Coupling of CH₄ to C₂ Hydrocarbons in a Packed Bed DBD Plasma Reactor: The Effect of Dielectric Constant and Porosity of the Packing

• Main Authors: Mohammadreza Taheraslani, Han Gardeniers
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: methane conversion; plasma catalysis; dbd reactor; dielectric packing; c₂ selectivity
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/2/468

The conversion of methane was investigated in a packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor operated at ambient conditions. High dielectric BaTiO₃ was utilized as packing in comparison with γ-alumina, α-alumina, and silica-SBA-15. Results show a considerably lower conversion of CH₄ and C₂ yield for the BaTiO₃ packed reactor, which is even less than that obtained for the nonpacked reactor. In contrast, the low dielectric alumina (γ and α) packed reactor improved the conversion of CH₄ and C₂ yield. Additionally, the alumina packed reactor shifted the distribution of C₂ compounds towards C₂H₄ higher than that obtained for the nonpacked reactor and resulted in a higher energy efficiency compared to the BaTiO₃ packed reactor. This is attributed to the small pore size of BaTiO₃ (10−200 nm) and its high dielectric constant, whereas the polarization inside small pores does not lead to the formation of an overall strong electric field.