Experimental and kinetic investigation of the plasma catalytic dry reforming of methane over perovskite LaNiO3 nanoparticles

•LaNiO3 nanoparticles facilitate plasma catalytic dry reforming.•A global kinetic model of plasma-catalytic dry reforming is proposed.•The global kinetic model fits well with the experimental data.•The reactant conversion is an exponential function of the discharge energy.

Plasma-assisted catalytic conversion of CH4 and CO2 into synthesis gas was performed in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor coupled with perovskite La–Ni nanoparticles (LaNiO3 NPs). Compared to supported catalysts such as Ni/γ-Al2O3, La–Ni/γ-Al2O3 and Ni/La2O3, LaNiO3 NPs showed better catalytic performance. The results show that the low flow rate of feed gases and high input power were favorable for the conversions of CH4 and CO2 as well as the selectivities of desired products, but led to lower energy efficiency. A global kinetic model according to argon dilution in plasma-catalytic system was proposed and employed to foresee the CH4 and CO2 conversion assisted by plasma-catalysts hybrid effect. The kinetic model indicates that the reactant conversion rate was an exponential function of the discharge energy.