CO_2 Reforming of CH_4 by Atmospheric Pressure Abnormal Glow Plasma

A novel plasma atmospheric pressure abnormal glow discharge was used to investigate synthesis gas production from reforming methane and carbon dioxide. Special attentions were paid to the discharge characteristics and CH4, CO2 conversion, H2, CO selectivity, and ratio of H2/CO varied with the changing of discharging power, the total flux, and the ratio of CH4/CO2. Experiments were performed in wider operation variables, the discharging power of 240 to 600 W, the CH4/CO2 of 0.2 to 1.0 and the total flux of 140 to 500mL/min. The experiments showed that the conversion of CH4 and CO2 was up to 91.9% and 83.2%, the selectivity of CO and H2 was also up to 80% and 90% and H2/CO mole ratio was 0.2 to 1.2, respectively. A brief analysis for discharge characteristics and the experimental results were given.

Methane Conversion to C_2 Hydrocarbons by Abnormal Glow Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

Methane conversion to C2 hydrocarbons has been investigated with the addition of hydrogen in a plasma reactor of abnormal glow discharge at atmospheric pressure. The aim of this experiment is to minimize coke formation and improve discharge stability. The typical conditions in the experiment are 300 ml of total feed flux and 400 W of discharge power. The experimental results show that methane conversion is from 91.6% to 35.2% in mol, acetylene selectivity is from 90.2% to 57.6%, and ethylene selectivity is approximately from 7.8% to 3.6%, where the coke increases gradually along with the increase of CH4/H2 from 2 ： 8 to 9 ： 1. A stable discharge for a considerable running time can be obtained only at a lower ratio of CH4/H2 = 2：8 or 3： 7. These phenomena indicate that the coke deposition during methane conversion is obviously reduced by adding a large amount of hydrogen during an abnormal glow discharge. A qualitative interpretation is presented, namely, with abundant hydrogen, the possibility that hydrogen molecules are activated to hydrogen radicals is increased with the help of the abnormal glow discharge. These hydrogen radicals react with carbon radicals to form C2 hydrocarbon products. Therefore, the deposition of coke is restrained.

Study of Atmospheric Pressure Abnormal Glow Discharge

Atmospheric pressure abnormal glow discharge （APAGD） was carried out simply with a transformer of 1 ： 500 driven by a alternating current with a frequency of 50 Hz. Typical stable discharge parameters, namely voltage of 400 V to 850 V and current of 60 mA to 110 mA were measured by oscillograph. Simulation of the discharge process suggested that the stable discharge was supported by the impedance from the secondary coil of the transformer, which offered a negative feedback to prevent the discharge from turning into an arc. An interpretation was given for the oscillogram of the sinuous discharge current and square voltage. Furthermore, the electron temperature and electron density averaged in the discharge channel of APAGD were estimated.

Effect of Mirror Magnetic Field on Abnormal Glow Discharge of Four-Anode Device

Abstract In the four-anode device, the mirror magnetic field affects the characteristics of charged particles motion, so that the current-voltage relations of glow discharge are changed. Firstly, the discharge device is introduced, and the distribution of mirror magnetic field generated by the loops surrounding the discharge chamber is presented. Both the discharge current-voltage characteristics and the radial distributions of electron density are measured, respectively, with/without the magnetic field. When the discharge occurs in a 99.99% helium with a pressure ranging from 100 Pa to 800 Pa without magnetic field, the voltage, sustaining a certain abnormal glow discharge current, decreases with the increase in gas pressure. With a mirror magnetic field of certain intensity, the discharge voltage increases with the current in a rate slower than that without the magnetic field. Moreover, when the magnetic field intensity increases, the discharge voltage first decreases then increases. Simultaneously, the mirror magnetic field affects the moving characteristics of charged particles, and causes a more inhomogeneous electron density.