US 12,390,781 B2
Systems and methods for hydrocarbon pyrolysis
Jin Ki Hong, Cypress, CA (US); Bradley Rupp, San Francisco, CA (US); Mary W. Louie, Menlo Park, CA (US); Dane Andrew Boysen, Spokane, WA (US); and Jessica de Paula Tadeu Medrado, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to Xerox Corporation, Norwalk, CT (US)
Filed by Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed on Sep. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/932,346.
Prior Publication US 2024/0091727 A1, Mar. 21, 2024
Int. Cl. B01J 6/00 (2006.01); B01J 19/00 (2006.01)
CPC B01J 6/008 (2013.01) [B01J 19/0013 (2013.01); B01J 19/0053 (2013.01); B01J 2204/005 (2013.01); B01J 2219/00123 (2013.01); B01J 2219/00231 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for hydrocarbon pyrolysis, the system comprising:
a reactor configured to contain a liquid metal within an interior chamber of the reactor;
a heater operably coupled to the reactor to form a heating zone within a first portion of the interior chamber comprising the liquid metal;
a cooler operably coupled to the reactor to form a cooling zone within a second portion of the interior chamber above the first portion;
a gas delivery assembly comprising an inlet in fluid communication with the interior chamber, the gas delivery assembly configured to deliver a feed gas comprising a hydrocarbon as a plurality of bubbles through the liquid metal;
an outlet in fluid communication with the interior chamber and configured to deliver a product gas to a separation assembly, the product gas formed from pyrolysis of the hydrocarbon in the liquid metal, the product gas comprising H2 and carbon; and
the separation assembly in fluid communication with the interior chamber via the outlet, the separation assembly configured to separate the carbon from other components of the product gas,
wherein the reactor is configured to entrain the carbon from pyrolysis of the hydrocarbon in the liquid metal into the product gas without accumulating the carbon in the interior chamber during pyrolysis; wherein
the system comprises an upstream pressure gauge configured to measure a pressure of the feed gas during pyrolysis and a downstream pressure gauge configured to measure a pressure of the product gas during pyrolysis, and a controller comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium operably coupled to the processor, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions, that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to adjust one or more of a feed gas flow rate, a reactor temperature, and a reactor pressure to achieve no change in the pressure of the feed gas during pyrolysis and no change in the pressure of the product gas during pyrolysis.