ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD-ASSISTED METHOD FOR CHEMICAL CONVERSION

Abstract

Embodiments relate to methods for enhancing chemical conversions. One or more embodiments relate to a method for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion reaction. The method includes providing a reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s); and providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited catalytically active materials. The method further includes applying an electromagnetic field with a prescribed power, frequency, and pulsing strategy specific to interactions of reactant species and an electromagnetic field with at least one of the support materials, sorbent, and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction.

Claims

1. A method for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion reaction comprising: providing a reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s); providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited catalytically active materials; and applying an electromagnetic field with a prescribed power, frequency, and pulsing strategy specific to interactions of reactant species and an electromagnetic field with at least one of the support materials, sorbent, and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction is an endothermic chemical reaction.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the endothermic chemical reaction includes a plurality of reaction mechanism steps performed in parallel leading to desired products.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the electromagnetic field is removed or reduced to minimize the undesired side reactions and maximize desired product formations.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the endothermic chemical reaction includes a plurality of reaction mechanism steps performed in series leading to desired products.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the support material does not appreciably absorb the electromagnetic field.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the support material appreciably absorbs the electromagnetic field.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the deposited catalytically active material does not appreciably absorb the electromagnetic field.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein the deposited catalytically active material absorbs the electromagnetic field.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein the sorbent material does not appreciably absorb electromagnetic field.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein the sorbent material does appreciably absorb the electromagnetic field.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein the interactions of electromagnetic field with at least one of catalyst, support, sorbent materials, and deposited active materials produces a plasma.

13. The method of claim 5 wherein the electromagnetic field is removed or reduced to minimize the subsequent undesired reaction mechanism steps and maximize desired product formation.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction is an exothermic chemical reaction.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the exothermic chemical reaction includes a plurality of reaction mechanism steps performed in series leading to desired side products.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the application of the electromagnetic field is removed or reduced to minimize the desired side reactions and maximize the desired product formations.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the electromagnetic field is removed or reduced to minimize the subsequent reaction mechanism steps and product formation.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied over a frequency ranging from about 3 KHz to about 300 GHz.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied by sweeping a frequency ranging from about 3 KHz to 300 GHz.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied to the chemical reaction by performing the reaction at two or more frequencies ranging from about 3 KHz to 300 GHz.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied to the chemical reaction by performing the reaction at two or multiple frequencies simultaneously ranging from about 3 KHz to 300 GHz.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied to the chemical reaction by performing the reaction at two or multiple frequencies alternatively ranging from about 3 KHz to 300 GHz.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied to the chemical reaction at a pulsing time ranging from about 1 to 99%.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied to the chemical reaction at a pulsing rate ranging from about 1 to 75%.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein the electromagnetic field is applied to the chemical reaction at a pulsing rate related to the thermodynamics of the chemical reaction such that the pulsing rate is lower for a reaction step that is highly exothermic and the pulsing rate is higher for a reaction step that is less exothermic.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction comprises hydrocarbon conversion to benzene, toluene, and xylenes.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrocarbon conversion is sC.sub.nH.sub.m where n=1 to 20 and m2n+2.

28. The method of claim 1 where the chemical reaction comprises ammonia synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen.

29. The method of claim 1 where the chemical reaction comprises at least one or hydrogenation of CO into hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons.

30. The method of claim 1 where the chemical reaction comprises hydrocarbon conversion in the presence of an oxidant to syngas.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the oxidant is selected from a group comprising at least steam, CO.sub.2, and air.

32. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction comprises oxidative coupling of methane.

33. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction comprises methane decomposition into solid carbon and hydrogen.

34. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction comprises NOx decomposition.

35. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction comprises desulfurization

36. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical reaction comprises coal pyrolysis and/or gasification to syngas, liquid fuels and chemicals, and other valuable carbon products.

37. The method of claim 1 further includes a char used both as a reactant and catalyst.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein the char source is coal.

39. The method of claim 37 wherein the char source is biomass.

40. A method for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion by applying an electromagnetic field comprising: performing a chemical reaction with at least one mechanistic step that is endothermic; providing a reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s); providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited active materials; and applying the electromagnetic field at variable microwave frequencies specific to the interactions of reactant species as well as an electromagnetic field with at least one of the support materials, sorbent and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction.

