(145f) Methane-Products Process Intensification through a Nanosecond Plasma Discharge

The energy industry, such as other sections, moves toward more efficient systems and newer technologies hires by companies. Due to excellent energy-engineering setups that we have developed in many years, we could revolute the energy industry in the 20^th century. The usages of natural gas, a clean feedstock, increase every year, and the majority of people in civilized countries have decided to move toward less polluted earth. Among all products that are produced at different plants, hydrogen plays a vital role. Producing hydrogen more efficiently at the existing plants is crucial. Moreover, hydrogen is a clean energy source and can help move toward a sustainable energy economy.

Most of (about 95%) hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels by steam reforming of natural gas, partial oxidation of methane, and coal gasification as of 2020. All these methods of hydrogen production require a considerable amount of energy due to high temperate operations. Therefore, the first question is how to produce hydrogen and light hydrocarbons cheaper with more eco-friendly technologies.

In this work, a nanosecond pulsed plasma reactor was designed to produce hydrogen and liquid hydrocarbons. The conversion rate, efficiency, and cost of the designed-made reactor show a promising method for converting hydrogen. Currently, hydrogen is priced between $3 and $8 per kilogram. We are presently producing hydrogen below $1.

Most of the researches that have been done on converting methane to hydrogen or other products have focused on the reactor's efficiency. This study attempts to present a novel reactor design and perform process intensifications for future industrial uses. Moving toward hydrogen as a source of energy can diversify our energy sources and enhance energy resiliency and security. Moreover, to avoid constructing gigantic plants to make them profitable, new-more efficient technologies are required to make the production in smaller-scale plants profitable. Also, having more distributed-smaller production plants would create opportunities to reach stranded reservoirs.