Improving energy consumption in plasma reforming of methane through gliding arc

As the demand for sustainable energy increases, hydrogen production from natural gas has garnered significant attention. Plasma reforming of natural gas using clean electricity promises low-carbon pathway for hydrogen production. However, the high energy consumption of plasma reforming remains a major challenge. This work utilizes pulsed gliding arc to maintain plasma discharge during pulse intervals. Electrical signal analysis indicates that the arcs can continue gliding with only 1 % of the peak voltage during pulse intervals, with the plasma self-sustaining for up to 50 μs. Images captured by intensified complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (ICMOS) sensors and fluid simulation results demonstrate that the plasma arc retains methane dissociation activity during the self-sustaining phase. The minimum specific energy consumption for hydrogen production is 127 kJ/mol, which is only 20 % of the energy consumption of current mainstream methane reforming by plasma processes. The gliding arc plasma technique offers an efficient catalyst-free approach for green and low-energy hydrogen production.