Ethanol partial oxidative reforming in gliding arc discharge plasma: A better understanding by a kinetic model study

Abstract

• Ethanol POR in a GAD plasma reactor was studied through experiments and modeling. • A 0-D model was found for elaborating main pathways of reaction processes. • Results of the model were close to experiment results, with the maximum error 8.6%. • Detailed pathways of main products and ethanol were analyzed based on the results. Ethanol plasma partial oxidative reforming process was investigated through experiments and modeling in a gliding arc discharge (GAD) plasma reactor. The effect of oxygen to ethanol (O 2 /EtOH) molar ratio, flux and input power were evaluated according to yields of main products. The highest yields of hydrogen and carbon monoxide are 38.6% and 55.4%, respectively. The excited-state species including C 2 (A 3 Π g -X 3 Π u ), the C 2 Swan band and the second positive system (SPS) of nitrogen were detected by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). A zero-dimension (0-D) model of ethanol plasma partial oxidative reforming containing 457 reactions was established for describing the pathways of reforming processes and calculated by Chemkin-PRO. The detailed pathways of ethanol dissociation and production of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and carbon dioxide were sorted according to the calculation result of Chemkin-PRO. The frame mechanism of ethanol plasma partial oxidative reforming showed the main pathways in the reforming processes.