N-Decane Reforming by Gliding Arc Plasma in Air and Nitrogen

Plasma cracking of n-decane is carried out in a new type of gliding arc flow reactor in the atmosphere of nitrogen and air, at a flow range of 25–45 L/min with an interval of 5 L/min. The relationship between arc evolution and discharge voltage and current signals is established by synchronous recording with high-speed camera and oscilloscope. It is recorded that the rotating frequency of the gliding arc is in the range of 81–176 Hz, which increases with the rise of the flow rate and has no direct relationship with the type of gas. When air is used as the discharge medium, although the luminous intensity of the arc is weak, arc rotation is relatively stable, and the specific input energy is higher, which is 58% higher than that of nitrogen. In addition, the partial oxidation of n-decane provides extra heat for cracking, which is helpful to improve the efficiency of plasma cracking. The cracking products mainly include hydrogen, ethylene, acetylene, methane, propylene and ethane. The concentration of each component is higher, reaching the maximum value at the flow rate of 40 L/min, with the hydrogen selectivity of 23.1%. However, when nitrogen plasma is selected, the kinds of products are reduced, containing only hydrogen, ethylene and acetylene, and the concentrations are lower than 0.5%. Two parameters, energy conversion efficiency and carbon based characterization effective cracking rate, were proposed to evaluate the cracking effect of flow reactor.