Plasma-Chemical Fuel Conversion and Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Plasma-Chemical Conversion of Methane, Ethane, Propane, and Natural Gas into Syngas (CO–H 2 ) and other Hydrogen-Rich Mixtures General Features of Plasma-Assisted Production of Hydrogen from Hydrocarbons: Plasma Catalysis Industrial demand for H 2 and H 2 -rich gases is growing, resulting in the development of the hydrogen energy concept in energy production and transportation (Hoffmann & Harkin, 2002; Ewing, 2004). Hydrogen production plays a key role in the development of fuel cell technology and should be especially noted (Busby, 2005). Also the conversion of natural gas into syngas (CO–H 2 mixture) plays an important role in natural gas liquefaction and numerous processes of organic synthesis (Smith, 2001). Conventional thermo-catalytic technology for H 2 production is limited by relatively low specific productivity, high metal capacity, and the large equipment size, which becomes especially important in the case of small- and medium-scale H 2 -generation systems. The application of plasma in the production of hydrogen and syngas creates an attractive alternative to conventional thermo-catalytic technologies (Deminsky et al., 2002). Plasma stimulation of hydrogen-rich gas production results in a significant increase of specific productivity and reduces the capital and operational costs of the process. The use of traditional catalysis is often limited by a time delay based on heating the catalyst to the required high temperature, which is especially critical in transportation applications such as hydrogen production from hydrocarbons on board a vehicle. The plasma method of hydrogen production has almost no inertia, which makes the plasma approach very attractive to the automotive industry.