Partial oxidation of n-pentane to syngas and oxygenates in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Nonthermal plasma has a great potential for the partial oxidation of gasoline to form cleaner fuels. However, the formation of deep oxidation products and cracking products makes plasma environmentally unfriendly. This paper reports the partial oxidation of simulated gasoline (n-C5H12) to syngas and oxygenated products. For this purpose, a dielectric barrier discharge reactor was used in which the background temperature and gas pressure could be individually controlled. We found that the conversion of n-C5H12 increased with increasing background temperature until 498 K, then reduced at 523 K because of the resistive loss of discharge power. In contrast, the selectivity of oxygenates and the H2/CO value monotonously decreased with increasing background temperature. It was inferred that the conversion of n-C5H12 depends on both the thermo-chemistry and the electron-induced chemistry, and their contribution to this process was almost the same at 498 K. In contrast, the mechanism of product formation was mainly controlled by thermo-chemistry. The benefits of using cold plasma to simultaneously produce syngas and oxygenates were highlighted. Our results may be used to develop a new concept for designing an environmentally friendly plasma reformer.