(17g) Reforming of JP-8 Logistical Fuel in a Microplasma for Compact SOFC Power

Portable power sources can be provided to today's military by reforming high energy density JP-8 fuel to provide hydrogen for compact fuel cells. The overall focus of this research is to understand the reforming capability of JP-8 hydrocarbon fuel within a microplasma-reactor. To date we have reported on microplasma-reactor chips we designed and fabricated having different channel geometries using silicon microfabrication technology. Original designs were for plasma experiments with inert gases such as helium and nitrogen as well as volatile hydrocarbons such as butane to determine an efficient design for sustaining a stable plasma. We plan to present experimental results from our current microreactor design that incorporates microfluidic connections allowing continuous operation in a sealed plasma environment. We will show results of experiments with various compounds including volatile hydrocarbons and key model components of JP-8 fuel. We expect these reaction experiments to result in conversion efficiency data through a combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. By varying reaction types and operating parameters we hope to ultimately determine the optimal conditions for conversion of JP-8 to a hydrogen-rich stream.