Plasma-enabled hydrocracking for n-hexadecane by pulsed discharge with liquid alcohols

In order to realize the efficient heavy oil upgrading, plasma-enabled hydrogenation for heavy hydrocarbon by pulsed discharge with liquid alcohols was carried out. During the discharge process, the alcohol solution is injected into the reactor from the high-voltage electrode. From the perspective of energy saving and hydrogenation, the energy conversion efficiency of liquid phase plasma for heavy hydrocarbon was also evaluated. The reaction mechanism of hydrogen production from methanol-water, n-hexadecane pyrolysis and in-situ hydrogenation during discharge were also analyzed and explored. The results show that the addition of alcohols into nhexadecane can greatly increase the calorific value of the liquid oil and achieve in-situ hydrogenation by pulsed discharge with methanol as well as ethanol. When the working substance was 75% methanol aqueous solution, the apparent calorific value increased by (874 +/- 24) J/g, and the total energy conversion efficiency including liquid products and gas products reached (93.07 +/- 0.04) %. It indicates that pulsed discharge with liquid alcohols enhanced effective hydrogenation, which is a potential technology for the efficient and rational utilization of heavy oil.