Direct Conversion of Ethane to Oxygenates, Ethylene, and Hydrogen in a Noncatalytic Biphasic Plasma Microreactor

Modular, biphasic plasma reactor enablesupgrading of underutilizedgas streams into liquid fuels and hydrogen for electrified and decentralizedchemical processing. We selectively upgrade ethane (C2H6) to ethanol(C2H5OH), methanol (CH3OH), and aceticacid (CH3COOH) in a catalyst-free, continuous, argon/waterbiphasic plasma microreactor. The water (H2O) evaporatesand electron- dissociates into OH center dot radicals. OH center dot recombineswith alkyl radicals, produced via electron dissociation of ethane,to generate the oxygenates that absorb into H2O. A plasma-assistedpath, reminiscent of the low-temperature thermocatalytic ethane steamreforming, leads to significant H-2 coproduction. The gaseousstream also comprises CO2 and C2H4. Up to 1.3 and 1 mu mol min(-1) of liquid C2H5OH and CH3OH are attained, respectively.Compared to CO2-assisted ethane plasma conversion, whichproduces many oxygenates with low selectivity, the carbon selectivitycan range from >70% C2H5OH, CH3OH,and CH3COOH to 60% C2H4. The lowcarbon footprint, electrified, modular, intensified process usinga reactive evaporation and separation plasma could pave the way forthe valorization of underutilized shale gas resources in remote areas.