Characteristics of enhanced plasma in ethanol liquid-phase discharge with a third electrode

Abstract

Microwave liquid-phase discharge plasma can reform alcohol to produce large amounts of hydrogen because liquid-phase discharge has the advantage of high gas-liquid mass transfer efficiency and high plasma density. However, there is less research on the plasma characteristics of microwave liquid-phase discharge, and the characteristics of plasma directly affect the efficiency of hydrogen production. In this paper, the effects of different microwave input powers and the use of different heights of the third-electrode on plasma characteristics and bubble residence time during liquid-phase discharge were investigated. The study revealed that as microwave power increased from 900 W to 1500 W, plasma volume tripled, directly influencing hydrogen production. Additionally, employing the height of the third-electrode significantly changed plasma volume and bubble residence time, the energy yield of hydrogen production was up to 0.60 Nm³/kWh.