Dry reforming of methane by microsecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma: Optimizing the reactor structures

Abstract

Dry reforming of CH 4 process can convert greenhouse gases into high-value-added fuels and chemicals with its broad application prospects in environmental protection and renewable energy. Non-thermal plasma is considered an effective alternative method because it can activate CH 4 and CO 2 under low temperature and atmospheric pressure. This paper is aimed to optimize the plasma-assisted dry reforming of CH 4 process in a unipolar microsecond pulsed coaxial dielectric barrier discharge by investigating the effects of reactor structures. The results show that the conversions of reactants and the yields of syngas were significantly affected by the reactor structures. Specifically, a multi-stage or foil external electrode and negative polar discharge could promote CH 4 and CO 2 conversions, gas product yields, and energy conversion efficiencies. For different electrodes, the maximal conversions of CH 4 and CO 2 were 20.4% and 14.1%, with an energy conversion efficiency of 4.4% under our experimental conditions. Higher conversions, yields, and energy conversion efficiencies were obtained with lower power input when applying heat insulation measures. CH 4 conversion was promoted to 27.9% with a moderate energy conversion efficiency of 3.8%, but the conversion of CO 2 was only 12% when packing materials into the reactor. The results can provide specific guidance for designing plasma or plasma-catalytic dry reforming reactor.

Recent advances in plasma-enabled ammonia synthesis: state-of-the-art, challenges, and outlook

“…Pulsed dielectric barrier discharge is a common plasma reactor used in plasma-enabled energy conversion. Zhang et al 9 achieved a CH 4 conversion of 27.9% by applying microsecond-pulsed DBD plasma on DRM and optimizing the reactor structures at a CH 4 : CO 2 ratio of 1 : 1 and a total flow rate of 50 ml min −1 . Zhang et al 10 and Chen et al 11 reported that NRP DBD plasma can implement non-oxidative methane conversion.…”

“…Pulsed dielectric barrier discharge is a common plasma reactor used in plasma-enabled energy conversion. Zhang et al 9 achieved a CH 4 conversion of 27.9% by applying microsecond-pulsed DBD plasma on DRM and optimizing the reactor structures at a CH 4 : CO 2 ratio of 1 : 1 and a total ow rate of 50 ml min −1 . Zhang et al 10 12 presented that the maximum conversion rate of methane and energy efficiency of pulsed spark plasma that can be achieved is 91.2% and 44.3% at a gas ow rate of 50 ml min −1 , respectively.…”

Energy-Efficient Pathways for Pulsed-Plasma-Activated Sustainable Ammonia Synthesis

“…Plasma species, such as electrons, atoms, ions, and radicals, enable diverse chemical reactions at room temperature and ambient pressure conditions. The type of plasma discharge, applied voltage waveforms, operational parameters of the power supply (i.e., applied voltage, frequency, and power input), reactor design, , reactant composition, gas flow rates, reactant gas ratios, and other parameters affect the synthesis process outcomes . Different discharges driven by diverse power sources such as the radio frequency, microwave, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD, alternate current, AC), , and DBD (direct current, DC) , can be used for ammonia synthesis.…”

Parametric investigations on plasma‐activated conversion of CH4–CH3OH to C2–C4 alcohols by nanosecond pulsed discharge

“…[ 16 ] So far, numerous studies have been carried out on CH 4 to hydrogen, syngas, and hydrocarbons by NTPs. [ 17 ] For instance, Hu et al explored the interaction between plasma and catalyst in NTP‐assisted conversion of CH 4 , demonstrating that the better CH 4 conversion and the coke resistance were achieved over Pd/CeO 2 catalyst, obtaining a considerable H 2 selectivity of 50%. [ 18 ] Andersen et al researched plasma‐catalytic dry reforming of CH 4 , he found that the catalysts (Ag, Pt, and Cu) packing achieved a higher selectivity of syngas with the constant reactant conversion.…”