DBD plasma-assisted ethanol steam reforming for green H2 production: Process optimization through response surface methodology (RSM)

Abstract

This work investigates ethanol steam reforming (ESR) to produce hydrogen (H2) in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor. A five-level, three-factor experiment design was performed using a response surface methodology (RSM) to evaluate the combined effects of the three process parameters, including discharge power, total flow rate, and ethanol-to-water (EtOH/H2O) molar ratio on the plasma-assisted ESR reaction. Quadratic regression models were employed in RSM to fit the experimental results and present the correlation between process parameters and targeted responses (EtOH conversion, H2 yield, H2 selectivity, and specific energy requirement (SER) for H2 production). The results suggested that the EtOH/H2O molar ratio is considered to have the most significant effect on the EtOH conversion and H2, H2 selectivity, while the total flow rate is the most significant parameter determining SER for H2 production. Process optimization demonstrated the optimal process conditions, including a discharge power of 55.9 W, a total flow rate of 26.7 ml/min, and an EtOH/H2O molar ratio equal to 0.34. A validation test was performed and confirmed the feasibility of the optimization process.