Enhanced Production of Hydrogen from Methanol Using Spark Discharge Generated in a Small Portable Reactor

An efficient production of hydrogen from a mixture of methanol and water is possible in a spark discharge. In this discharge, there is a synergistic effect of high-energy electrons and high temperature interactions, which enables an efficient course of endothermic processes such as the production of hydrogen from methanol. The water to methanol molar ratio of 1:1 was kept constant during the study. While the discharge power and feed flow rate were varied from 15 to 55 W and from 0.25 to 2 mol/h, respectively, which corresponded to the residence time of the reactants in the plasma zone from 58 to 7 ms. The cooled gas mixture contained 56 to 60% of H2. Other gaseous products of the process were CO, CO2, and a small amount of CH4. The maximum energy yield was 16.2 mol(H2)/kWh, which represents 20% of the theoretical energy yield when the substrates are in a liquid phase.