Modelling the dynamics of hydrogen synthesis from methane in nanosecond‐pulsed plasmas

Abstract

Abstract A chemical kinetics model was developed to characterise the gas‐phase dynamics of H 2 production in nanosecond‐pulsed CH 4 plasmas. Pulsed behaviour was observed in the calculated electric field, electron temperature and species densities at all pressures. The model agrees reasonably with experimental results, showing CH 4 conversion at 30% and C 2 H 2 and H 2 as major products. The underlying mechanisms in CH 4 dissociation and H 2 formation were analysed, highlighting the large contribution of vibrationally excited CH 4 and H 2 to coupling energy from the plasma into gas‐phase heating, and revealing that H 2 synthesis is not affected by applied pressure, with selectivity remaining unchanged at ~42% in the 1–5 bar range.