Dry Reforming of Methane using a Catalyst-Spouted Bed DBD Plasma Reactor

We investigated the dry reforming of methane using a spouted bed DBD plasma reactor filled with 212-500 mu m alumina and zeolite as catalysts. The effects of plasma conditions such as frequency, applied voltage, electrode position, presence of catalyst, and flow state of catalyst particles on the conversion ratio of reaction gas and selectivity of produced gas were evaluated experimentally. Dry reformation of methane was possible by using DBD plasma, and the conversion ratio varied greatly depending on the plasma conditions. By increasing the applied voltage from 7 to 13 kV, the CO2 conversion ratio was increased by a factor of 8.6. The conversion ratio was increased by increasing the frequency and could also be improved by adjusting the electrode position. It was found that the gas flow rate had the greatest effect on the conversion ratio, and that the conversion rate decreased semi-proportionally as the gas flow rate increased. The conversion ratio also differed greatly depending on the flow state of the catalyst, and the highest conversion ratio was obtained under the fixed bed condition. However, in the fixed bed, the electrode temperature increased rapidly with the rapid increase in power consumption, and stable modification was difficult. On the other hand, a decrease in conversion ratio due to plasma deactivation under the spouted bed condition was confirmed. However, it was found that the conversion ratio can be improved and stable operation is possible if the gas flow rate allows good contact between the plasma and the catalyst particles.