Dry reforming of methane using different dielectric materials and DBD plasma reactor configurations

Abstract

The effect of quartz and alumina dielectric materials on the efficiency of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma reactor using different configurations for dry reforming of methane (DRM) has been investigated. The performance of dielectric materials was analysed at different feed ratios, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV, h−1) and specific input energy (SIE, kJ L−1). In both reactors, the main products detected were CO and H2 with considerable amounts of C2H6. Alumina reactor prevailed in performance and the maximum conversion achieved was 74% and 68% for CH4 and CO2 respectively at GHSV (92 h−1) feed ratio (1:1), SIE (370 J ml−1) and discharge volume (VD = 15.7 cm3). The CO/H2 ratio and yields were also higher in alumina than the quartz reactor under the same experimental conditions. Furthermore, different reactor configurations displayed a significant impact in the performance of DBD plasma. Increasing discharge volume (VD) enhanced the conversion and selectivity for both dielectrics. The energy efficiency (EE) was of 0.085 and 0.078 mmol kJ−1 for alumina and quartz, respectively. The high EE in alumina reactor was evidently due to higher dielectric constant, which exhibited enhancement in power dissipation, discharge energy and reactor temperature. Stability test conferred alumina DBD plasma reactor performed better than the quartz.