41. A method for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion reaction by applying an electromagnetic field comprising: performing a chemical reaction with at least one mechanistic step that is endothermic; providing a reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s); providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited active materials; and applying the electromagnetic field in a pulsed-power mode specific to the interactions of reactant species and electromagnetic field with at least one of the support, sorbent, and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction.

42. A method for enhancing sorbent regeneration by applying an electromagnetic field comprising; providing a gas mixture comprising one or more adsorbate specie(s); providing a sorbent comprising one or more materials and one or more deposited sorption-enhancing active materials; and applying the electromagnetic field having a prescribed power, frequency, and pulsing strategy specific to the interactions of reactant species and electromagnetic field with at least one of the materials, support, sorbent, and catalytically active materials in a particular regeneration process.

43. The method of claim 42 further comprising the adsorbate being chemically absorbed on the sorbent.

44. The method of claim 42 further comprising the adsorbate being physically adsorbed on the sorbent.

45. The method of claim 42 where the sorbent is solid.

46. The method of claim 42 where the sorbent is liquid.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the multiple embodiments of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanied drawings where:

[0027] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic illustrating an exemplary reaction of the reaction of methane dehydroaromatization;

[0028] FIG. 2 depicts a schematic of microwave reactor system;

[0029] FIG. 3 depicts a graph illustrating benzene production using coal and methane with and without microwaves; and

[0030] FIG. 4 depicts a high level flow diagram of one method of enhancing a chemical conversion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to use the invention and sets forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the principles of the present invention are defined herein specifically to provide description of electromagnetic field-enhanced catalysis and methods for using such catalysis.

[0032] The underlying objective of using electromagnetic field-enhanced catalysis is twofold. First, the electromagnetic (EM) field provides targeted heating of the active metal sites of the catalyst, thereby enhancing the catalytic activity without increasing the bulk temperature of the surrounding reactants. Therefore, the methane activation reaction may be initiated at the active metal sites or hot spots while the bulk temperature might be significantly lower than the hot spots and, hence, enhancing the methane activity that is limited by thermodynamics. Second, the EM field plays the role of catalyst promoter. The photon energy in electromagnetic radiation at RF and microwave frequencies is not sufficient for any bond cleavage.

