Hydrogen production from methane conversion in a gliding arc

Abstract

Until now, the major problem of methane conversion is to break the very strong C-H bond. It is possible by employing some catalytic methods. However, the formation of carbon powder diminishes the catalytic performance. The use of a gliding arc, described in this work, has two objectives: the hydrogen production and other syngas such as acetylene, and the treatment of the green house gas methane. A good approximation model describing the chemical processes concerning the methane decomposition is described, first by the interaction of key radicals such as CH3 and H, followed by chemical reactions involving other hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrated the ability of the gliding arc to accelerate chemical reactions at low temperatures while decreasing energetic cost.