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Hydrogen Production from Methane Decomposition in Cold Plasma Reactor with Rotating Electrodes

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Abstract

Methane decomposition in plasma reactor is a green process and can be considered as an economical route to produce COx-free hydrogen. The present study aimed to design and construct a plasma reactor with a unique feature of stable operation to provide an opportunity for direct decomposition of methane at almost ambient temperature. The reactor performance was evaluated in terms of hydrogen selectivity and methane conversion under various feed flow rate, plasma power, and electrode velocity. The main product was hydrogen with a small amount of C2 hydrocarbons where C2 refers to ethane, ethylene, and acetylene. In addition, the role of the degree of non-equilibrium state in plasma reactor performance was studied to provide a better understanding of the complex behavior of the cold plasma reactor. Better performance was observed through the rotation of high voltage electrode, compared to fixed electrode in terms of methane conversion attributed to the uniform dispersion of plasma power and effective distribution of active species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, 424 Hafez Ave, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Mahdi Moshrefi & Fariborz Rashidi

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  1. Mohammad Mahdi Moshrefi
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  2. Fariborz Rashidi
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Correspondence to Fariborz Rashidi.

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Moshrefi, M.M., Rashidi, F. Hydrogen Production from Methane Decomposition in Cold Plasma Reactor with Rotating Electrodes. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 38, 503–515 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-018-9875-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-018-9875-5

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