Plasma assisted fuel reforming for on-board hydrogen rich gas production

Abstract : Plasma assisted fuel reforming technology appears particularly attractive for automotive applications, especially regarding compactness, response time and absence of catalyst element. In 2003, Renault and CEP have initiated a research programme on this subject. A test bench allowing reformer feeding with different fuel / air / steam mixtures and coupled with a gas composition analysis system has been especially developed for this application. Preliminary results obtained under partial oxidation condition (H2O/C: 0) have been carried out with unleaded gasoline at atmospheric pressure and around 1500 °C reactor temperature. Under these conditions, a 45 % fuel reforming efficiency was obtained (taking into account the electric power needed to generate the plasma and corresponding to H2 and CO production). Besides, numerical models have allowed a better understanding of the reaction phenomena in the plasma reactor.