[0033] However, the EM field may induce the polarization of reactant molecules within the catalyst material and, hence, result in a weakened bond that may be cleaved relatively easier. Additionally, the EM field can induce electric and/or magnetic fields in between absorptive sites within the catalyst/adsorbent/absorbent/MW active material contributing to lower activation energies, electron donation, and relaxing bonds. The catalyst selectivity may be further tuned by using an appropriate electromagnetic energy pulsing scheme. Electromagnetic energy is operated in a pulsed-power mode; higher-power pulse time activates the reactive species on the catalyst sites to start the reaction; low-power pulse time maintains a lower reaction temperature to promote the desired reaction mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, in dehydroaromatization reaction as shown in FIG. 2, the CH bond cleavage in methane (xCH.sub.4=>xCH.sub.2*+H.sub.2, designated 30 in FIG. 1), an endothermic step, occurs at a hot spot created by the electromagnetic fields. During the pulse-off situation, the hot spot gives up its heat, attaining a lower energy state which is favorable for CC bond formation (xCH.sub.2=>x/2 CH.sub.2CH.sub.2 and CH.sub.2CH.sub.2=>C.sub.6H.sub.6; designated 32 and 34 respectively in FIG. 1), an exothermic step, but unfavorable for further CH cleavage (CH.sub.4>C(s)+2H.sub.2, designed 36 in FIG. 1), an endothermic step, in methyl radicals. Due to selective heating, the electromagnetic heating is more energy efficient and faster compared to the conventional heating in which the reactor is heated first and then the heat is transferred to the reaction medium by convection. Electromagnetic power and/or frequency may be tuned to selectively activate specific reaction sites and reaction species. The frequency dependency is illustrated in Table 1 below:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Frequency interactions with catalyst and reactants Case # Reactants Catalyst Frequency Description 1 R.sub.1, 0 + R.sub.2, 0 A A F.sub.1A There is a flow of two reactant species, A A R.sub.1, 0 and R.sub.2, 0, interacting with a single catalytic site A. The EM is operating at one frequency, F.sub.1 and is coupled with the catalytic sites, A, to enhance the conversion of the reactants on the catalyst surface. 2 R.sub.1, 0 + R.sub.2, 0 A B F.sub.1A + F.sub.2B There is a flow of two reactant species, B A R.sub.1, 0 and R.sub.2, 0, which interact with catalytic sites A and B, respectively. The EM operates at two different frequencies (F.sub.1 and F.sub.2), simultaneously or alternating, where F.sub.1 couples with catalytic site A and F.sub.2 couples with catalytic site B, to enhance the conversion of the reactants on the catalyst surface. 3 R.sub.1, p + R.sub.2, 0 A A F.sub.1p + F.sub.2A There is a flow of two reactant species, A A R.sub.1, p and R.sub.2, 0, which interact with a single catalytic site A. The EM operates at two different frequencies (F.sub.1 and F.sub.2), where F.sub.1 couples with reactant species p and F.sub.2 couples with catalytic site A, to enhance conversion of the reactants on the catalyst surface. 4 R.sub.1, p + R.sub.2, q A A F.sub.1p + F.sub.2q + There is a flow of two reactant species, A A F.sub.3A R.sub.1, p and R.sub.2, q, which interact with a single catalytic site A. The EM operates at three different frequencies (F.sub.1, F.sub.2, and F.sub.3), where F.sub.1 couples with reactant species p, F.sub.2 couples with reactant species q, and F.sub.3 couples with catalytic site A, to enhance conversion of the reactants on the catalyst surface.

[0034] FIG. 2 depicts an apparatus 10 using microwaves (MW) as a heating source compare to a conventional thermal heating source on which the methane conversion into aromatic compounds (mainly benzene) was evaluated. The apparatus 10 includes a fixed-bed continuous-flow reactor 12. The reactor 12 has openings 14 and 16 receiving reactants 22 and outputting products 24 respectively, and includes a catalyst bed 18. A microwave system or power source 20 is illustrated and used as a heating source. In at least one embodiment, it is contemplated that the microwave system 20 provides different types of pulse modes including, for example, low-frequency continuous_mode designated 26, high-frequency continuous mode designated 26 and pulsed-on and pulsed-off mode designated 30.

[0035] In at least one embodiment, methane gas was used as the reactant gas 22 supplied to opening 14. Different forms of Mo (Mo oxide, Mo carbide, and the like) supported on HZSM-5 powders were used in the reactor 12. Two different concentrations 4% Mo and 6% Mo supported on HZSM5 were used. A 3 wt % Zn supported catalyst was also used. In one or more embodiments, the active catalyst materials were mixed with a microwave active material, silicon carbide (50 wt % catalyst+50% silicon carbide). Silicon carbide does not have any catalytic activity for the desired reaction. Catalysts were prepared by pressing and sieving the mixture powder between 300 to 600 microns to prevent plugging the reactor. Experiments were conducted at a WHSV of 2500 scc/gcat/hr, microwave power input between 200-350 W with 500 ms pulsing (50% pulsing rate), and atmospheric pressure. Where, the pulsing rate (duty cycle) is given as the ratio of the pulse ON time to the total pulse time period.

[00001]$\mathrm{pulsing}.Math..Math.\mathrm{rate}=\frac{t_{\mathrm{on}}}{t_{\mathrm{on}}+t_{\mathrm{off}}}100$

Where t.sub.on is the time during the microwave power is on and t.sub.off is the time during the microwave is off.

