Modelling of hydrocarbon synthesis process using barrier discharge

Abstract

A computational model for hydrocarbon synthesis by natural gas decomposition using barrier discharge is presented. The model describes the kinetics of the main reactions occurring in the plasma and accounts for the following processes: excitation/relaxation by direct electron impact, decomposition and ionization by electron impact, charge loss due to diffusion to the walls, and 92 chemical reactions. The rates of hydrocarbon production under various discharge parameters and changes in the composition of the starting gas have been calculated. The calculated rates of hydrocarbon production and discharge parameters were correlated with experimental data. The deviation of the calculated electrical parameters from the experiment does not exceed 7%. The model also demonstrated high accuracy in terms of product selectivity and their production rates. The calculations showed a promising result that the synthesis process efficiency depends on the signal shape while maintaining constant power input into the discharge.