Ethanol and E85 reforming assisted by a non-thermal arc discharge
Résumé
Ethanol reforming could provide an interesting path for on-board hydrogen production from renewable resources for fuel cell powering. This paper presents a study on hydrogen production from both pure ethanol and E85 with a plasma reactor. Reforming of ethanol was systemically tested with a non-thermal arc discharge system based on a high voltage/low current power source. A short review on ethanol reforming is first presented as a reference point for this study. Effects of supplied power for plasma generation, air/fuel ratio, and addition of water were then experimentally investigated. Those results were at last compared with a 1D multistage model, exhibiting good correlation. In spite of the early stage of research, a fair conversion rate and fair H2 yields have been achieved (90% and 65%, respectively). The optimal conditions for ethanol reforming are found to be at an oxygen ratio higher than the reaction's stoichiometry, with a slight addition of steam. Discussion is provided concerning the non-thermal plasma effect on the ethanol reforming.