Hydrogen production from partial oxidation of methane over dielectric barrier discharge plasma and NiO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

Hydrogen production from partial oxidation of methane under the combination of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma and NiO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst with cordierite honeycomb monoliths as substrate was investigated. The results showed that obvious synergistic effect was generated between DBD plasma and catalyst. Compared with the DBD plasma reactor without catalyst, the CH4 conversion and H2 yield increased from 60.1% and 21.3% to 83.6% and 28.4%, respectively. When the discharge power is above 70 W, the combination of DBD plasma and NiO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst promotes partial oxidation of methane. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). NiO on the surface of catalyst was reduced to Ni because of the introduction of DBD plasma. The activity of catalyst at low temperature was improved, and the generation of oiliness by-products was significantly reduced.