Hydrogen Production from Glucose and Cellulose Using Radio Frequency In-Liquid Plasma and Ultrasonic Irradiation

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The purpose of this study is to produce hydrogen gas from saccharide efficiently using 27.12 MHz radio-frequency (RF) in-liquid plasma. In order to enhance the production rate of hydrogen gas, ultrasonic irradiation was added to the plasma. The experiments were conducted adopting two different ultrasonic frequencies, 29 kHz using a horn-type transducer and 1.6 MHz using a piezoelectric transducer. When 29 kHz ultrasonic irradiation was added to the RF plasma in 5 and 10wt% glucose solution, the hydrogen production rate increased 6-14% from that without ultrasonic irradiation. When 1.6 MHz ultrasonic irradiation was applied to the RF plasma in 5wt% glucose solution, the gas production rate increased 90-150% from that without ultrasonic irradiation. However, when 1.6 MHz ultrasonic irradiation was applied to the RF plasma in pure water, the gas production rate increased only 5-10% from that without ultrasonic irradiation. The effects of ultrasonic atomization and agitation in the solution of nonvolatile glucose enhance a chemical reaction of the in-liquid plasma. The increase of the gas production rate was caused by the direct decomposition of the glucose by the plasma because the atomized glucose solution is fed into the plasma in the bubble.