Natural Gas Role in Future Low Carbon Economies

How can the abundance of natural gas resulting from recent breakthroughs in shale gas production via fracking technologies, be integrated with renewable energy to reduce carbon footprints for energy and chemicals? The thermal decomposition of methane to produce H₂ and carbon products is a low energy (+76 kjoule/mol), net energy positive means for producing clean fuel and sequestering carbon (Meyer Steinberg et al., Brookhaven labs 1990’s). This poster examines use of TDM with help of renewable energy to produce H₂ as clean and green energy carrier, with sequestration of carbon into solid or liquid products (carbon black, nanotubes, other polymers).