and 70vol.% CH₄-5vol.% H₂) have been achieved for carbon yield and lifetime, respectively. The carbon product has fish bone structure. Our study has revealed that at lower temperatures and in the presence of small amounts of hydrogen ($\le 10\%$) a higher carbon yield is obtained. Lower concentration of methane (higher concentration of the inert) lowers the reaction rate, the lifetime and therefore the carbon yield. A dual kinetic approach has been adopted to determine maximum reaction rate and the associated deactivation factor. The kinetic parameters were estimated for the temperature range of 550-600 °C.

甲烷的热催化分解 (TCD) 为将天然气转化为氢气和功能碳提供了一种有趣的途径。在这项研究中，使用特殊的流化床反应器研究了镍负载催化剂的 TCD 反应动力学。在二氧化硅载体上的商用镍催化剂上研究了温度、甲烷和氢气浓度以及空速 (SV) 等操作条件的影响。根据三个参数评估催化剂的性能：最大反应速率、寿命和碳产率。值高达或超过 70g _C /gcat 和 12h（在 550 °C 和 70vol.% CH ₄ -5vol.% H ₂) 已分别实现了碳产量和寿命。碳产品具有鱼骨结构。我们的研究表明，在较低温度和少量氢气存在的情况下（$\le 10\%$) 获得更高的碳产率。较低浓度的甲烷（较高浓度的惰性气体）会降低反应速率、寿命并因此降低碳产率。已采用双动力学方法来确定最大反应速率和相关的失活因子。在 550-600 °C 的温度范围内估计动力学参数。