An experimental study of syn-gas production via microwave plasma reforming of methane, iso-octane and gasoline

A newly developed microwave plasma system for fuel reforming was tested for three different hydrocarbon fuels. The microwave plasma system was powered by a low cost commercial magnetron and power supply. The microwave power was delivered to the nozzle from the magnetron via a coaxial cable, which offers tremendous flexibility for system design and applications. A non-premixed configuration was achieved by delivering a separate stream of fuel to the plasma plume, which is composed of diluted oxygen only. The feasibility of syn-gas production capability of the microwave plasma system was demonstrated and the reforming characteristics of methane, iso-octane and gasoline were compared. The effects of input power, injected fuel amount, total flow rate and O/C ratio were evaluated. The production rates of both hydrogen and carbon monoxide were proportional to the input power and the inverse of the total flow rate. As a result, the maximum efficiency of 3.12% was obtained with iso-octane for power consumption of 28.8 W, O/C ratio of 1, and 0.1 g/min of fuel supply. Liquid fuels produced more syn-gas and showed better efficiency than methane for the same input powers and O/C ratios.