Characteristics of methane reforming using gliding arc reactor

A gliding arc reformer was proposed to produce hydrogen-rich gas. The reformer has two reactors including a plasma reactor and a catalyst reactor.The reforming characteristics for each of the following variables were studied: O2/C ratio, total gas flow rate, catalyst reactor temperature, reformer energy density, catalytic effect and CO2 input concentration to simulate biogas.Optimum conditions for producing H2 from methane were also suggested. The conditions consisted of an O2/C ratio of 0.64, a total gas flow rate of 14.2 L/min, a catalyst reactor temperature of 672 °C, a reformer energy density of 1.1 kJ/L and a steam flow ratio of 0.8. The maximum H2 concentration of 41.1% was obtained under the optimum conditions. Also, methane conversion rate, H2 yield and reformer thermal efficiencies were 67%, 54% and 35%, respectively.