Experimental Investigation on Kerosene Cracking Driven by Nanosecond Pulsed Rotating Gliding Arc Discharge Plasma

Abstract

As an advanced technology that could achieve excellent cracking effects, nanosecond pulsed discharge plasma has attracted a lot of interest in recent years. In this article, nanosecond pulsed gliding arc discharge (GAD) plasma was developed for kerosene cracking. The influence of applied voltage, pulse repetition frequency (PRF), pulsewidth, and carrier gas flow rate on the cracking effects of the nanosecond pulse GAD plasma was investigated. Experimental results indicated that C <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> H <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</sub> had the highest production rate in all experimental conditions. The increase in applied voltage, PRF, and pulsewidth enlarges the SIE, which drops with greater carrier gas flow rate. Higher applied voltage promotes the secondary cracking of C <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> H <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">8</sub> , C <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> H <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</sub> , and C <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> H <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</sub> but influences the primary cracking (cracking of macromolecular hydrocarbons) slightly. Higher PRF and longer pulsewidth promote both the primary cracking and the secondary cracking of the gaseous light hydrocarbon. However, higher PRF could intensify the production of coke while longer pulsewidth inhibits it. Greater carrier gas flow rate would suppress the secondary cracking of gaseous light hydrocarbons while promoting the cracking of macromolecular hydrocarbons significantly.