H₂ production by ethanol decomposition with a gliding arc discharge plasma reactor

Abstract

A gliding arc discharge (GRD) reactor was used to decompose ethanol into primarily H₂ and CO with small amounts of CH₄, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, and C₂H₆. The ethanol concentration, electrode gap, input voltage and Ar flow rate all affected the conversion of ethanol with results ranging from 40.7% to 58.0%. Interestingly, for all experimental conditions the S_H2/S_CO selectivity ratio was quite stable at around 1.03. The mechanism for the decomposition of ethanol is also described.

Keywords

gliding arc discharge / ethanol / hydrogen / decomposition / plasma

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Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg