Optimization of Microwave Power, CO2/CH4 Ratio and Total Feed Flow Rate for the Plasma Dry Reforming of Methane

In this work, microwave (MW) plasma reactor was used for dry reforming of methane (DRM) reaction to produce syngas (H 2 and CO). The Box-Behnken algorithm based on the response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to optimize plasma DRM process. The effects of process variables including MW power, CO 2 /CH 4 ratio and total feed flow rate on produced syngas selectivities and syngas ratio (H 2 /CO) were studied by the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) method using three different models based on quadratic polynomial regression. Both experimental and optimized results confirmed the important paramount role of MW power on syngas selectivity compared to other investigated parameters. The CO selectivity and H 2 /CO ratio was considerably influenced by CO 2 /CH 4 ratio while the effects of total feed flowrate on plasma DRM performance was insignificant. The interactions between the different variables had a weak effect on the H 2 selectivity and ratio of H 2 /CO. At the maximum desirable value of 0.95, the optimum H 2 and CO selectivities were 53.57% and 57.35 % with a H 2 /CO ratio of 0.9.