An experimental and computational study of hydrogen production during hybrid plasma-catalytic conversion of ethanol using air plasma of rotating gliding discharge with vortex flows

Hybrid plasma-catalytic conversion has shown its potential for efficient hydrogen production from organic raw materials. However, the precise role of plasma and the main reaction mechanisms during the hybrid plasma-catalytic conversion are not yet firmly understood. This work aims to compare the production of hydrogen, which was calculated using chemical kinetics modeling of the hybrid plasma-catalytic conversion of ethanol into syngas, with the data obtained during the experimental reforming conducted at similar conditions. The experimental conversion of ethanol (810 ml/h) into syngas was done using a system consisting of a chemical reactor and a 100 W plasma source based on a rotating gliding discharge and using air as plasma gas. The chemical reactions during the ethanol conversion were modeled using ZDPlasKin and Bolsig+ software combined with the custom reaction database containing over 1400 reactions. Modeling has shown that hydrogen production during the hybrid plasma-catalytic reforming of ethanol has several stages. Data obtained in the studied temperature range has shown that the presence of plasma significantly influenced the first stage of the hydrogen production, while subsequent stages were mostly similar to the partial oxidation of ethanol without plasma.