Non-Thermal Plasma Reactor for Decomposition of Propane to Generate COx Free Hydrogen

Abstract

Non-thermal plasma reforming unit operating at atmospheric pressure has been developed for converting propane to COx free hydrogen. Argon was used to provide additional electrons and photons for higher reaction rates. A series of experiments have been performed for positive corona discharge at 15 mm inter-electrode distance to study the effects discharge power and residence time. A range of each test parameter was covered, namely, the effect of discharge power in the range of 19 – 35 W and residence time of 60 to 303 seconds. The results analysis shows that both, the discharge power and the residence time, have a positive influence on propane conversion, hydrogen selectivity and energy conversion efficiency. Propane conversion and hydrogen selectivity are both highest at the largest discharge power of 35 W and the longest residence time of 303 s

Experimental Study of a Rotating Electrode Plasma Reactor for Hydrogen Production from Liquid Petroleum Gas Conversion

“…where g p is the departure level degeneracy, and A pq and λ denote the transition probabilities and the wavelength of the lines, respectively. A Boltzmann plot is a semi-log representation of these relative populations vs. the ionization energy, which shows a linear behavior with slope equal to 1/(k B T e ) when they follow the Saha distribution of Equation (9), and this allows us to estimate the electron temperature. It should be mentioned that the results of the electron temperature obtained by this procedure could give incorrect values if the populations of the excited state are far from the equilibrium of the Saha distribution.…”

“…So far, the electrical plasma discharges have recently been used for the conversion of gases such as methane, ethane, acetylene, and other hydrocarbons to hydrogen and syngas [7,8]. Aleknaviciute et al [9] converted propane gas to hydrogen with a low CO x production using an atmospheric pressure cold plasma system. They used argon to increase the ionization rate in the plasma discharge medium of the system.…”