Gas Temperature Effect in Methane DBD Reactor for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Numerical investigation of gas temperature distribution in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) for plasma reactor in pure methane gas (CH₄) were carried out by using one-dimensional fluid model. This physical approach was based essentially on electrons and ions transport equation resolution coupled with Poisson's equation for two parallel electrodes plates. In the present work, the heat transport equation was solved in order to determine the gas heating behavior in the discharge DBD. The numerical model was applied in the case of a gas pressure of 350 torr and sinusoidal voltage excitation at period frequency of 50 kHz. The results obtained by this model show the time variations of charged particles, the electric field, and the electrical characteristics of CH₄ DBD. The gas heating development in the discharge reactor becomes important in the vicinity of the dielectrics. The effect of operation discharge parameters such as the applied voltage, the secondary electron-emission coefficient (γ) as well as the gas pressure have been analyzed and discussed. The findings suggest that the increase of gas temperature in CH₄ DBD reactor affects the improvement of discharge behavior and consequently the hydrogen production.