Conversion of natural gas to C2 product, hydrogen and carbon black using a catalytic plasma reaction

In the microwave and RF plasma catalytic reaction at room temperature, the decomposition of natural gas over Pd-NiO/gamma-Al2O3 was carried out. The decomposition of methane is caused by collision by excitation of unstable electronic state. Measuring the flow rate and plasma power can represent kinetic data and mechanism. The conversion of C-2 hydrocarbons was increased from 47% to 63.7% in the microwave plasma catalytic reaction within electric field. Comparing the activities of catalysts, Pd-NiO/gamma-Al2O3 bimetallic catalyst was more active than Pt-Sn/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst because of modifying the surface of catalysts by carbon formation. In RF plasma catalytic reaction, we obtained high C-2 yield of 72%, in which the conversion and selectivity of C-2 hydrocarbons were related to the applied power and feed rate of natural gas. (C) 2010 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.