Energy & Fuels, Vol.22, No.1, 556-560, 2008
Experimental study on gasoline reforming assisted by nonthermal arc discharge
On-board hydrogen production out of hydrocarbons reforming for fuel cells feed-in is subject to problems when using traditional catalytic reformers. High device weight, a relatively long transient time, and catalyst poisoning make their integration in a vehicle complex. In response to these challenges', reforming processes based on cold plasma have been implemented over recent years. This paper presents a nonthermal arc discharge system based on a high voltage, low current power source (about 2 kV and 0.5 A), designed to convert gasoline into hydrogen rich gas under autothermal or partial oxidation conditions for car applications.