Syngas Production from Methane Using AC Gliding Arc Reactor

AC gliding arc reactor producing syngas (H₂+CO) for partial oxidation of methane in an atmospheric gliding arc discharge has been designed and constructed. In this case, no catalysts are used to assist reforming; the plasmas play a role as catalyst and provide the energy for such reactions. The oxygen in the air is used for the partial oxidation of methane. The methane conversion and the energy efficiency are within 50 %-87 % and 30 %-48 % for different experiment conditions, respectively. Characteristics of the gliding arc reactor are influenced by the ratio of the outer diameter and the inner diameter. When this value is 0.56, the methane conversion and the energy efficiency are 87 % and 46 %, respectively, that is much higher than other experiment conditions. The experiment results show that hydrogen concentration remains constant when the O₂/C increases from 0.8 to 1.2, as the methane conversion is increased.