[0036] The product stream 24 from the microwave reactor 12 (unconverted methane, N.sub.2, ethane, ethylene, benzene, and hydrogen) was analyzed using a microGC. Yield of benzene was defined as:

Yield of benzene (%)=moles of benzene produced6100/moles of methane fed

[0037] Table 2 depicts the comparison of benzene formation over different catalysts with and without microwave heating. There is a fundamental difference in benzene formation from methane in the presence of microwave. The difference was significant particularly for Zn-based catalyst; a maximum yield of 0.9% was obtained from conventional heating for all condition studied in our labs (space velocity 750 to 6000 hr.sup.1 and temperature 650-750 C.). The microwave heating is particularly viable for the catalysts which are susceptible t metal loss due to high volatility at the reaction temperature. The Mo/H-ZSM5 zeolite is a widely reported catalyst for the single-step methane aromatization process. It is believed that molybdenum carbide is an active phase for the dehydroaromatization (DHA) reaction. Coke formation is inevitable during the DHA reaction. Therefore, regeneration of the deactivated catalyst has to be performed for frequent coke burn offs. The active phase, molybdenum carbide, converts into molybdenum oxide during regeneration. Therefore, the catalyst has to be reactivated to the carbide form after each regeneration cycle. Although, activity of Zn-based catalyst is significantly lower than Mo-based catalyst; but the active phase, zinc oxide, does not change during regeneration and, hence, it does not require activation after each regeneration cycle. But, the Zn-catalyst suffers metal loss at the reaction temperature due to its higher volatility. However, in a microwave system, the desired reaction may be conducted at relatively low bulk temperatures where the metal loss is not significant. Thus, electromagnetic field-assisted catalysis process provides a significant advantage over the traditional heating process for such systems.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Results of methane dehydroaromatization reaction with and without microwave Benzene yield (%) Run Non- MW power, # Catalyst bed MW MW* pulse time A (5 g of 4 wt % Mo/ 1.3 150 W, 500 ms HZSM5 + Mo.sub.2C) + 5g SiC (Oxide:carbide = l:1) B 5 g of 4 wt % MoO3/ 6.4 4.2 200 W, 500 ms HZSM5 + 5 g SiC C 5 g of 4 wt % Mo.sub.2C/ 0.4 200 W, 500 ms HZSM5 D 5 g of 3 wt % Zn/ 1.7 0.9 200 W, 500 ms HZSM5 + 5 g SiC E 5 g of 6 wt % Mo/ 5.0 3.8 200 W, 500 ms HZSM5 + 5 g SiC

[0038] Electromagnetic energy provides targeted heating of the active metal sites of a catalyst, thereby enhancing the catalytic activity without increasing the bulk temperature of the surrounding reactants. Therefore, the methane activation reaction may be initiated at the active metal sites or hot spots while the bulk temperature might be significantly lower than the hot spots and, hence, enhancing the methane activity that was limited by thermodynamics.

[0039] EM fields act as the catalyst promoter. The energy in EM radiation at RF and microwave frequencies is not sufficient for any bond cleavage. However, the EM field may induce the polarization of reactant molecules within the catalyst material and result in a weakened bond that can be cleaved relatively easier. Additionally, the EM field can induce electric and/or magnetic fields inbetween absorptive sites within the catalyst/abosorbant/MW active material contributing to lower activation energies, electron donation, and relaxing bonds. The catalyst selectivity can be further tuned by using an appropriate EM field pulsing scheme. The CH bond cleavage in methane, an endothermic process, occurs at a hot spot created by the EM field. During the pulse off situation, the hot spot gives away its heat and attains a lower energy state which is favorable for CC bond formation, an exothermic process, but unfavorable for further CH cleavage in methyl radicals. Due to selective heating, the EM heating is more energy efficient and faster compared to the conventional heating in which the reactor is heated first and then the heat is transferred to the reaction medium by convection, conduction and IR radiation.

[0040] Electromagnetic energy can directly heat mixtures of catalyst and microwave active materials by coupling an oscillating electromagnetic field with the material's internal structure. The stimulation of catalytic reactions using electromagnetic energy has been shown to alter the selectivity of reactions because the local gas temperatures remain lower than the solids temperatures and secondary gas phase reactions can be suppressed. This process has advantages over traditional radiant heating because heat is more efficiently injected directly to the catalyst and less overall energy is required to heat the reaction zone to the desired temperatures. Therefore, the EM process can be used to enhance the selectivity and yield of natural gas conversion processes.

