Plasma-Assisted Reforming of Natural Gas for GTL—Part I

Development and modeling have been performed for different schemes for a plasma-assisted, catalyst-free process for natural gas conversion into synthesis gas, at pressures up to 3 MPa. Two oxidizers, oxygen with different purity and oxygen-steam blends, have been used to obtain a H2-to-CO ratio over 1.8. This ratio qualifies the synthesis gas as an appropriate feedstock for further direct liquefaction via Fisher-Tropsch processing. The results obtained can be used for development of the catalyst-free natural gas reformers for small scale, gas-to-liquid technologies.