Atmospheric pressure glow discharge in air used for ethanol conversion: experiment and modelling

Abstract

Abstract:Complex theoretical and experimental investigation of ethanol into syngas conversion assisted by DC atmospheric pressure discharge with plasma cathode is presented. Infrared absorption spectroscopy together with the equation for the conservation of the number of atoms at the inlet and outlet of the reactor are used to determine the composition of syngas, the main components of which are hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and acetylene. It is shown that the plasmachemical reactor enables efficient (over 90%) ethanol into syngas conversion with an output of 2 L min -1 and at energy costs of about 3 electron-volts per one hydrogen molecule. Numerical modeling of conversion kinetics at discharge conditions was performed assuming thermal nature of the process. Experimental and calculated data are in good agreement.

Plasma Catalysis for Hydrogen Production: A Bright Future for Decarbonization

“…Interestingly, the authors observed that the nature of the diluent gas played a significant role in the H 2 yield, where the H 2 yield was 2−3 times higher in the NH 3 /He mixed feed when compared to the NH 3 /Ar mixed feed for the same flow rate and power input. 287 Only at NH 3 concentrations <20% was the H 2 yield similar for both diluents. The Ar was observed to affect the discharge stability negatively compared to when He was used as the diluent.…”

“…286 It was not until the early 2000s when Arkhipenko et al provided another report of NH 3 decomposition in mixed He/ NH 3 and Ar/NH 3 feed streams using an atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) plasma. 287 The authors observed NH 3 conversion of ∼60% at a flow rate of 0.5 L/min. Interestingly, the authors observed that the nature of the diluent gas played a significant role in the H 2 yield, where the H 2 yield was 2−3 times higher in the NH 3 /He mixed feed when compared to the NH 3 /Ar mixed feed for the same flow rate and power input.…”

“…The Ar was observed to affect the discharge stability negatively compared to when He was used as the diluent. 287 However, as the NH 3 concentration increases, the influence of the diluent on the NH 3 activation and conversion decreases. It should also be noted that the plasma discharge power was not reported in this work, making the reproduction or comparison across different studies rather difficult.…”

“…It should also be noted that the plasma discharge power was not reported in this work, making the reproduction or comparison across different studies rather difficult. 287 It was not until 2013 that plasma-catalytic approaches were investigated for the NH 3 decomposition reaction. 187 Perhaps the most widely varied parameter in plasma-catalysis studies is the catalyst type, which has been motivated by the discovery that the ideal catalyst in thermal processes is not necessarily the ideal catalyst in plasma-assisted processes.…”