jp311912b_si_001.pdf (1.37 MB)
Plasma-Based Dry Reforming: A Computational Study Ranging from the Nanoseconds to Seconds Time Scale
journal contribution
posted on 2016-02-19, 18:06 authored by Ramses Snoeckx, Robby Aerts, Xin Tu, Annemie BogaertsWe present a computational study
for the conversion of CH4 and CO2 into value-added
chemicals, i.e., the so-called
“dry reforming of methane”, in a dielectric barrier
discharge reactor. A zero-dimensional chemical kinetics model is applied
to study the plasma chemistry in a 1:1 CH4/CO2 mixture. The calculations are first performed for one microdischarge
pulse and its afterglow, to study in detail the chemical pathways
of the conversion. Subsequently, long time-scale simulations are carried
out, corresponding to real residence times in the plasma, assuming
a large number of consecutive microdischarge pulses, to mimic the
conditions of the filamentary discharge regime in a dielectric barrier
discharge (DBD) reactor. The conversion of CH4 and CO2 as well as the selectivity of the formed products and the
energy cost and energy efficiency of the process are calculated and
compared to experiments for a range of different powers and gas flows,
and reasonable agreement is reached.