[0041] Several parameters such as active catalytic sites and support, electromagnetic power and pulsing scheme, and the physical properties of the catalyst material (dielectric properties, etc.) that may affect the methane conversion and product formation were evaluated. The focus within this project was on EM field-enhanced catalytic methane conversion into olefins and aromatics, but extrapolation beyond this application into many chemical processes is expected. Particularly, selectivity of desired products from a reaction could be significantly affected by applied electromagnetic field with different frequency as well as pulsing scheme.

[0042] In addition to the natural gas dehydroaromatization reaction, the Fisher-Tropsch reaction, methane coupling reaction, ammonia synthesis, hydrocarbon reforming, and other similar reactions could be significantly improved in terms of selectivity and conversion by applying electromagnetic fields.

[0043] Some other reactions but not limited to can be carried out using the electromagnetic method described in this disclosure are listed in Table 3.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Other Possible Reactions Reaction Equation Endo/Exothermic Non-oxidative methane 6 CH.sub.4 .Math. Endo (Delta H = 596 dehydroaromatization C.sub.6H.sub.6 + 9 H.sub.2 kJ/mol) Non-oxidative coupling of 2 CH.sub.4 .Math. Endo (Delta H = 202 methane C.sub.2H.sub.4 + 2H.sub.2 kJ/mol) Oxidative coupling of 2CH.sub.4 + O.sub.2 .Math. Exo (Delta H = 455 methane C.sub.2H.sub.4 + 2H.sub.2O kJ/mol) Fischer-Tropsch nCO + 2n H.sub.2 .Math. Exo (Delta H = 165 C.sub.nH.sub.2n + n H.sub.2O kJ/mol) Methane dry reforming CH.sub.4 + CO.sub.2 .Math. Endo (Delta H = 247 2 CO + 2 H.sub.2 kJ/mol) Methane steam CH.sub.4 + H.sub.2O .Math. Endo (Delta H = 226 reforming CO + 3 H.sub.2 kJ/mol) Hydrocarbon C.sub.nH.sub.m .fwdarw. Endo (Delta H > 0) decomposition reaction nC + m/2 H.sub.2 Ammonia synthesis N.sub.2 + 3H.sub.2 .Math. Exo (Delta H = 46 2NH.sub.3 kJ/mol) NOx decomposition NOx .Math. Exo (Delta H < 0) reaction N.sub.2 + x/2 O.sub.2

[0044] FIG. 3 depicts a graph illustrating benzene production using coal and methane. FIG. 3 illustrates such benzene production with microwaves (line 50) and without microwaves (line 52). FIG. 3 indicates that benzene production with microwaves is improved in comparison to benzene production without microwaves.

[0045] FIG. 4 depicts a high level flow diagram of one method, generally designated 100, for enhancing a chemical conversion. The method 100 for enhancing the chemical conversion includes providing a reactant mixture, step 110 and providing a catalyst or sorbent, step 112. Method 100 further includes applying an electromagnetic field, step 114. Finally, the method 100 includes producing one or more products, step 116.

[0046] One or more embodiments relate to a method 100 for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion reaction. The method 100 includes providing a reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s); and providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited catalytically active materials. The method 100 further includes applying an electromagnetic field with a prescribed power, frequency, and pulsing strategy specific to interactions of reactant species and an electromagnetic field with at least one of the support materials, sorbent, and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction.

[0047] Still other embodiments relate to a method 100 for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion by applying an electromagnetic field. The method 100 includes performing a chemical reaction with at least one mechanistic step that is endothermic and providing a reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s). The method 100 further includes providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited active materials; and applying the electromagnetic field at variable microwave frequencies specific to the interactions of reactant species as well as an electromagnetic field with at least one of the support materials, sorbent and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction.

[0048] Other embodiments relate to a method 100 for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion reaction by applying an electromagnetic field. The method 100 includes performing a chemical reaction with at least one mechanistic step that is endothermic and providing a reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s). This embodiment further includes providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited active materials; and applying the electromagnetic field in a pulsed-power mode specific to the interactions of reactant species and electromagnetic field with at least one of the support, sorbent, and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction.

