Plasma–Catalyst Synergy During Methanol Steam Reforming in Dielectric Barrier Discharge Micro-plasma Reactors for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Non-thermal plasma is an effective technology that produces hydrogen from methanol by plasma reforming. In this study, hydrogen was produced via methanol steam reforming in a dielectric barrier discharge micro-plasma reactor filled with a Cu/Al2O3 catalyst. Comparative experimental results obtained using the reactor with and without catalyst are reported. The methanol conversion and hydrogen yield with the activated catalyst were 17.89 and 21.86 % higher than those without the catalyst. The primary gaseous products changed from H2 and CO to H2 and CO2 after adding the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst. Methanol conversion increased with the discharge frequency and input power and decreased with an increase in the liquid feed rate. Methanol conversion reached 78.48 % over the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst at a 1.0 steam-to-carbon ratio, an 18.00 ± 0.05 kHz discharge frequency, 18.70 W of input power, 10.0 mL/min Ar flow rate and 0.0165 mL/min liquid feed rate. A plausible mechanism for hydrogen generation during steam–methanol reforming using the plasma–catalyst synergy effect is presented.