Stainless steel membrane distributor-type dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor for co-conversion of CH4/CO2

Flow arrangement in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor is key to affecting multi-component gas reactions. Herein, a stainless-steel membrane distributor-type DBD reactor was developed to allow the change of gas flow arrangements freely to understand their effect on plasma-assisted CH4/CO2 co-conversion to syngas. Variation of gas flow arrangements in the DBD reactor could regulate the reaction performance. Also, the inclusion of quartz wool in the DBD reactor could enhance the effect of gas flow arrangement compared to the plasma-alone DBD. Especially, the DBD reactor with CO2 feed in the quartz wool-packed discharge zone and CH4 distributed via the membrane exhibited good stability over 600 min on stream, with rather stable CO2/CH4 conversions of similar to 25%/20%, H-2/CO selectivities of similar to 50%/32%, H-2/CO molar ratio of 0.9-1.1, and energy efficiency of similar to 0.20 mmol.kJ(-1) based on the conversion of feed gases.

Automated summary

Flow arrangement in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor plays a crucial role in multi-component gas reactions. A stainless-steel membrane distributor-type DBD reactor was utilized to study the effect of gas flow arrangements on plasma-assisted CH4/CO2 co-conversion to syngas. The DBD reactor with CO2 fed in the quartz wool-packed discharge zone and CH4 distributed via the membrane exhibited excellent stability and performance, achieving steady CO2/CH4 conversions of approximately 25%/20%, H2/CO selectivities of around 50%/32%, H2/CO molar ratio of 0.9-1.1, and energy efficiency of about 0.20 mmol.kJ(-1) based on the conversion of feed gases.