[0049] Yet still another embodiment relates to a method 100 for enhancing sorbent regeneration by applying an electromagnetic field. The embodiment includes providing a gas mixture comprising one or more adsorbate specie(s) and providing a sorbent comprising one or more materials and one or more deposited sorption-enhancing active materials. Embodiments further include applying the electromagnetic field having a prescribed power, frequency, and pulsing strategy specific to the interactions of reactant species and electromagnetic field with at least one of the materials, support, sorbent, and/or catalytically active materials in a particular regeneration process.

[0050] One or more exemplary embodiments includes an endothermic or exothermic chemical reaction, where the chemical reaction includes a plurality of reaction mechanism steps performed in parallel or series leading to undesired side products. The electromagnetic field may be removed or reduced to minimize the undesired, parallel or series side reaction mechanisms and product formation.

[0051] In at least one embodiment, the electromagnetic field occurs over a frequency ranging from about 3 KHz to about 300 GHz. Alternatively, the electromagnetic field occurs by sweeping the frequency over the 3 KHz to 300 GHz range, where the reaction occurs at two or more frequencies ranging from about 3 KHz to 300 GHz, where the reaction occurs at two or multiple frequencies simultaneously or alternatively ranging from about 3 KHz to 300 GHz.

[0052] Embodiments may include the electromagnetic field being applied to the reaction at a pulsing time ranging from about 1 to 99% or more specifically from about 1 to 75%. In one or more embodiments, the electromagnetic field may be applied to the chemical reaction at a pulsing rate related to the thermodynamics of the chemical reaction such that the pulsing rate is lower for a reaction step that is highly exothermic and the pulsing rate is higher for a reaction step that is less exothermic.

[0053] In one or more embodiments of method 100, the chemical reaction includes hydrocarbon conversion to benzene, toluene, and xylenes, where the hydrocarbon conversion is C.sub.nH.sub.m where n=1 to 20 and mn+2 for example (although one embodiment contemplates mn+2). Embodiments include the chemical reaction encompassing ammonia synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen; hydrogenation of CO into hydrocarbons; hydrocarbon conversion in the presence of an oxidant to syngas; hydrocarbon conversion in the presence of an oxidant to syngas, where the oxidant may be selected from a group comprising at least steam, CO.sub.2, and air; oxidative coupling of methane; methane decomposition into solid carbon and hydrogen; NOx decomposition; desulfurization; coal pyrolysis and/or gasification to syngas, liquid fuels and chemicals, and other valuable carbon products.

[0054] One or more embodiments of method 100 includes a char used both as a reactant and catalytic material. Embodiments of the char source is coal and/or biomass.

[0055] Embodiments of method 100 include an adsorbate being chemically or physically absorbed/adsorbed on the sorbent. The sorbent may be solid or liquid.

[0056] Having described the basic concept of the embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way of example. Accordingly, these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial or inconsequential modifications or alterations and various improvements of the subject matter described and claimed are considered to be within the scope of the spirited embodiments as recited in the appended claims. Additionally, the recited order of the elements or sequences, or the use of numbers, letters or other designations therefor, is not intended to limit the claimed processes to any order except as may be specified. All ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible sub-ranges and combinations of sub-ranges thereof. Any listed range is easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as up to, at least, greater than, less than, and the like refer to ranges which are subsequently broken down into sub-ranges as discussed above. As utilized herein, the terms about, substantially, and other similar terms are intended to have a broad meaning in conjunction with the common and accepted usage by those having ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. As utilized herein, the term approximately equal to shall carry the meaning of being within 15, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 percent of the subject measurement, item, unit, or concentration, with preference given to the percent variance. It should be understood by those of skill in the art who review this disclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description of certain features described and claimed without restricting the scope of these features to the exact numerical ranges provided. Accordingly, the embodiments are limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereto. All publications and patent documents cited in this application are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent document were so individually denoted.

[0057] One skilled in the art will also readily recognize that where members are grouped together in a common manner, such as in a Markush group, the present invention encompasses not only the entire group listed as a whole, but each member of the group individually and all possible subgroups of the main group. Accordingly, for all purposes, the present invention encompasses not only the main group, but also the main group absent one or more of the group members. The present invention also envisages the explicit exclusion of one or more of any of the group members in the claimed invention.